Urban homesteading

Last updated

Urban homesteading can refer to several different things: programs by local, state, and federal agencies in the USA who work to help get people into city homes, squatting, practicing urban agriculture, or practicing sustainable living techniques.

Contents

Urban homesteading and affordable housing

Urban American cities, such as New York City, have used policies of urban homesteading to encourage citizens to occupy and rebuild vacant properties. [1] [2] Policies by the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development allowed for federally owned properties to be sold to homesteaders for nominal sums as low as $1, financed otherwise by the state, and inspected after a one-year period. [3] Homesteading is practiced in Detroit, but as of 2013 zoning laws prohibit such activity despite talk to encourage more urban agriculture and combat the shrinking population. [4]

While such policies have provided affordable housing for homeowners entering an area, homesteading has been linked with gentrification since the 1970s, especially in neighborhoods such as the Lower East Side of New York City. [5]

Urban homesteading and agriculture

According to UC-Davis, "an urban homestead is a household that produces a significant part of the food, including produce and livestock, consumed by its residents. This is typically associated with residents’ desire to live in a more environmentally conscious manner." [6]

Aspects of urban homesteading include [7]

Urban homesteading practices can conflict with current city zoning regulations and homeowner’s association by-laws. [8]

Urban homesteading is associated with urban agriculture. Urban Homesteading can also be referred to as Backyard Homesteading and Hobby Farming.

History of urban homesteading

The concept of urban homesteading is rooted in the settlement of the western United States during the nineteenth century, when the federal government offered land as an incentive for people to develop unchartered land. [9] Having an allotment or vegetable garden has been common throughout history, notably, victory gardens during the WW1 and WWII eras, immigrant gardens, the Integral Urban House, and the inner-city community gardening movement in the 1970s. The "back-to-the-land" movement of the 1960s, exemplified by numerous groups such as Tennessee's The Farm, has recently been reformed into a "back-to-the-city" movement.

A wealth of urban homesteading books (Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne, Erik Knutzen; The Backyard Homestead by Carleen Madigan; Urban Homesteading by Rachel Kaplan, K. Ruby Blume; Toolbox for Sustainable City Living by Scott Kellog) have been published in the past decade. All over the world, people have found ways of growing their own food in inner-city urban areas. [10] [11] [12] [13]

On the rise are Urban Homesteading blogs from homesteads all over the world that are embracing the tenets of homesteading philosophy Urban Family Homesteader, Urban Homestead, and Urban Homesteading. These blogs chronicle the journeys of people and families who strive to get off the grid by growing their own foods, raising livestock, using solar power, and working to reduce their impact on the environment.

Trademark controversy

In 2007, the Dervaes Institute applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to register the phrase "urban homesteading" as a service mark. [14] In 2008, the institute followed up with a second service mark application, for the phrase "urban homestead". [15] "Urban homesteading" was registered, but only on the Supplemental Register, on June 2, 2009. [14] "Urban homestead" was registered on the Principal Register on October 5, 2010. [15]

In February 2011, a controversy arose concerning a letter the Dervaes Institute sent to authors, bloggers, and organizations using the term "urban homesteading" in which they were asked to not use the terms "urban homestead" or "urban homesteading" without permission or attribution. [16] [17] [18] [19] On February 14–15, 2011, the Dervaes were successful in their attempts to disable several Facebook pages using the term. This caused outrage in the urban homesteading community and a backlash against the Dervaeses. [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] Three of the entities whose pages were disabled, including authors Erik Knutzen and Kelly Coyne, Process Media and Denver Urban Homesteading filed petitions to cancel the Dervaes Institute's trademarks in the US Patent and Trademark Office in April 2011.

On 21 February 2011, Corynne McSherry, Intellectual Property Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (which is representing authors Coyne and Knutzen and publisher Process Media), sent a response to the Dervaes Institute and published the letter on the EFF website. [26]

On 4 April 2011, the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a Petition to Cancel the trademark on "urban homestead". [27]

On 7 April 2011, Denver Urban Homesteading filed a Petition to Cancel the trademark on "urban homesteading". [28]

On 10 April 2013, Denver Urban Homesteading filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Colorado against Dervaes Institute, Jules Dervaes and Mignon Rubio Dervaes seeking to cancel the trademark "urban homesteading," an injunction to restore its Facebook page, and damages. On 28 February 2014, the lawsuit was thrown out based on lack of personal jurisdiction and some Colorado statute of limitations. [29] In December 2014 a lawsuit against Jules Dervaes, Dervaes Institute and Mignon Rubio Dervaes was filed in California.

