Stephen Fisher, P.E., is an NSF IGERT PhD Fellow in the department of Civil Engineering. He has a bachelors in mechanical engineering from University of California Irvine, a masters in civil engineering from Stanford University, and 18 years of experience in civil engineering and environmental studies. He is currently co-chair of the Sustainability Committee of the Colorado Section of ASCE, and serves on ASCE's national Committee on Sustainability (http://www.asce.org/sustainability). He is using life cycle assessment (LCA) to answer key sustainability questions to potentially guide policy decisions regarding urban vegetable production, and planning and spending of infrastructure. The LCA compares fresh vegetables grown conventionally (large scale commercial) with those grown in smaller, sub-acre settings similar to urban backyards (small scale).