The aims of the study were as follows: background: to locate urban agricultural initiatives within a broader context of environmental concerns, and to highlight the national and regional planning and environmental frameworks within which said initiatives were placed; the extent of urban agriculture: to review the extent of existing urban agriculture initiatives, and to detail the full range of said initiatives currently in place in metropolitan areas of England; local planning: to review planners' attitudes to urban food production, and to examine how land use planning regulates urban agriculture initiatives; the impact of agriculture on local areas: to consider the wider impact of agricultural initiatives, to detail who investigates and participates in urban agriculture schemes, to highlight the funding mechanisms for said schemes, and to undertake detailed case studies in each of the metropolitan areas. The dataset cover food production in urban areas, knowledge of local schemes, types of food produced, instigation of schemes and bodies involved, planning and development, designated sites, district and national policy.