On 4 November 2015, a federal court in California cancelled the trademark for “urban homesteading,” which its owner had used to disable a number of Facebook pages in 2011 by claiming infringement. This ended a nearly five-year legal struggle by a small farmers’ market in Denver, Colorado named Denver Urban Homesteading to cancel the trademark which began when the farmers lost their Facebook page and contacts with customers in February 2011.

The trademark was owned by the Dervaes Institute of Pasadena, CA, self-described in California incorporation papers as a “religious society” and operated by Jules Dervaes and members of his family. After Facebook pages around the country disappeared on February 14, 2011, the urban homesteading community united in protest against the Dervaes Institute, starting two new Facebook pages and a petition on change.org demanding cancellation of the trademark. Court filings show that the Dervaes Institute had issued cease and desist letters to book authors, book publishers, farmers’ markets and even a public library.[ citation needed ]

In April 2011 Denver Urban Homesteading began legal action at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the trademark. According to owner James Bertini, the USPTO refused to consider the merits, even though it was obligated to hold a single hearing and cancel the trademark quickly because it was listed on the “supplemental register” rather than on the more common “principal register.” The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) fared no better. Bertini said that they commenced legal action at the USPTO to cancel the Dervaes Institute’s trademark for “urban homestead,” as well as for “urban homesteading” but couldn’t get that agency to decide their case, either.[ citation needed ]

Then, in 2013 the farmers’ market sued to cancel the trademark in Colorado federal court, but after another delay - this time of one year - the judge refused to consider the case for jurisdictional reasons. So in December 2014 Denver Urban Homesteading sued in California where a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California canceled the trademark because it is generic. Generic words and phrases cannot be registered as trademarks. The case number is 2:14−cv−09216.[ citation needed ]

Denver Urban Homesteading was unable to afford a trademark lawyer so owner James Bertini, a retired general practice attorney represented the market himself. He was motivated to cancel the trademark not only to get back the farmers’ Facebook page but also as a matter of public interest since other Facebook pages had been disabled. Bertini said that he prevailed over five law firms and nearly a dozen intellectual property litigation attorneys that participated on behalf of the Dervaes Institute in those legal battles. “No small business should have to go through five years of litigation to cancel a trademark that shouldn’t exist,” Bertini said. “A small business cannot afford this burden.” Indeed, according to Bertini, his didn’t, and the farmers’ market was closed this year due to the extensive time required for litigation and travel to California for court-required meetings.[ citation needed ]

Bertini said that his research shows that this is the first time a trademark on the supplemental register was cancelled in a pre-trial order. However, he still has to go to trial in December to obtain damages. He needs to find an attorney licensed in California who can be associated with him in order to complete the case.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

City of Industry, California City in California, United States

City of Industry is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is almost entirely industrial, containing over 3,000 businesses employing 67,000 people, with only 264 residents as of the 2020 census, making it the third least populous city in the state. It was incorporated on June 18, 1957 and has become the economic hub for the San Gabriel Valley.

Westminster, Colorado City in Colorado, United States

The City of Westminster is a home rule municipality located in Adams and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 116,317 at the 2020 United States Census with 71,240 residing in Adams County and 45,077 residing in Jefferson County. Westminster is the eighth most populous city in Colorado. The city is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor. The Westminster Municipal Center is located 9 miles (14 km) north-northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver.

Sheridan, Colorado City in Colorado, United States

The City of Sheridan is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. Sheridan is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,664 at the 2010 census.

Wheat Ridge, Colorado City in Colorado, United States

The City of Wheat Ridge is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Wheat Ridge is located immediately west of Denver and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Wheat Ridge Municipal Center is approximately 5 miles (8 km) west-northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. The city had a population of 30,166 as of the 2010 Census.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is an American trade association for those who work in the real estate industry. It has over 1.4 million members, making it one of the biggest trade associations in the USA including NAR's institutes, societies, and councils, involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. The organisation holds a U.S. trademark over the term "realtor", limiting the use of the term to its members. NAR also functions as a self-regulatory organization for real estate brokerage. The organization is headquartered in Chicago.

Urban agriculture Practice of cultivating, processing and distributing food in or around urban areas

Urban agriculture,urban farming, or urban gardening is the practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around urban areas. It encompasses a complex and diverse mix of food production activities, including fisheries and forestry, in many cities in both developed and developing countries. Urban agriculture is also the term used for animal husbandry, aquaculture, urban beekeeping, and horticulture. These activities occur in peri-urban areas as well. Peri-urban agriculture may have different characteristics.

