URBAN AGRICULTURE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO HELP MEET THE GROWING DEMANDS FOR LOCALLY PRODUCED, LOW-CARBON-FOOTPRINT, AFFORDABLE PRODUCE FOR URBAN RESIDENTS. ACCORDING TO AN ANALYSIS OF THE 2017 U.S. CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE, URBAN AND PERI-URBAN FARMS COMPRISE NEARLY 15% OF THE COUNTRY'S FARMS, AND THIS NUMBER LIKELY DOES NOT CAPTURE THE FULL EXTENT OF URBAN FARMERS. HOWEVER, THERE ARE NUMEROUS OBSTACLES THAT URBAN FARMERS FACE, MANY OF WHICH PERTAIN TO THEIR SOILS. LEGACY CONTAMINANTS, FOR EXAMPLE, FROM INDUSTRY, INCINERATION, LEADED PAINT AND GASOLINE, AND NUMEROUS OTHER SOURCES HAVE RENDERED URBAN SOILS CONTAMINATED WORLDWIDE. AS A RESULT, MANY CITIES PURCHASE SOILS TO SUPPORT FOOD PRODUCTION, WHICH CONSTRAINS THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY OF URBAN AGRICULTURE. WE THEREFORE PROPOSE TO CONDUCT RESEARCH AND EXTENSION ACTIVITIES THAT WILL FACILITATE WIDE-SCALE ADOPTION OF SAFE, LOCALLY PRODUCED SOIL MIXTURES TO SUPPORT FOOD PRODUCTION.MANY MUNICIPALITIES ARE ADOPTING ZEROWASTE POLICIES THAT INVOLVE COMPOST PRODUCTION FROM ORGANIC WASTES, LIKE FOOD SCRAPS AND LANDSCAPE MATERIALS. WE WILL EXAMINE THE EFFICACY OF SOIL MIXTURES DERIVED FROM MUNICIPAL COMPOST TO SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE AND HEALTHY CROPS IN URBAN SETTINGS. WE WILL BE FOCUSING ON SOIL BIOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES THAT CAN BE WIDELY ADOPTED BY URBAN FARMERS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS. WE WILL BE MEASURING SOIL NUTRIENT AND STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN SOIL AFTER ENRICHMENT OF URBAN SOILS WITH BENEFICIAL FUNGI AND BACTERIA. WE WILL EXPAND THE REACH OF EXTENSION EFFORTS BY DEVELOPING A VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) DIGITAL MAP OF THE URBAN FARMS, FACILITATING THE DELIVERY OF SOIL MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES AND ENABLING EFFECTIVE DECISION-MAKING ON ISSUES IMPACTING CROPS.