HYDROPONIC, AQUAPONIC, AND AEROPONIC FOOD PRODUCTION (HAAFP) IS A RAPIDLY EXPANDING SEGMENT OF THE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM. IT IS A POTENTIALLY POWERFUL CONTRIBUTOR TO SOLVING 21ST CENTURY CHALLENGES LIKE FEEDING OUR GROWING AND INCREASINGLY URBAN POPULATION UNDER NATURAL RESOURCE AND CLIMATE CONSTRAINTS WHICH WILL ENSURE AMERICANS' SECURITY, PROSPERITY, AND HEALTH. YET, LITTLE COMPREHENSIVE, INTEGRATIVE RESEARCH EXAMINES HOW URBAN HAAFP CONTRIBUTES TO FOOD SECURITY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY IN CITIES THROUGHOUT THE US. THIS KNOWLEDGE IS CRITICAL FOR CITIES SEEKING TO EXPAND URBAN FOOD PRODUCTION AND MEET THE NUTRITIONAL NEEDS OF THEIR GROWING POPULATIONS WITHOUT PUTTING ADDITIONAL STRAIN ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC RESOURCES. ACKNOWLEDGING THAT CITIES IN THE US VARY CONSIDERABLY IN THEIR POLITICAL, SOCIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND CULTURAL CONTEXTS, THIS RESEARCH COMPARES HAAFP IN SIX DIVERSE CITIES: SEATTLE, LOS ANGELES, DETROIT, NEW ORLEANS, NEW YORK, AND BOSTON. COMPARISON WILL PROVIDE IMPORTANT KNOWLEDGE ON THE FACTORS THAT PROMOTE AND CONSTRAIN HAAFP IN DIFFERENT REGIONS IN THE US.I WILL EXAMINE AND COMPARE HAAFP USING A COMBINATION OF THREE METHODS: IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS WITH NATIONAL AND REGIONAL HAAFP ORGANIZATIONS, COMPREHENSIVE SURVEYS OF HAAFP PRACTITIONERS, AND SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF MAPS OF HAAFP AND ITS SURROUNDING SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LANDSCAPES INCLUDING MEDIAN INCOME LEVEL AND POVERTY RATES. THE PRIMARY GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE OF EMERGING, URBAN HAAFP SYSTEMS IN THE US AND THEIR LOCAL IMPACTS ON COMMUNITIES' SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES. THIS KNOWLEDGE WILL INFORM BEST PRACTICES IN HAAFP SYSTEMS, SPECIFICALLY AS THEY RELATE TO PRODUCING BENEFITS FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES LIKE IMPROVED FOOD SECURITY AND JOB OPPORTUNITIES, AS WELL AS REGIONAL AND NATIONAL POLICY ON URBAN FOOD SYSTEMS.