In-N-Out Burger American fast food chain

In-N-Out Burger is an American regional chain of fast food restaurants with locations primarily in California and the Southwest. It was founded in Baldwin Park, California, in 1948 by Harry and Esther Snyder. The chain is currently headquartered in Irvine, California and has expanded outside Southern California into the rest of California, as well as into Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Texas, Oregon, and Colorado, and is planning an expansion into Idaho. The current owner is Lynsi Snyder, the Snyders' only grandchild.

DWG is a proprietary binary file format used for storing two- and three- dimensional design data and metadata. It is the native format for several CAD packages including DraftSight, AutoCAD, BricsCAD, IntelliCAD, Caddie and Open Design Alliance compliant applications. In addition, DWG is supported non-natively by many other CAD applications. The .bak, .dws, .dwt and .sv$ files are also DWG files.

Podcast Type of audio digital media

A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing. Streaming applications and podcasting services provide a convenient and integrated way to manage a personal consumption queue across many podcast sources and playback devices. There also exist podcast search engines, which help users find and share podcast episodes.

Naugles was a Southern California fast-food Mexican restaurant chain that existed from 1970 to 1995. A revived Naugles chain was established in 2015 by entrepreneur Christian Ziebarth, after it was ruled that the trademarks had been abandoned by the original company's successor, Del Taco.

<i>Urban Dictionary</i> Community-powered dictionary of slang terms

Urban Dictionary is a crowdsourced online dictionary for slang words and phrases, operating under the motto "Define Your World." The website was founded in 1999 by Aaron Peckham. Originally, Urban Dictionary was intended as a dictionary of slang or cultural words and phrases, not typically found in standard dictionaries, but it is now used to define any word, event, or phrase. Words or phrases on Urban Dictionary may have multiple definitions, usage examples, and tags. As of 2014, the dictionary had over seven million definitions, while around 2,000 new entries were being added daily.

Charles A. Cook American politician

Charles A. Cook was an early settler of present-day Colorado and the second mayor of Denver. He was indicted and tried for conspiracy to defraud the government for falsifying names on homestead and pre-emption land claims and then selling the property. After the first trial, the case resulted in a hung jury. The charges were thrown out at the second trial.

The title "Surf City, USA" was the subject of a trademark dispute between the California coastal cities of Huntington Beach and Santa Cruz. Both cities historically claimed the "Surf City" moniker, but the dispute intensified in 2004 after the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau successfully filed the "Surf City USA" trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A settlement was eventually reached in January 2008, which allows Huntington Beach to retain the trademark.

Edge Games, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher headquartered in Pasadena, California, best known for the practices of its founder and chief executive officer, Tim Langdell, in enforcing trademarks relating to the word "edge", which sources have described as "litigious". Langdell has defended these practices, stating that Edge has only sued two companies since the late 1980s.

Jules C. Dervaes, Jr. was an urban farmer and a proponent of the urban homesteading movement. Dervaes and his three adult children operated an urban market garden in Pasadena, California, as well as other websites and online stores related to self-sufficiency and "adapting in place."

Internet censorship in Syria is extensive. Syria bans websites for political reasons and arrests people accessing them. Filtering and blocking was found to be pervasive in the political and Internet tools areas, and selective in the social and conflict/security areas by the OpenNet Initiative in August 2009.

Sriracha sauce (Huy Fong Foods) American brand of sriracha chili sauce

Huy Fong's sriracha sauce Vietnamese: Tương Ớt Sriracha), also referred to as sriracha or rooster sauce for the rooster on its label, is the original brand of sriracha, a chili sauce that originated in Thailand. The sauce is produced by Huy Fong Foods, a California manufacturer, and was created in 1980 by David Tran, a Chinese immigrant from Vietnam. Some cookbooks include recipes using it as their main condiment.

Urban agriculture in West Oakland

Urban agriculture in West Oakland involves the implementation of Urban agriculture in Oakland.

The Washington Redskins trademark dispute was a legal effort by Native Americans to define the term "redskin" to be an offensive and pejorative racial slur to deprive the owners of the NFL's Washington Redskins of the ability to maintain federal trademark protection for the name. These efforts had primarily been carried forward in two cases brought before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). While prevailing in the most recent case in which the trademarks were cancelled, petitioners withdrew for further litigation now that the legal issue has become moot due to a decision in another case which found the relevant portion of the trademark law to be an unconstitutional infringement on freedom of speech.

