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The extensive under-used area of roadsides along public highways could readily provide valuable environmental, economic, and cultural benefits for society. Furthermore, local food sources are an increasing priority as energy and environmental costs of long-distance transport increase. This article highlights the central goals and principles for introducing food production in roadsides. Seven types of roadside cultivation are considered: market vegetables, grain, fodder, orchard, biofuel, compost, and livestock. Principles important for incorporating food production into roadsides include: location relative to adjacent land uses; wildlife movement and biodiversity; site topography and hydrology; and arrangement of crops based on roadside pollutant concentrations. Potential problems and their solutions are examined, such as: a swale and remediation system for stormwater and aerial pollutants; a banded vegetation pattern with inedible crops close to the road and edible crops farther from the road; and strategically locating trees to narrow the perceived highway width for enhanced driver safety. Major benefits of roadside production include providing additional farmland for farmers, vegetation design that facilitates wildlife movement and reduces the effects of habitat fragmentation, a cultural symbol of productivity in a highly visible landscape, local food for markets and eateries, carbon sequestration, and multi-use right-of-way biodiversity and landscape management. A case study uses the goals and principles pinpointed to outline a specific design strategy for inserting diverse agriculture along 30km of highway (MA I-495) outside Boston, Massachusetts (USA). Now, widespread designs and pilot projects are needed to initiate the next generation of our roadsides, where public appreciation for local food production, multiple uses of infrastructure, and the landscape's wildlife heritage become the norm.
