XXXXX

Turn the concept of food

production on its head
Designer Jo Thompson suggests some innovative new projects may have the
answers to the issue of supplying food to our cities.

I
’ve recently become uncharacteristically change in the agricultural and food sectors. stakeholder platform for supporting
absorbed by an organisation called In six cities worldwide, the Innoversity will action-learning experiments in the field of
Metropolitan Agriculture; a group convene multi-stakeholder teams from agricultural systems. The MetroAg Innoversity
describing itself as ‘an innovative response across the food system, to begin taking takes cities and city based issues at the
to the problems within the food system’. concrete steps towards more sustainable starting point for action and innovation. The
Metropolitan Agriculture, or MetroAg agriculture in cities. By fostering dialogue and work will begin in Amsterdam, Chennai and
for shor t, looks to the characteristics of suppor ting action, the Innoversity will serve Detroit/Flint, Johannesburg, London and São
metropolitan environments to provide a as a forum to advance the innovative use of Paulo.
pragmatic vision for a new, sustainable, agriculture to help address the challenges In order to meet sustainably the food
agricultural logic, ‘a logic for co-creating new faced by cities around the world. demands of metropolitan populations,
connections between metropolitan areas The MetroAg Innoversity is a multi- actionable change to the food supply system
and agriculture’.
I was intrigued by the fact that they have
set up a learning institution they call an
“Orthodox beliefs
‘Innoversity’ which is dedicated to initiating
the processes necessary in the agricultural
and food sectors to create a new way of
about city food
supplying food to the cities.
The MetroAg Innoversity is a new action
production methods
learning institution, dedicated to initiating the
processes necessary to create meaningful have to be challenged.”
26 | GREEN PLACES | MARCH 2011
is needed. New connections need to be
created between cities and agriculture.

XXXX
MetAg’s Innoversity combines education and
research with learning from on-the-ground
research, and strives to find a way to provide
‘more food and energy, and more food with
less energy.’
Its projects are hear tening, aiming
amongst other things to shor ten the food
supply chain between the provider and the
consumer.
In one project in Johannesburg, for
example, connects controlled-environment
chicken farms with an energy production
firm to re-use and reducing emissions.
Orthodox beliefs about city food
production methods have to be challenged,
but it’s tricky to get farmers involved. For
so long they have been pushed to seek
economies of scale, embracing expansion,
specialisation and monoculture.
The reality is that for many farmers below
a certain production level, economies of scale
simply aren’t achievable. Perhaps they should
be encouraged instead to look at the benefits
of ‘economies of scope’, lowering costs by
producing a wider range of products. There’s
a dawning realisation that diversity can be a
good thing, either in terms of the crops you
grow or other services you offer such as cafés
and pick-your-own schemes.
A fabulous example of this can be found in
London. Eco-social design practice Something
& Son last year presented their FARM:shop
project. Based in Dalston, Hackney, the main
objective of the FARM:shop is to produce
as much food as possible in one single space
using a variety of sustainable production
methods. They have everything from mini
aquaponic fish farms and rooftop chicken
Jo Thompson is a regular contributor to
coops to indoor allotments (horizontal and Green Places.
vertical) and a polytunnel. Jo’s first project, the development of a Docklands
Something & Son have been working roof terrace was featured in the 2006 Garden
to transform all five floors of their once Design Journal Review and in The Independent:
since then her work, both public and private
derelict shop into a ground-breaking spaces, has been featured in a variety of
working urban café and food hub. In pouring publications. She speaks about garden design on
a huge amount of energy and innovative invitation, and is a guest lecturer at the London
thinking into the creation of this area, they and roots rather than ‘original’ creations that College of Garden Design. She writes a regular
blog for Horticultural Week and contributes to a
demonstrate an obvious passion to educate hang disconnected, in time and space.’ number of gardening publications.
us about the origins of food. They say it will The impact that the design of the space Amongst her current projects are the rooftop
be ‘a living, breathing statement of how we has on the user is important key to the gardens of the new combined headquarters of
could be feeding our cities’. success of this project: it is a farm, it’s a the London Wildlife Trust and National Youth
Theatre, an interesting and challenging client
The firm Treebox are assisting with the venue, it’s an exhibition space, it’s a fish farm. combination, for which she has designed a range
installation of a selection of edible walls and Who’d have thought? What a great example of oak bench planters, and planted a rooftop
vertical allotments, sharing their knowledge of where public space design innovation can version of a native hedge.
of vertical growing and urban agriculture really make a difference to the way we live.
LEFT: The team demonstrates an obvious passion.
with enthusiastic volunteers and visitors.
Former curator of The Barbican and TOP: The FARM:Shop has everything from mini aquaponic
current ar tistic director of Ar tissima in Turn,
Find out more: fish farms and rooftop chicken coops to indoor allotments
• www.metropolitanagriculture.com (horizontal and vertical) and a polytunnel.
Italy, Francesco Manacorda wrote in one
• www.somethingandson.com
review: ‘FARM:shop will bring an emerging ABOVE LEFT: Based in Dalston, Hackney, the main
• www.farmlondon.weebly.com objective of the FARM:shop project is to produce as much food
kind of ar t to a wider public. Ar t that is as possible in one single space using sustainable production
interested in cycles, natural materials, growth • www.treebox.co.uk methods. © Treebox.

MARCH 2011 | GREEN PLACES | 27