Urban Agriculture

The Maturation of Urban Agriculture

from Where by Marc Couillais

Urban Agriculture is maturing, and like any concerned parent, those of us with a vested interest are worried about the path she will take and the choices she will make in these crucial developmental years. She's not quite ready to leave home, but she certainly isn't interested in hanging with the 'rents all weekend. That corporate bloke has been coming around a lot more lately, whispering sweet nothings in her ear and chumming it up with Dad in the den. With all this attention, she's beginning to see that life exists outside of the small community in which she has grown up. The city offers so much opportunity, yet with it comes so much risk, and as for that corporate guy, word on the street is that he's been into some pretty shady business. Meanwhile, there is a young guy around the block that Urban Ag has become friends with; he's so sweet, and seems to be well-grounded. Sure, he's a bit dorky, but we all know he'll treat her better in the end than the corporate bloke looking for some arm candy and a quick buck.


Now that I've lived out my childhood fantasy of writing a mid-90's teen sitcom, I should clarify that comparison. Urban Agriculture is at a pivotal point in its life. It began as an agency for social change, turning abandoned inner city lots into fruitful gardens which accomplished great things within their communities. Not only did these gardens beautify otherwise decaying neighborhoods, they also began to educate underprivileged residents about proper diet, provided nutritious food where none was to be found, and in some cases initiated job training programs with the local residents to jump start agricultural opportunities. Growing Home in Chicago, and Red Hook Farms in Brooklyn are too shining examples of this idea. Indeed, the social gains far exceeded the monetary gains, but it was only a matter of time before the light was shed on the potential of Urban Agriculture.


Today, we are seeing the corporate world snake it's way into the game. A recent article in the Detroit Free Press shows a possible 70 + acre development in the middle of downtown Detroit proposed by 2 financiers. Corporations, operating on the intention of reaping profit, will by nature set in motion practices to eradicate the competition. In the case of Urban Agriculture, this would mean all the small non-profit organizations trying to grow food in community settings to help residents get on their feet. Corporate-run urban farms could dominate the local food market by creating huge quantities and lowering prices which will drive out the many smaller farms. Walmart drove out all of the little Mom and Pop shops; why wouldn't a corporate farm drive out all the Mom and Pop farms?

Meanwhile, behind the backdrop, there is a growing movement of young creatives turning back to the land. Hundreds if not thousands of college grads are learning farm practices, working on CSA farms, and gaining knowledge to begin building a new food network in America. With the average age of farmers nearing 60 years of age, there is a huge push to get youth engaged in agriculture. In this case, Urban Agriculture makes a lot of sense because not only will the food be local, but it will allow young people to work and create in a collaborate environment where they can go out at night and have a life...off the farm.


I can think of about 15 people I know personally who are graduating with design degrees and looking to start their own small farms to supplement their freelance work. Why? Because nobody is hiring, they see the need, and they understand the value that a farm can create within a community. This has been well illustrated by the New York Times over the past year with many features focused on growing young farmers. But these people are starting farms of l1-2 acres, not 70-100 acre lots, and they aren't taking over whole portions of the city, but rather fitting nicely into the existing urban fabric. In addition, this new generation understands the problems associated with industrial farming, and therefore has a new respect for the land as not only creating profit, but creating life. That poetry just doesn't seem to flow from corporate farms, no matter where you put them.

Times are changing for Urban Ag -- she's growing up. The difference between Urban Agriculture and a real person though is a brain. A person can make decisions, Urban Agriculture relies on an intense network of farms, advocates and patrons. Together, we must figure out what is best for Urban Agriculture and our communities, then we must act to insure their safety. Will the introduction of large corporate farms defile the great assets of Urban Agriculture?

AIA Blueprint for America

Thought you would find this link interesting

Monuments to the Celtic Tiger

Abandoned/Delayed Construction Sites.

This one can be more than a one liner. It's highly topical and very much in the Tús vein. I have unconfirmed information on a few sites around the country:

- Parkway Valley site on the Castletroy side of Limerick. Planned to be the largest shopping centre in Munster. A large amount of the basic structure built (lift shafts, structural girders, etc.) and 8 cranes sitting idle since early last year.

- The hotel up in Kilternan in the Dublin Mountains seems to be completely stalled (think Heneghan Peng and Henchion Reuter involved in parts of this scheme)

- Newlands Cross Flyover.

