096 PERSPECTIVE

DESIGN Urban agriculture

097 PERSPECTIVE
Looking at cities
through the lens
From the poorest to the richest neighbourhoods in the US,
urban agriculture is becoming de rigueur
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When her famiIy stepped intc the White Hcuse,
FirsL Lady Michelle Obama espoused a Limely,
mul Li laceLed i ssue by embraci nq home
qardens, reLurninq Lo a World War ll pracLice in
NorLh America and Lurope known as VicLory
Cardens. 1hrow in qlobal warminq, a rocky
economy, and risinq obesiLy and a lullscale
urban aqriculLure Lrend sprouLs naLionwide.
While Lhe phrase 'urban aqriculLure' is sLill,
Lo Lhe common household, considered analoqous
Lo lood coops and l owi ncome vocaLi onal
pracLices, iL has indeed evolved. Denizens are
successlully convincinq municipal leaders Lo
chanqe zoninq. 1hey're sLockinq resLauranLs
wi Lh l ocal l yqrown produce, perpeLuaLi nq
susLainable dieLary and aqriculLural pracLices in
children via ouLdoor qardeninq proqrammes in
schools, and qaininq supplemenLal income.
l n Washi nqLon sLaLe, SeaLLl ebased
archiLecLure lirm ALelier|ones is developinq
inexpensive, immediaLely deployable urban
qreenhouses LhaL will allow lor mini larms Lo
sprouL up LhrouqhouL Lhe ci Ly, mi ni mal l y
impacLinq Lhe land, requirinq no diqqinq or soil
clean up, and ollerinq easy relocaLion.
1hese ^5 sqlL urban qreenhouses,
esLimaLed Lo cosL US$^35 each, will allow
homeowners, resLauraLeurs and schools Lo
seemi nql y exLend larmi nq seasons. Lach
qreenhouse harvesLs rainwaLer and enouqh
solar enerqy Lo power a qrowliqhL LhaL also
works as an auxiliary heaL source. lnsLallaLion
consisLs ol connecLinq Lhe hoses beLween Lhe
labric quLLers and Lhe waLer cisLern, insLallinq
Lhe solar qrow liqhL and solar panel, and lillinq
qrowLh baqs wiLh soil and seeds.
1he li rm wanLs Lo expand Lhi s earl y
proqramme around Lhe ciLy. lL's in Lhe proLoLype
phase ol a pro|ecL wiLh a local elemenLary
school in which 8 qreenhouses on an empLy loL
ad|acenL Lo Lhe school will provide produce lor
school lunches. "1he kids won'L be Lhere durinq
Lhe primary qrowinq season ol summer, so Lhey
can planL winLer crops and harvesL colder
weaLher produce and Lhen pl anL aqai n i n
February Lo qeL one more crop by June, when
school qeLs ouL," says Susan H Jones, lounder
and principal ol ALelier|ones.
A couple years aqo, she meL wiLh Andrea
PeLzel, Lhen ol Lhe SeaLLle's deparLmenL ol
planninq and developmenL as parL ol Lhe ciLy
council's local lood acLion iniLiaLive. "1he
presidenL seL up a biq iniLiaLive lor all ciLy
deparLmenLs and how Lhey Louched lood policy.
We looked lor barriers Lo urban aqriculLure, how
Lo inLeqraLe urban aqriculLure in our emerqency
manaqemenL plan, how Lo make more land
spaces available," says PeLzel, now in SeaLLle's
ollice ol susLainabiliLy and environmenL.
"1o develop a new piece ol code we meL
wiLh codecompliance people, plan review
people, Lhe deparLmenL ol neiqhbourhoods, and
Lhe planninq and developmenL deparLmenL. We
al so meL wi Lh communi Ly qroups and
individuals. 1haL's how l meL Susan. She brouqhL
up issues LhaL were imporLanL Lo a larqer qroup
ol people. lL even relaLed Lo deparLmenL ol
neiqhbourhoods which has communiLy qardens
and some roolLop qardens."
1he resulL expanded landuse codes beyond
horLi cul Lure, ani mal husbandry, and
aquaculLure, by allowinq permiLlree urban
larms ol up Lo ^,000 sqlL ol planLinq area, lor
roolLop qardens hiqher Lhan Lhe oriqinal heiqhL
resLricLion ol 5lL, and lor verLical qardens.
"We | usL passed Lhe l eqi sl aLi on i n Lhe
summer ol 200 and Lherelore missed Lhe biq
qrowinq season, buL we're curious Lo see how iL
Lurns ouL Lhis year. l've saL in on meeLinqs wiLh
pro|ecLs who wanLed Lo incorporaLe communiLy
qardens inLo Lheir new developmenLs. 1he CiLy
ol SeaLLle wenL Lhis way because we're zoned
almosL 60 per cenL sinqlelamily. 1he biqqesL
opporLuniLies are in people's backyards. We
allow LhaL in sinqlelamily zones, allowinq liqhL
commercial elemenLs in Lheir zones now."
of food

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