As anyone who has a Netflix account knows probably knows that Food, Inc. is currently one of the most popular DVD rentals. Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food” are both bestsellers easily spied under the arms of commuters in various cities. Alice Waters’ impassioned letter to the Obamas about the importance of addressing America’s dietary practices was one of the New York Times’ most emailed articles, sparking significant controversy and discussion and Jamie Oliver, The Food Network’s “Naked Chef” recently gave a TED Talk about the importance of nutritional education. It is abundantly clear that food, nutrition, sustainable agricultural practices and the importance of eating locally grown produce are hot topics in the western world. One of the most compelling elements of this relatively recent phenomenon is the manner in which it has affected the face of urban landscaping and design.
Rooftop Farm in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY
New York City is not a location that springs to mind when one thinks about freshly grown produce, sustainable agriculture or the cultivation of organic vegetables. However America’s largest city is also home to some of the most innovative and significant developments in urban agriculture and what is known as the Slow Food Movement. By focusing on New York City’s potential as a space for farming and agriculture, as opposed to approaching it from a deficit model, several visionary individuals have literally changed the face of the city and in the process altered the concept of what words like farm, organic, and natural mean.
As most people know New York City was almost exclusively farmland for hundreds of years. Bucolic old Brooklyn was all orchard and farmland as far as the eye could see. Casting memory back even further to the New York of Henry James and Edith Wharton, generates a vision of a city where traveling above 42nd Street qualified as a trip to the country. Since then Manhattan has developed relentlessly and at lightning speed. Until 2003 the only arable land within city limits was the Queens Farm, a still-functioning farm complete with a greenhouse complex, livestock, an orchard and an herb garden. Most produce consumed by city dwellers was shipped in from other states and countries or at best was driven into the city from farms in the Hudson Valley, available to those who made an effort to eat locally by shopping at the city’s farmers markets.
Union Square Greenmarket, Manhattan, NY
In 2003 nonprofit organization Added Value, founded by Ian Marvy and Michael Hurwitz, created the Red Hook Community Farm, with the help of Partnerships For Parks, The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and the residents of the neighborhood. Situated on a formerly abandoned lot in the largely working-class neighborhood if Red Hook, the farm has grown 12 tons of produce in the seven years since its inception. Of equal importance is the function it serves as an educational site for the more than 115 teenage workers who are involved with the farms youth empowerment programs. The farm has generated $120,000 in local economic activity and $70,000 in revenue that has been used to pay stipends to the young workers. The initiative has been so successful that three acres of land was cleared for an additional farm on Governer’s Island, a small landmass in the waterway between Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Red Hook Community Farm, Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY
Red Hook Community Farm, Red Hook, Brooklyn NY
Buoyed by the success of the Red Hook Farms and other examples of the Renaissance that urban agriculture is experiencing, New York City has decided to partner with Added Value and the Design Trust for Public Space to create a project known as the Five Borough Farm. More than just a series of cooperative farm sites, Five Borough Farm will inventory existing agricultural activities in the city, and assess areas that could potentially serve as agricultural sites. Examples of these include rooftops, vacant lots or other abandoned city property. The plan for the project is to develop a sort of metric that measures urban agriculture and the broad range of benefits that it provides, such as the potential for developing youth empowerment activities, creating employment opportunities and helping to reduce the city’s rate of obesity and diabetes by providing access to healthy, pesticide free produce for residents who do not have access to organic supermarkets. The project’s first order of business is to develop a pilot to demonstrate the vitality of urban agriculture to residents of the five boroughs while also the economic impact that green spaces and green roofs can have.
Red Hook Community Farm, Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY
From a building and design standpoint, the project is an interesting departure. Pedestrians in New York City have likely walked by some of the unfinished luxury condos and other big budget building projects that have been abandoned as the recession continued and real estate development ground to a halt. Approaching undeveloped lot space from an agricultural perspective rather than a commercial consumerism is a tremendous step forward for the city. Supporters of urban agriculture see this work as an opportunity to use New York City’s limited free space to enhance and sustain its already existing population, instead of creating yet another fast-food restaurant, apartment building or nightclub. The project is slated to break ground in March of this year.
