Desinging for Urban Food

Designing for Urban Food

As a promoter of urban gardens (horti urbani), I was drawn to this event. Designing for Urban Food examined how urban agriculture can shape and change urban design and the urban setting itself.  

Gatherers

 Designing for Urban Food forum was created by a group of University of Washington College of Built Environment students who hoped to illuminate the connection between Seattle's vibrant food movement and the structural design world. This event was also inspired by the Mayor McGinn's "Year of Urban Agriculture" as well as by community initiatives all over the city at the grassroots level that aim to bring urban farming into the city structure.

Thursday April 15 2010

Interdisciplinary Panel

Scholars and Designers from various parts of the Northwest were brought together for a healthy discussion about the place of farming in an urban setting.  Panel members included several UW College of Built Environment professors (architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning) as well as designers practicing in the field.  Each participant gave a brief presentation before the general panel discussion began, and the floor was opened to questions from the audience.

Rendering of possible design for urban food: each resident tends his or her own garden plot while a

common path runs through the entire garden to encourage community interaction

Balcony gardens and communal greenhouses in the residence; large community garden in front

Benefits of Urban Agriculture

The presentations and panel follow-up strove to answer the question "what are the overarching benefits of urban food production and how can the design field play a role in its encouragement and success?"  Here is what I took away from the presentations and panel discussion:

Designing for urban food is not meant as a means to replace farms or even feed a majority of a given city's population (though there was a heated debate over how productive an urban farm can really be once companion planting and season extension are added to the mix).  The point of urban agriculture is not about quantity but rather about quality.  Fresh, local food could benefit all urban residents, in monetary costs but more importantly, in social, structural and environmental issues.  With each urban garden there is the possibility of understanding food and nutrition and with each new design, incorporating communal gardening spaces, the possibility of a new form of social community is being created. 

Friday April 17, 2010

Charrettes

The day long Friday session (fueled by donations of local food) allowed interested persons to gather and brainstorm.  The organizers set up several actual sites around the city that could be redesigned to include a space for urban agriculture.  Then, with tracing paper in hand, visitors were encouraged to redesign the sites.  Some people spent ten minutes on the entire process and some stayed for hours, perfecting their design.  The finished product was then hung around UW's Gould Hall. 

The result of the charrette exercise will not be an immediate application of ideas but it was a means to bring the community of Seattleites for urban food together. Connections and networking were a productive result of the exercise, as well as the recognition that with a little imagination, urban spaces could be transformed into attractive and innovative buildings and urban plans, overflowing with food.

Get Involved

One of the best reminders of the two day event was how important (and easy) it is to just get involved.  There are many levels of commitment and the urban food initiative is happening in neighborhoods all over the city.  Here are a few places to start:

"Year of Urban Agriculture"

~promoting community agriculture efforts and increased access to locally grown food

Spring into Bed: Seattle's Food Revolution Celebration

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Designing for Urban Food Website

Rendering credits:

Created by architecture student Zachary Stevenson for a studio class entitled "Vertical Farming and Sustainable Site Design"

Project 1 continued...

Project 1 Refresher: Neighborhood Walk: Find out what's in season, what's in bloom and what is ready to be harvested.  For vegetables, this information is found most readily at farmers' markets, grocery stores and community gardens.  I did some exploring and researching and here is what I have found:


The Veggies:

Peas

This picture illustrates the end of the pea season.  Peas do best when grown in cool weather.  They can be sown in very early spring and are usually harvested in early summer.  A second harvest is possible in the fall but since the seeds like it cool and the plants can't handle frost, the window for a productive crop is narrow.  The good news is that in a small urban garden, plants such as peas, which thrive when grown on vertical structures, are priceless in the urban gardener's attempt to maximize a small space.

Winter Squash

Squash comes from the genus Cucubita and is made up of both summer and winter varieties. It is native to the Americas and does well in most regions across the U.S.  The varieties are named for the season in which they are harvested.  Squash  come in many colors and sizes, anything along the green to orange spectrum.  Both summer and winter squash seeds are sown in the early spring.  Summer squash is harvested when its name dictates (in the summer).  Winter squash is left to grow and develop a hearty rind with which it can withstand the elements in early fall.  Once it is harvested, winter squash may also be stored longer due to its protective rind (which explains why the pumpkins in your seasonal front step decorations can last so long!).

Beets

Beets are a biennial member of the Beta vulgaris genus.  Biennial means that they have two season each year.  They can be planted in early spring and harvested in early summer and then planted again in early fall to be harvested in the early winter (before the first frost).  You can also continuously sow seeds for the duration of the two seasons and some beets will be productive.  Beets can be stored in the ground up until the first frost so you can just run outside and pluck a beet for dinner as needed! 

Golden Turnip

Turnips are a member of the Brassica family which includes cabbages and broccoli among many other plants. Turnips can be harvested in the spring and fall with a break for the hottest part of the summer (similar to beets). For a late spring harvest, turnips must be planted as soon as the chance for frost is over. However, turnips are more commonly planted in late summer for an autumn harvest.

Swiss Chard

Chard is another member of the Beta vulgaris genus.  Its roots run very deep so make sure your soil is cultivated down to the appropriate depth.  Chard can be sown in early spring and will be productive through the following early winter (if the right precautions are taken like setting up protective frames or adding mulch around the plant).  To harvest Swiss chard, pull the off the outer leaves from each plant.  This will encourage the inner leaves to grow larger and then be harvested and so on. 

Parsnips

I have a feeling we will only see more of parsnips as winter approaches.  It is one of the few plants that can be stored over winter in the ground and whose flavor actually improves with the cold.  It is a root vegetable and its season is long so parsnips should be sown in very early spring.  It can be harvested whenever you feel like eating it through the winter (as long as the ground is not frozen).  Then, once spring begins, dig them all up before they begin to sprout again.

My First Post

The Joyful Discovery: plants are my new passion.  They are beautiful and delicious and the whole process of being able to control and encourage nature is fascinating.  I dream of twelve acres to my name with a sweet little house and fields of flowers and veggies and trees....

alas, The Reality Check:  I live in a tiny apartment, in the basement of a house, with no plot of land in a large city and have no plans to leave this hallowed urban life yet. 

So, how do I learn about urban gardening?  Many books in the store and library are targeted towards readers who seem to be born with green thumbs.  There is lingo used and plants referenced that discourage me as I frantically skim, trying to read a bit of everything and find my way in to this exclusive gardening club.  I've heard that experimentation with plants is the way to learn and there are community garden patches but each comes with its own waiting list and I am an impatient and impulsive learner so I must begin today.

Thus, The Plan: I will prepare assignments and attempt to learn about urban gardening beginning with what interests me most (rather than tackling the topic from A-Z).  I will get to know plants through the resources at hand, e.g. public spaces, farmers' market, and checking out community gardens and I will begin to collect a book list and work through it--providing reviews and highlighting what I have learned.