Farming in Cities:
Planning Strategies to Implement Agriculture in the Urban Pattern

Emanuele Bobbio
Research Assistant, Master of Architecture Graduate

Matteo Robiglio
Associate Professor of the Politecnico di Torino, Italy. Founder of Avventura Urbana

Daniel Roehr
Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Founder of Greenskins Lab

Introduction
The uncontrolled expansion of cities poses a threat to the agricultural land base of western countries. The loss of fertile land has been particularly acute during the last 50 years, as rapidly growing cities have encroached on adjacent highly productive pieces of land. In this respect studies show that between 1992 and 1997 about 500,000 hectares of farmland were transformed for non-agricultural use every year (1), a phenomenon with dire consequences not only for the loss itself, but also for the increase in production pressure on other territories. At the same time other studies analysed the growth of 213 American cities over 40 years' time, and revealed that the urban density declined by 28 percent (2).
Cities are therefore growing while leaving behind large areas of empty or underutilized spaces. The conflict between city and countryside is stronger than ever today; at the same time it is becoming harder to define both geographically and culturally the border between city and countryside, as it dissolves into a hybrid space that cannot be classified in clear categories. On the one hand, cities are spreading out on fertile farming land, assuming forms that interpose the "hard" structure of cities and its infrastructures with the "soft" organisation of the farming territory. On the other hand, agriculture is becoming an increasingly popular and experimental activity within the urban boundaries, in forms such as community gardens, rooftop and faŤade gardens and urban farms. Urban agriculture must therefore find space in the current planning debate as a strategy that can contribute significantly to the reduction of the ecological footprint of cities. Farming in cities is beneficial in many ways: it encourages productive use of in-between and neglected space; it is flexible and can adapt to a variety of areas and situations; it engages people, allowing an active and participatory use of open space. Many studies have underlined these benefits, but urban agriculture is still not entirely considered and supported by institutions and mainstream planning culture, not least because it requires a modification of the current perception of green spaces in the city. This article evolved from an architectural Master thesis that investigated new strategies to integrate agriculture in the urban fabric, focusing on two case studies in Vancouver and Torino.

Agriculture in the History of Cities
Despite representing two very different and distant uses of the territory, urban and agricultural spaces coexisted throughout history, creating a symbiotic system that had a significant role in providing food for the urban population until World War II. The ancient Incan city of Machu Pichu, built in the mountainous territory of Peru, relied on a sophisticated hydraulic system that allowed an almost total food self-sufficiency of the population, despite the cold climate and geographic constraints. The ancient city of Tenochtitlan, were present day Mexico city stands, practiced an form of aqua farming known as the chinampas irrigation system, in which floating planting beds were used to grow crops. In Europe the medieval urban pattern of the Gothic block combined a high residential density with spaces dedicated to the cultivation. And finally in Paris, at the end of the 18th century the maraichers farmed in the centre of the city (le Marais) using intensive methods that yielded high amounts of vegetables and fruits that were exported all the way to London. Urban agriculture had its last major development during the two World Wars, when both in America and in Europe governments encouraged urban agriculture among the population, promoting it as a vital contribution that everyone could give towards a positive outcome of the war.
In the last half of the 20th century however a series of factors contributed to the decline of agriculture in western cities' landscape. From an economic point of view, the lower cost of transportation made it easier to import food from the countryside, decreasing the value of agricultural land in comparison with other land uses. Culturally agriculture was dismissed as a legacy of the past and of rural traditions that were to disappear. Urban agriculture lost interest from planners, architects and politicians, and was therefore very rarely integrated in the new city expansions: it was considered "a messy business for which there is no room in modern cities" (3). Agriculture did not disappear entirely from western cities, but was practised on an individual basis, and was pushed towards the periphery of cities and left over spaces such as riversides and rail yards.

