Dr. Mark Gorgolewski of Ryerson presents on innovative ways that architecture is considering agriculture in the urban context.

1. 04/04/2012
“The symbiotic relationship between a productive
landscape and the human settlement system is as old as
Carrot City: civilization. During the past 200 years, that millennium-
The impact of food on the old positive relationship deteriorated into a further and
design of cities and buildings further separation of town and landscape.”
(Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes: Viljoen 2005)
Mark Gorgolewski
Hungry City - Carolyn Steel
Garden Cities – Ebeneezer Howard Broadacre City – Frank Lloyd Wright
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2. 04/04/2012
Global population
‘’By the year 2025, 83 per cent of the expected global
population will be living in developing countries....
Agriculture has to meet this challenge.... Major
adjustments are needed in agriculture, environmental
and macro-economic policy, at both national and inter-
p y,
national levels, in developed as well as developing
countries, to create conditions for sustainable agriculture
and rural development.’’
Proposal Includes:
-Large scale agriculture land in protected zones United Nations Conference, 1992
-Large kitchen gardens in detached suburban houses
- Allotments of 10 acre for apartment dwellers
Ville Radieuse – Le Corbusier
Energy return on investment Topsoil loss
• “The 20th-century industrialization of agriculture has • America has lost 75 percent of its most productive
increased the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by topsoil in the last two centuries
the food system by an order of magnitude; chemical Diet for a New America - John Robbins
fertilizers (made from natural gas), pesticides (made
from petroleum), farm machinery, modern food
p ), y, • Geologist David Montgomery states that approximately
processing and packaging and transportation have one percent of our topsoil is lost every year to erosion,
together transformed a system that in 1940 produced 2.3 most of which, he notes, is caused by agriculture
calories of food energy for every calorie of fossil fuel
energy it used into one that now takes 10 calories of http://www.seattlepi.com/national/348200_dirt22.html?source=mypi
fossil-fuel energy to produce a single calorie of modern
supermarket food”
Michael Pollan
http://www.michaelpollan.com/article.php?id=97
Relevance to urban sustainability
• The World Wildlife Fund estimates that the food chain contributes
about 30% of the total UK greenhouse gas emissions
– In the UK it has been suggested that carbon dioxide emissions could be Is it feasible for a city to produce a significant
reduced by about 22% if food were produced organically, consumed
locally, and only when in season
amount of its food?
• A total of 50 million Americans are food-insecure (US Dept of Ag.)
• Global obesity is a world health epidemic
y p
What will be the impact of the design of cities
cities,
• Peak oil – our food is now grown with fossil fuels
• Transport - availability of cheap energy supplies in the future
urban spaces and buildings?
– Food Miles” - food in southern Ontario travels on average 4,500 km to
arrive on your plate
• Social equity - urban dwellers have little control of their food supply
• World population of 9 billion by 2050 will require modifications to
what we eat
• Climate change will affect the productivity of some agricultural areas
?
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3. 04/04/2012
China
• Chinese cities as a whole claim to produce 85 percent of
their vegetable consumed by their inhabitants.
• Shanghai and Beijing have even sometimes apparently
achieved self-sufficiency in vegetables
self sufficiency vegetables.
In 1943 Canadian urban spaces produced 115 million
pounds of vegetables
Urban Agriculture: Small, Medium, Large. Architectural Design, G Doron, 2005
Havana Cuba Potential Benefits
• Reduced “Food Miles”
• Reduced carbon emissions
In 1995 it was estimated that there were 26,600 urban agriculture • Fresh food – improved nutrition
sites in Havana including:
• Health benefits – Average tomato now has 30% less vitamin A
- Private gardens (huertos privados)
compared with 1960’s
- State-owned research gardens (organicponicos)
• Community benefits – stronger community ties around UA
- Community gardens (huertos populares).
projects.
80% of state-owned land to was dedicated to community gardens
• Food security, availability, and affordability
They have had a visible impact on the food security of the city and in
improving the Cuban diet • Education – puts urban dwellers closer to food systems
Some are producing 27 kilograms of vegetables per square metre • Use of waste space – Detroit
Urban farmers can be in the top 10% of earners in Havana • Economic development - employment
In Havana, the urban farms and gardens produce 90% of the city
food demands
About 200,000 Cubans worked in urban agriculture sectors in 2003
Carrot City: Design for Urban Agriculture
Michigan State University
Re-imagining the city found that the creation of
urban farms and gardens
within the Detroit’s
Building Community and Knowledge boundaries could supply
local residents with more
than 75 percent of their
le
Re-designing
Re designing the Home
Scal
vegetables needs and
more than 40 percent of
their fruits needs
Producing on the Roof
Creating components for growing
Re-imagining the city
www.carrotcity.org
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4. 04/04/2012
Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes
Bohn and Viljoen Architects, UK
Nevin Cohen, New School, 2011
Capital Growth, London UK
• Capital Growth has been encouraging Londoners to turn
derelict land into vegetable gardens.