Agrihood

An agrihood is a type of planned community that integrates agriculture into a residential neighborhood. The purpose is to facilitate food production as well as provide green space, recreation, aesthetics and value for a community.

References

  1. ↑ Urban Homestead Program. "Directory of New York City Affordable Housing Programs". Furman Center. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  2. ↑ "Urban Homesteading Assistance Board programs". Urban Homesteading Assistance Board. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  3. ↑ deCourcy Hinds, Michael (16 January 1986). "BALTIMORE'S STORY OF CITY HOMESTAEDING". New York Times. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  4. ↑ Petersen, Kevin. "Room to Grow: Detroit Takes the First Steps to Legalize Urban Agriculture". Michigan Journal of Environmental and Administrative Law. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  5. ↑ Lees, Loretta; Slater, Tom; Wyly, Elvin; Wyly, Elvin (2008). Gentrification. New York, NY [u.a.]: Routledge. p. 9. ISBN   978-0415950374.
  6. ↑ Kristen Reynolds, University of California Small Farm Program, February 2009, Urban Agriculture in Alameda, CA. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  7. ↑ UNV-Reno Co-operative Extension Service, 18 September 2009, Urban Homesteading: Sustainable living in the city. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  8. ↑ Everett Sizemore, 18 January 2010, Backyard Chickens and Bureaucrats: The Regulatory Hurdles for Urban Homesteads. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  9. ↑ Caves, R. W. (2004). Encyclopedia of the City. Routledge. p. 700. ISBN   978-0415862875.
  10. ↑ Jaime Gross, 23 April 2010, That Big Farm Called San Francisco. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  11. ↑ Niles, Meredith (2008-07-16). "Urban homesteading in Washington, D.C." Grist. Grist Magazine. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  12. ↑ Clark, Justin (2008-05-01). Natural Home Magazine. Ogden Publications http://www.naturalhomemagazine.com/Garden/2006-05-01/Pasadena-paradise.aspx?page=3 . Retrieved 2009-07-21.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ↑ Eskeland, Imme Dirks (2008-04-22). "Grønnsakshage som enøktiltak". Aftenbladet (in Norwegian). Stavanger Aftenblad AS. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  14. 1 2 U.S. trademark registration application serial no. 77/326,565, filed November 15, 2007, registered June 2, 2009 (supplemental). Accessed April 2, 2014.
  15. 1 2 U.S. trademark registration application serial no. 77/574,809, filed September 23, 2008, registered October 5, 2010. Accessed April 2, 2014.
  16. ↑ Felicia Friesema, 18 February 2011, LA Weekly, Dervaes Family Trademarks "Urban Homestead" Term: Legal Battle Follows. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  17. ↑ Twilight Greenaway, 17 February 2011, The Bay Citizen, Oakland Homesteading School Caught in Trademark Tussle. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  18. ↑ Wendy Priesnitz, 17 February 2011, Natural Life Magazine, Creating Change or Controlling Words? Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  19. ↑ Anais Dervaes, 16 February 2011, Dervaes Institute Blog, Urban homestead trademark matter, and copy of controversial letter. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  20. ↑ Food Renegade, Take Back Urban Homesteading
  21. ↑ Granny Miller; A Journal of Agrarian Politics Philosophy and Practice St. Jules and Our Ladies Of Pasadena; Urban Homestead Saints or Greedy Self-Serving Sinners?
  22. ↑ Technorati The Green Movement Trademarking Controversy and the Dervaes Family
  23. ↑ OC Weekly Adam Parfrey of Feral House Fame and the Electronic Frontier Foundation Prepare to Challenge Dervaeses over "Urban Homestead" Trademark
  24. ↑ Transition Voice Urban homesteeds, war horses with mulch
  25. ↑ Sierra Permaculture Urban Homestead THIS!
  26. ↑ 21 Feb 2011 EFF Letter to Dervaes Institute
  27. ↑ Petition to cancel 'Urban Homestead' trademarks
  28. ↑ Petition to Cancel 'Urban Homesteading' trademarks
  29. ↑ "Denver Urban Homesteading, LLC v. Dervaes Institute et al, No. 1:2013cv00917 - Document 65 (D. Colo. 2014)". Justia. Retrieved 19 January 2016.

Popular Urban Homesteading Blogs: , Our One Acre Farm, Urban Homestead, The 104 Homestead, Earthworms and Marmalade, Attainable Sustainable

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.