This thread is to be a central repository of all things agriculture as it relates to architecture and urban planning.
This is not meant to discourage specific discussions that happen on other threads, but hopefully this will provide a resource to all interested in this subject (since it seems to come up every once and a while).
topics could include, but not limited to the following:
urban farming
vertical farming
the industrial food complex and commodity market
GMOs (genetically modified organisms)
student/speculative/real projects on food production
locavore movement
sustainable farming
farmer's markets
career transitions from architecture to agriculture
your own veggie garden
keeping livestock in the city
etc...
I will try to keep up with this thread as much as possible, but anyone else who wants to contribute, rant, and/or point to articles/links/other threads - please - by all means.
it'll take a while to find all the threads on urban farming - but here's some hot mapping/infographic action in the meantime: USA Hot spots for organic food
My husband is currently building this chicken coop design for our backyard. After I dicked around with precise 2x4 arrangements for two days - I'm OCD like that - he asked if I could please just download one already designed with instructions so I wouldn't be so neurotic about it.
I tweaked it, of course, and plan to use some found materials we have leftover from our recent fireplace project to personalize it even more.
I'll post picture as we proceed - chickens will arrive in about one week!
Since we've started, of course, half a dozen neighbors have popped up saying they've been thinking about keeping backyard chickens, too. I see it as a quickly building trend!
Also, on a bigger scale, I first heard about urban gardening as a "solution" for Detroit 17 years ago. I'm so pleased to see that it's coming more to fruition!
my qualifications to be in this thread.. my mother is a trained agriculturalist and I maintain a seasonal garden in the backyard.
the tally since we've built the growing bins this year, about 200lbs of peppers, on pumpkin, 10 bushels of callalloo (bitter spinach), a few handfuls of tomatoes to add to the many mangos, chinese jimbalins, and avocados
Cows are classified "livestock", so not allowed. Pigs are not allowed. Horses, ponies, donkeys, mules, jackasses, and llama are only allowed in 8,000sf/animal pens, which is much more land than most people in the city have! (Seems a lot of jokes could be made about whether it's lawful to keep a jackass around. My husband sure acts like one sometimes!)
has a good intro on "the french intensive method" for highly productive gardens using horse poop - and the potential of using urban food waste for urban farming...
i have a few friends in town here in montana that raise their own chickens in the back yard. i've discovered it's also legal in chicago, provided you don't slaughter them in the city and you don't have a rooster. it's a pretty interesting way to get your own eggs, and they actually make pretty quirky pets. some of the breeds are actually quite beautiful, and they have lot's of personality. i can't wait to get my own chickens.
I'm waiting for BLDGBLOG to do a piece on livestock cities... (could be an interesting student project. you're welcome).
I also recently learned keeping chickens is legal in my city if you get all the right permits. a neighbor has them and I definitely agree they are really beautiful animals with unique personalities...
btw - my wife wants a goat, but we don't have the space for it. also - goat's eyes creep me out a little.
Careful everyone. Opting out of the corporate agribusiness and producing food yourself can be dangerous. Powerful corporations do not take the threat lightly and will exert all of their resources to apply political and legal pressure on those who do. Some examples:
Agriculture Central
This thread is to be a central repository of all things agriculture as it relates to architecture and urban planning.
This is not meant to discourage specific discussions that happen on other threads, but hopefully this will provide a resource to all interested in this subject (since it seems to come up every once and a while).
topics could include, but not limited to the following:
urban farming
vertical farming
the industrial food complex and commodity market
GMOs (genetically modified organisms)
student/speculative/real projects on food production
locavore movement
sustainable farming
farmer's markets
career transitions from architecture to agriculture
your own veggie garden
keeping livestock in the city
etc...
I will try to keep up with this thread as much as possible, but anyone else who wants to contribute, rant, and/or point to articles/links/other threads - please - by all means.
it'll take a while to find all the threads on urban farming - but here's some hot mapping/infographic action in the meantime: USA Hot spots for organic food
My husband is currently building this chicken coop design for our backyard. After I dicked around with precise 2x4 arrangements for two days - I'm OCD like that - he asked if I could please just download one already designed with instructions so I wouldn't be so neurotic about it.
I tweaked it, of course, and plan to use some found materials we have leftover from our recent fireplace project to personalize it even more.
I'll post picture as we proceed - chickens will arrive in about one week!
Since we've started, of course, half a dozen neighbors have popped up saying they've been thinking about keeping backyard chickens, too. I see it as a quickly building trend!
Also, on a bigger scale, I first heard about urban gardening as a "solution" for Detroit 17 years ago. I'm so pleased to see that it's coming more to fruition!