• These will offer local, seasonal, healthy, affordable and
organic food.
• They absorb some CO2 emissions from London’s
y
transportation systems.
• They will make the city a greener, more pleasant place to live.
• They also aim to bring local communities together around a
common goal.
Helianthus by Topher Delaney
Images courtesy of Topher Delaney
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5. 04/04/2012
Farm City/Ravine City by Chris Hardwicke
Urban Agriculture Hub by Andy Guiry
SPIN farming (Small
Plot Intensive) is a
method developed to
exploit small sub acre
plots throughout a city.
Experienced farmers
lease parts of urban
gardens for intensive
food production that is
sold locally.
Re-conceiving the community
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6. 04/04/2012
Edible Campus at McGill University, Montreal Ryehomegrown, Ryerson University, Toronto
Community Greenhouse, Inuvik
www.inuvikgreenhouse.com
Edible Schoolyard NY, WORK Architecture Company
Image courtesy of Work AC City Farm, Leadenhall, London, Mitchell Taylor Workshop
Images courtesy of Mitchell Taylor Workshop
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7. 04/04/2012
Public Farm 1 at PS1 by Work Architecture Company
Re-defining the home and workplace
Maison Productive House, Montreal, Produktif Studio
Agrohousing, Wuchan, China - Knafo Klimor Architects
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8. 04/04/2012
Salinas, Kansas Lakewood, Los Angeles
Edible Estates, Fritz Haeg
Images courtesy of fritz Haeg, www.fritzhaeg.com
It is estimated that there is about 100 km2 of
flat roof space in London UK with the
potential to grow food across the capital
Growing on the roof
Brooklyn Grange, New York
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9. 04/04/2012
Uncommon Ground, Chicago Lufa Farms, Montreal
Photos courtesy of Michael Cameron https://lufa.com/en
www.uncommonground.com
Fairmont Hotels, Toronto and Vancouver
Courtesy of Fairmont Hotel
Gary Comer Community Centre, Chicago
Image courtesy of Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects
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10. 04/04/2012
Vertically Integrated Greenhouse
Re-designing the components Courtesy of New York Sun Works & BrightFarm Systems
http://nysunworks.org/ or www.brightfarmsystems.com/
Beehives for Detroit
Images courtesy of Erika Mayr and Stephane Orsolini
Vacant Lot, London by What-If Projects Ltd
Biotop Green Roof
images courtesy of Marc Valiquette, and Yves Perrier of Biotop Tower Gardens
www.biotopcanada.com www.towergardens.com
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11. 04/04/2012
Eglu Window Farms
www.Omlet.us www.Windowfarms.org
Balcony Garden, Yeang and Guerra, 2008
Resilience
“Resilience is the capacity of a system to absorb
disturbances and reorganise while undergoing change,
so as still to retain essentially the same function,
structure, identity and feedbacks”
Walker et al (2004) Resilience, adaptability and transformability in social-ecological
systems
Amphorae
Images courtesy of Mark Bearak, Dora Kelle and Adam Mercier
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12. 04/04/2012
“There is a quiet revolution stirring in our food system. It is not
www.carrotcity.org
happening so much on the distant farms that still provide us
with the majority of our food; it is happening in cities,
neighbourhoods, and towns. It has evolved out of the basic
need that every person has to know their food, and to have
some sense of control over its safety and security. It is a
Carrot City: Creating
revolution that is providing poor people with an important safety
places for Urban
net where they can grow some nourishment and income for
Agriculture
themselves and their families. And it is providing an oasis for
Mark Gorgolewski, the human spirit where urban people can gather, preserve
th h i it h b l th
June Komisar & something of their culture through native seeds and foods, and
Joe Nasr
teach their children about food and the earth. The revolution is
Monacelli Press, 2011 taking place in small gardens, under railroad tracks and power
lines, on rooftops, at farmers’ markets, and in the most unlikely
of places. It is a movement that has the potential to address a
multitude of issues: economic, environmental, personal health,
and cultural.”
http://www.urbanagsummit.org/
(Ableman, 2005)
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