Urban Agriculture's Regained Vitality
However, the last few years have seen a renewed interest in the subject of urban agriculture that contradicts the decline that it seemed doomed to. In times of economic downturn there is a stronger attention to the issue of self-production within cities. People are also showing a stronger concern for knowing where the food eaten comes from and how it was farmed. Finally, urban agriculture is increasingly regarded as an activity that can improve the ecological profile of cities.
Urban agriculture is in its essence a grassroots activity carried out by individual citizens who practise it for a variety of reasons. Farming in the city can be an individual hobby to occupy ones spare time; a way for foreign communities to grow food that is not easily available; an appropriation of public land that challenges the legal use (or underuse) of open space. In recent years institutions such as municipalities and public offices are manifesting a growing interest: in many cities, such as Vancouver (BC), Portland, San Francisco and Baltimore, vegetable gardens have been planted in the town halls' lawns, as a symbolic yet strong indication of the municipalities' commitment to promote urban agriculture. The bottom-up movement is therefore starting to link with municipal decision and institutional policies.
In this respect planners and architects will have a crucial role in facilitating and connecting these two movements. The main task will be combining the spontaneous and sometimes illegal forms in which it is currently practised with the policies and bylaws that regulate the operation of a city. Planners will have to work on and challenge these current regulations by proposing design solutions that will allow agriculture to be properly integrated into the urban fabric - aesthetically and functionally - within the stratified and complex urban environment. The rise of urban agriculture over the last few years has been consolidated by a series of ongoing studies demonstrating the numerous benefits linked to this activity.

Ecological Benefits
Many studies have revealed the high energy input that is needed in the processes of producing, distributing, conserving and consuming food. Re-shaping the food and agricultural system will therefore be necessary in the near future to meet the goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Catchwords like "food miles" and "vote with your fork" are becoming well known to the general public, in an attempt to inform people on the consequences that our eating habits have on the world's environment. In this sense, urban agriculture can play a central role in shrinking the ecological footprint of cities, by reducing the resource use/waste production cycle. Practices such as rainwater harvesting and composting can have beneficial effects on rainwater conservation and on the maintenance of soil fertility. Urban agriculture increases food security by reducing the need for food imports; it increases food availability, contributing to better eating habits, with the introduction of fresh and nutritious fruits and vegetables, that are often lacking in diets of the citizens; it increases the biodiversity of cities, and can create a virtuous cycle that values heirloom food varieties. Moreover, urban agriculture has a fundamental educational role, because it reconnects the population with local food production and creates environmental awareness, for example, encouraging seasonal food consumption or revealing the importance of composting organic waste.

Social Benefits
Although they cannot easily be translated into numbers or classified as parameters, the benefits that urban agriculture has on a social level are equally important. Urban farming involves an active use of the territory by the local population, therefore increasing social interaction between people, strengthening communities and creating community identification. Studies have demonstrated that urban gardens reduce the crime rate of the surrounding areas, as it increases informal surveillance of public spaces, with a positive effect on the peoples' use of public spaces (4). Agriculture is also used in many cases as a means of integrating disadvantaged groups or individuals back into the community, by engaging them in a professional rewarding task and supplying them with the opportunity to be an active part of the society they live in (5).

Economic Benefits
Urban agriculture can help generate income for families, encourages social interaction between people and promotes financial backing of the local community. These benefits are seldom considered by formal economic analysis, and for this reason, urban agriculture's productivity cannot be compared to most other urban land uses, on a strictly financial level. Nevertheless, urban agriculture has interesting indirect effects: studies have pointed out that the presence of community gardens increases the property value of the neighbourhood (6). This is particularly evident in the case of the neighbourhood of Loisaida in New York, where the success of the community gardens is directly threatening their survival, as the gentrification of the area leads to higher property values and makes the space the gardens occupy more appealing for construction (7). Moreover the benefits are evident if one considers the high portion of a municipality's budget that is destined to the maintenance of public green spaces. If agriculture is implemented in these spaces, it can lead to a double advantage, as it reduces the direct costs of municipality, by allowing people to take care of the spaces, and yields a production that can generate an economic profit.

