GREEN MAP
Urban Agriculture
Figure 1: Riverview Community Gardens
Introduction to Urban Agriculture
As agriculture has become increasingly detached from the cities it supports, so has the relationship between urban dweller and the landscape. The monocultural farm we see today, produced by swelling demands of export, the capacities of machinery and the use of chemicals is equally detached from the landscape. The scale of operation, an average of approximately 1000 acres in Manitoba opposed to the original settlement of 40 acre family farms, is a telling sign of how food is now produced, processed, packaged, and distributed over entire continents and oceans. The average North American food item in the grocery store has traveled 2000 kilometers and cost 8 calories in fossil fuels for every 1 calorie of food energy. Economies of scale and our ongoing investment in transportation infrastructures has made this economically feasible in terms of a cost of living, but today many people are asking questions about the systems viability on other levels. Worldwide, about 80% of human food is dependent on only eleven plant species. Can the reliance of monocultural farms on foreign markets provide the stability required in the face of increasingly unpredictable weather and disease patterns? What is the capacity of our soils and fresh water supplies to absorb and withstand the chemicals used? What are the long term effects of soil erosion by wind, overland flow and overtilling? The history of urban agriculture in North America since it has been no longer necessary as a primary food source has been dictated by events or issues outside the city limits. Similarly, as urban agriculture has been growing again in popularity over the past 30 years we see an outside influence. Although it is not always required to supplement our appetite, perhaps urban agriculture is becoming more instinctive – to regain a control over what is consumed, and how it is produced.
The form and role of urban agriculture is as diversified as the cities it inhabits. Its form ranges from public edible landscapes and private roof terraces to community and allotment gardens, greenhouses, hydroponic operations and even complete symbiotic urban farms including livestock – permaculture within the city. The role of these urban landscapes varies equally, from necessary food supplement to social gatherer. This study is focused on the most common North American form of city farming, the allotment garden. In this form, land suitable for growing most often vegetables, fruits and flowers is appropriated by small community groups from derelict city sites, public parks and even railway and hydro rights of way. Plots are then divided, ranging in size from one hundred square feet to over two thousand square feet depending on the density of the neighborhood and demand for plots.