Urban agriculture

Urban agriculture in Brossard: A commitment to sustainable development

For several years now, Brossard has been integrating the principles of sustainable development into its territory and administration, with urban agriculture as a key initiative, combining environmental, economic and social aspects.

Initiatives allowed in Brossard

• Vegetable garden in front or back yard
• Chickens (maximum 2)
• Green roof
• Side and rear yard greenhouse
• Community garden

Consult the urban agriculture policy of the Ville de Brossard.

Consult Brossard’s urban agriculture action plan

What is urban agriculture?

Urban agriculture refers to the cultivation of edible plants and the raising of animals in an urban environment. It includes projects such as individual vegetable gardens, community gardens, small animal husbandry and urban greenhouses, offering many benefits for the community.

Innovative urban agriculture projects in Brossard

Urban agriculture demonstration island at City Hall

Located near Rome Boulevard, close to the indoor parking lot, this 19-by-7-foot island showcases various vegetable-growing techniques, edible ornamental features and alternatives to traditional lawns. Plants vary from year to year and include vegetables, fruits, herbs, aromatic plants, edible flowers and ecological groundcovers.

This project aims to encourage the practice of urban agriculture and raise awareness of the following benefits:

• Offering fresh food at low cost
• Promoting healthy lifestyle habits
• Preserve local biodiversity (pollinating insects, birds, etc.)
• Enabling citizens to pick their own vegetables

Edible ornamental garden pilot project

This project, with over 1,700 plants, is located at the intersection of Chemin des Prairies and Boulevard du Quartier. It introduces citizens to the many possibilities of edible ornamental landscaping that can be reproduced at home. This pilot project will also enable the city to assess social acceptability, management and maintenance requirements, and the resources needed to ensure its long-term survival and expansion on the territory.

What’s more, this pilot project offers the city a great opportunity to evaluate and analyze a number of elements that are essential to the multiplication of this type of development, as well as to its sustainability throughout the territory, including :

• Social acceptability;
• The level of site management and maintenance required;
• Resources required (human, material and financial).

Here are a few examples of the plants you can find and enjoy on site:

Harvest vegetables at the right time!

The garden is a showcase of designs that can be reproduced at home! Don’t hesitate to taste new plants for inspiration and culinary discoveries.

To avoid wastage, below you’ll find instructions on how to pick fruit and vegetables when they’re ready, as well as information on how to harvest them to ensure that they last throughout the season.

Enjoy your meal, and don’t forget to think of the others, so they can enjoy it too!

Urban agriculture for all tastes!

What do the regulations say?

To ensure that your harvests are carried out according to the rules, consult the regulations in place for each practice.

Urban Agriculture Action Plan 2022-2023

Adoption and objectives
The Urban Agriculture Action Plan 2022-2023 adopted by the city council on June 14, 2022, consolidates the city’s commitment and prioritizes fifty actions to be carried out by 2023, some of which have already been completed or are in progress. The many proposed actions are structured around seven ambitious orientations stemming from the Ville de Brossard’s Urban Agriculture Policy of the Ville de Brossard which serve as guidelines for the integration and development of urban agriculture on the territory.

To read the Urban Agriculture Action Plan 2022-2023 click here or on the image to the right.

Urban Agriculture Policy (UAP)

Adoption and objectives
On June 16, 2020, the City adopted its first UAP to recognize and encourage the implementation of urban agriculture practices and initiatives on the territory.

This policy, drawn up in collaboration with Le Laboratoire (AU/LAB) and the result of a public participation process, has a 10-year horizon and includes 24 courses of action based on 7 major orientations that will act as guidelines to be followed to encourage the implementation of practices throughout the territory.

To read the Urban Agriculture Policy, click on the image on the right.

By adopting this strategic document, the Council wishes to affirm its commitment to the practice of urban agriculture and to improving the quality of life of its citizens. In addition, the adoption and implementation of the Policy will make it possible to achieve the following objectives:
1. affirm the City Council’s commitment to the practice of urban agriculture;

2. define the City’s urban agriculture objectives and practices;

3. integrate policy objectives into decision-making and communication processes;

4. propose guidelines and courses of action aimed at :

• integrate the policy’s orientations into the municipal administration;
• develop land and public spaces in line with the principles of urban agriculture;
• harmonize regulatory tools to encourage practices and minimize nuisances;
• inform and mobilize citizens, businesses and organizations.

Practices currently authorized on Brossard territory