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"

Northwest Flower and Garden Show 2010

Show Stoppers

The Northwest Flower and Garden Show bustled through the Seattle convention center from February 3-7th.  There were 23 display gardens, filled with potted plants buried in sawdust and mulch to keep them fresh.  It took one week to set up the show (taking 1,200 cubic yards of sawdust and mulch and 280,000 pounds of rock to do so).  There were also around 300 exhibitors selling merchandise for every gardener's need.  Still, new ideas and information are really the highlights of the show.  So here are a few of my favorites:

"Reduce, Reuse, Recycle"

The recession has inspired a recycling revolution that was seen in many garden displays and throughout the flower display and garden marketplace.  I've highlighted some green ideas that are easy to use and incorporate into your garden.

1. Green Roofs
A low maintenance way to control temperature and prevent storm water runoff; there were several examples of green roofs this year but my favorites were the ones topping chicken coops--an eco-friendly way to help keep chickens comfortable.

2. Structures made from Recycled or Found Materials
I saw retaining walls and garden structures made from both stones found on site (dug up during garden projects) and from recycled materials (old concrete patio used as a table base).  The structure of the cages allowed the found rock or concrete to come in a variety of sizes since the cages held the pieces together.

3. Recycled glass adding warmth
This cold frame, which keeps fragile plants safe from the cold and is good place to start growing seeds outside, can be constructed easily--just make a lower bed box and attach an old window from your house (or from a local shop selling used ones).  Make sure the paint is lead-free and that there is an air vent that can be opened easily to prevent the plants from becoming overheated.  This is all you need to get a head start on your veggie growing!

Wine bottles held in place with cobb (clay, silt, straw, and water) also make a great heat inductor.  This structure will use heat from the sun to encourage growth and fruit production and keep plants warm in the fall and winter.  On a related note, a friend of mine had success with her veggies after creating a raised bed and lining the outside of it with pieces of slate to attract the warmth of the sun.

Living Walls

Hardy plants and dense ground cover filled the many living walls I saw this year.  Living walls can be used for decoration or function and construction and they are a great way to add green space to a small garden.

1. Living Fences

The display garden pictured above used hardy strawberries to break up the wooden fence that surrounded its garden, maximizing the space.  

 

2. Garden Soxx

Most impressive were the Garden Soxx; sold by Applied Organics and filled with Cedar Grove compost.   Each garden sock is three feet long and made of polypropylene. On the commercial level, they are used for large scale re-vegetation, erosion prevention and flood walls.  In your residential plot, they can be used for retaining walls, planters and natural structures.  The compost filled socks can be filled with seeds or plant starts and over time, the plants will spread and cover the structure.  The roots system that develops in the socks secures the foundation so even when the socks disintegrate (5 to 10 years, depending on sun exposure), the structure remains intact. 

Urban Farm Animals

Keeping animals has become a more accessible and realistic dream than ever before. Chicken and goat populations are scattered through urban neighborhoods, providing homeowners with fresh animal products and the joys and benefits of small urban farming.

1. Chickens
There were three active chicken coops on display this year. Chicken coops can greatly vary in shape and size so it is simple to find the right one for your yard. Two of the three had green roofs (the one pictured directly above is used for growing wheatgrass--with grinder on hand!), and one display featured the chicken tractor which is mobile and floorless. The mobility allows you to move the chickens to continually provide them with fresh vegetation and it will help spread the manure they deposit around your yard. In Seattle, an average plot is allowed three chickens.

2. Goats
Goats are another popular urban farm animal making their debut at the Flower and Garden Show. They provide milk and help clear out unwanted vegetation (or anything else that gets in their way!).  Three miniature goats are permitted per city plot in Seattle with a few restrictions--all must be dehorned and males must be neutered.

The Northwest Flower and Garden Show is an excellent place to gather ideas and get a good deal on gardening merchandise.  The entry price tag is high but early bird tickets can be purchased at a discounted price (up to one day before the event opens) and half day discounted prices are available every day.
 

See Northwest Flower and Garden Show for more details on the show.

Display Gardens and Merchants photographed:

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: 1) Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association  2) Le Jardin Design and B. Bissel Contractor; 2-4) NW Bloom and Seattle Tilth

Living Walls: 1) Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association 2) Applied Organics, Inc.

Urban Farm Animals: 1) Seattle Urban Farm Co. 2) NW Bloom and Seattle Tilth

Final Photo: Seattle Urban Farm Co.