A few of the discussions that are worth referencing
to this nascent thread to help germinate the discussion:
Plant ID Thread with my buddy Daniel
Landscape Central
sustainable landscapes
garden at the whitehouse
next time I take pics of my urban farm (ahem, backyard), I'll make sure to share them.
donna do the neighbours have any authority over you? ie, did you have to get permission from them to start raising chickens?
my qualifications to be in this thread.. my mother is a trained agriculturalist and I maintain a seasonal garden in the backyard.
the tally since we've built the growing bins this year, about 200lbs of peppers, on pumpkin, 10 bushels of callalloo (bitter spinach), a few handfuls of tomatoes to add to the many mangos, chinese jimbalins, and avocados
will share photos in due time
jump, my city (Indianapolis) has no restrictions on chickens as they are considered domestic animals.
BackyardChickens has a great page, if anyone is interested, that compiles laws about backyard chickens from every state.
That's cool donna. I always wondered how that worked. Does that mean you could have a cow too? Or goats?
Cows are classified "livestock", so not allowed. Pigs are not allowed. Horses, ponies, donkeys, mules, jackasses, and llama are only allowed in 8,000sf/animal pens, which is much more land than most people in the city have! (Seems a lot of jokes could be made about whether it's lawful to keep a jackass around. My husband sure acts like one sometimes!)
alright - here are just a few threads on the topic - many more to come...
recently posted: mobile food collective
Student research/projects:
Distinctly 'American' issues regarding food production?
Urban Agriculture - help finding precedents
Misc. Research:
[bracket] Call for Entries On Farming
urban farm/restaurant:
Urban Farm - Market Place - Restaurant examples
urban farming/ restaurant use question real project?
Suburbia:
Plowing subdivisions Under
Edible Estates
Vertical/roof Farming:
skyscrapers as farm
urban agriculture / green roof certification
Detroit:
Detroit in 5-10 years
related - Hantz Farm
one more:
agricultural urbanism
I have no idea how to search the student blogs. I know there were a couple in there a while back...
anyone know where that philly project is hiding?
more research here:
InfraNet lab
donna - kudos on the chickens!
here is what could potentially be a good series of articles on www.grist.org (also a good resource for agriculture) on looking to the past for inspiration on the future of urban agriculture.
has a good intro on "the french intensive method" for highly productive gardens using horse poop - and the potential of using urban food waste for urban farming...
donna
i have a few friends in town here in montana that raise their own chickens in the back yard. i've discovered it's also legal in chicago, provided you don't slaughter them in the city and you don't have a rooster. it's a pretty interesting way to get your own eggs, and they actually make pretty quirky pets. some of the breeds are actually quite beautiful, and they have lot's of personality. i can't wait to get my own chickens.
it's all about the chickens.
I'm waiting for BLDGBLOG to do a piece on livestock cities... (could be an interesting student project. you're welcome).
I also recently learned keeping chickens is legal in my city if you get all the right permits. a neighbor has them and I definitely agree they are really beautiful animals with unique personalities...
btw - my wife wants a goat, but we don't have the space for it. also - goat's eyes creep me out a little.
included in the article is a study that shows a map of the staggering amount of vacant and city owned land...
walmart
goats and chickens!
making any cheese yet?
two of my thesis student's topics this year have an agricultural theme:
- equestrian urbanism
- urban agricultural park/community farming
equestrian as in horse ranching? or farm labor....?
EPA info for people looking to utilize urban farming as part of brownfield site redevelopment.
happy day-after Earth Day suckers. Remember "make everyday earth day"
NYC is taking steps towards understanding and supporting it's local food network.
and recently in archinect news: architecture and the edible city
Carrot City: Design's New Shtick
toasteroven thanks for the heads up i just added to my Amazon wish list...
gotham greens, 15,000 SF commercial urban greenhouse/farm
Iowans plowing under golf courses.
Careful everyone. Opting out of the corporate agribusiness and producing food yourself can be dangerous. Powerful corporations do not take the threat lightly and will exert all of their resources to apply political and legal pressure on those who do. Some examples:
Freedom to buy & sell raw milk
Government Forces Private Citizens to Pour Bleach on Home-Grown Organic Food
Farmageddon
and an interview with Farmageddon filmmaker Kristin Canty
Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal by organic farmer Joel Salatin
Seeds- How to Criminalize Them - Patriot Act for Food S510
All of these links (and many more) via Stoneleigh's recent blog post The Storm Surge of Decentralization
Yo!
If hiding your own personal food production from nosey neighbors/gov't is the idea, the stealth coop was excellent: http://www.treehugger.com/modular-design/the-stealth-chicken-coop-keeping-swine-flu-and-zoning-officers-at-bay.html. However, I don't think it's manufactured anymore. You'd have to build it yourself.
Still, a nice Amish coop that looks attractive (heck, looks a bit like a tool or garden shed), is a better long term solution. Something like this: http://zchickens.com/Colonial-Gable-Chicken-Coop_p_24.html
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