- New Kevin Street Garda station in Dublin.

- Plot on South Richmond St. Dublin

Sure there are many more, please forward if you know of others.

“Other people have talked about putting underground parking in and beefing up the infrastructure enough that somebody could put some kind off structure on top, and just waiting it out as a parking structure until then,” he explained.
Underground parkades with green roofs as city parks are also being considered.

Qoute from councilor in Calgary, Canada............clearly a widespread problem!

Number of possible angles here, Would be useful research to catalogue and map locations, apparently quite a few sites around the country, more so outside Dublin.

Potential re-uses could range from:

- Invite Temporary Artistic interventions to cover eye-sores.

- Practical re-uses dependent on scope of works carried out, foundations, services to tap into etc.

- Use by peripheral groups where need required, Traveller sites, Homeless cleaning facilities (as per Niall's idea) etc.

Could also be interesting overlap with research into potential use of NAMA sites.

The other issue I raised was that of vacant comercial, residential & industrial space left over from the end of the boom. Not sure where to go with this stuff, suggestions welcome.

I had also looked into Newspaper reports of struggling hotels and potential re-uses there, it seems these reports were greatly exagerated but worth keeping an eye on.

Busted Architecture and the NAMA-rama

My first Blog title, so excuse the pun!

What are we left with post boom?

Sprawling suburbia with low quality estate housing.
Exacerbated by dubious zoning and related infrastructure and planning. Actively encouraged by a banking system onto an eager public.
Ensuing societal problems including energy consumption, quality of life issues, commuting times, etc. etc.

We are told that this is what people want, but by and large it is the only thing they have been given.

So what can we do? If we are to propose better solutions I think we need to look at the 'Architecture' of the system which facilitated this mess ie. think big!
The private banking system which having loaned to developers, who in turn built as cheaply and quickly as possible, thereby pushed mortgages at the highest possible price on people keen to play the game. It's worth noting that Architects were generally absent from a large portion of the developments now scarring the countryside.

How can Architects attain more influence on the kinds of development which occur, and is there a way of creating an environment where financing can happen without the myopic motivation of developers and purchasers alike?If Ireland is to progress it has to move from it's boom and bust instability, there is an opportunity at present to take advantage of a political will for more sustainable and long-term models of development. It is definitely a time when real changes can occur.

The imperative to own one's own home and accompanying slice of land is inherent in the Irish cultural psyche for obvious historical reasons. It is however quite common in other developed European countries to never actually own a home, with renting for life a real option. Outside the cultural there are a number of factors which allow this to happen:

- in more stable economies (eg. Austria, Switzerland, Scandanavia etc.) the potential for profit from increased house prices is not high and nothing on the levels that were seen here or in Britain.

- Tenancy rights are much better in these countries which gives security for long term renting.

- Single landlordism is not as high and regulated professional property management company's often oversee the running of houses and entire aptartment blocks etc.

Step in the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) which the government announced in the interim budget. The government is taking on €80 - €90 billion of property related loans to be 'managed' by this new agency. It's unclear how exactly this will work but it seems much of this property will for all intents and purposes be owned by the state. It's pure conjecture at this point but I think possible to assume that there will be opportunities with regard this move.

If the Irish development disaster was fuelled by profit driven banks, developers and home-buyers perhaps future more sustainable development can arise from the current mess. The government already effectively owns Anglo-Irish Bank. It could be argued that they have now become one huge land owning developer with their own semi-nationalised bank. This is where an economist is required but there must be a way for the two entities ie. state bank and state property management company (NAMA) could fund and manage necessary projects.

I feel it is worth researching how this could be taken advantage of with regard to housing proposals such as the co-operative building scheme's Ciara mentioned, with more long-term management and rental ideas to cover the initial construction costs or the dire need for Educational facilities in the types of areas where hap-hazard development has ocurred (and presumably where some of the NAMA property 'assets' might lie).

There would seem to be a potential here as the profit orientated bank and developer can be taken out of the equation, with state financed and state owned property surely a longer term view can be taken.....................

Future blog's will also be shorter!

Hi All,
I just thought I'd put something up here to start it off!
Anne, Fiona and I are meeting UCD staff tmrw to talk about studio space etc over the summer. The Pecha Kucha proposal is a great idea and a good way to get things moving project-wise.
Here's a link to a bit about Pecha Kucha website, and here's a little video clip of one...which explains it a bit at the start