The Research Process
The research work started by analysing agriculture in the numerous forms in which it is declined in the urban environment. When dealing with this issue, planners and architects must transcend the view that associates urban agriculture with community gardens or municipal allotments. A vast array of typologies must be taken in consideration, in order to apply the appropriate solution for a specific space. A catalogue of 11 different forms of urban agriculture was created, forming a sort of toolbox useful for architects and planners. The typologies taken in consideration were:

community gardens
municipal allotments
recreational gardens
urban farms
demonstration gardens
urban orchards
urban nurseries
school gardens
rooftop and facade gardens
private gardens
edible landscaping

Once the toolbox was created, the next step was to apply them in two case studies in Torino and Vancouver.

Application - Case Studies

Case study 1

Context
North Vancouver is a municipality within the Greater Vancouver Metropolitan Region with a population of about 47.000 people on an area of 11.8 km2 and a relatively low density (3950 people/km2). North Vancouver is located at the feet of the mountains and is separated from Vancouver by the Burrard Inlet. This geographical separation caused the area to develop later than the rest of Vancouver, (the municipality was founded in 1907) mainly as a residential area, although many shipyards and industries (some of which are still existing today) are situated along the water edge. The majority of the urban fabric is made up of single family houses, while a greater density can be found along the water edge and along Lonsdale Avenue, the main commercial artery of the city that follows a north-south direction. Due to geographical constraints (mountains on the northern border and water on the southern side) and increasing population pressure, the municipality is facing the challenge of a densification of the urban area. Parallel to this, the city has placed "sustainability" as a key element of its Official Development Plan, adopted in 2002. In this respect, urban agriculture is currently an agenda item of the municipality's policy process.

Design process
The design process in North Vancouver can be compared to a form of urban acupuncture: small interventions that do not radically change the urban fabric, but on a whole can make a difference in the life of the city. This approach was suggested by two considerations on the topography of the city: the low density of the housing development and the large amount of public green spaces. As in the case with many North American cities, the first city plan of 1907 (8) was based on the principle of including parkways to improve social, health and engineering issues in the city. A green necklace surrounding the city's square mile was created and partially still exists, representing an important green infrastructure for the city. The city also is also comprised of large natural parks along its creeks and a series of smaller neighbourhood parks scattered throughout the urban territory. Having lost part of their original meaning, these green spaces however are often underutilized, though still implying high maintenance cost from the municipality. The design solutions subsequently focused on incorporating agriculture in these existing greenways, proposing solutions that vary in scale and intensity, and go beyond the typology of community gardens. In particular two types of urban agriculture are envisioned: firstly programmes which are managed by the community and non profit associations, and secondly entrepreneurial agriculture ventures. (9) The latter would be particularly important as they produce higher yields that could give a more consistent contribution to the reduction of food imports and, by generating a profit, would reduce the burden on the municipality's park maintenance budget. While attempting to gain a profit, the aim is to maintain a strong social agenda, by creating local jobs and provide community programs with an emphasis on professional agriculture education, job training and rehabilitation. This system would require a structured distribution system, to maximise the local use of the produce, through school and hospital kitchens and through farmer's markets that would be created.
The master plan would also include design principles in order to generate a consistency between the different sites and programs, with the reoccurrence of elements such as greenhouses, hedges and espaliers that will generate an aesthetic appeal to the intervention. The whole process would encompass a continuous involvement of the community and in all the phases of decision-making, in order to create a sense of social responsibility and to guarantee the positive outcome of the process itself .

Case study 2

Context
Barriera di Milano is a neighbourhood in the northern part of Torino. With a population of about 50.000 people on an area of 7.4 km2, Barriera di Milano has a high population density (6832 people/km2). Barriera di Milano's urban development is a typical example that has been characterized by the first industries that settled in this area at the end of the 18th century. The foundation of Torino's first industry, the Royal Tobacco Manufacturing Plant, was followed by numerous industries that took advantage of the railway and road infrastructure of the area, and by the development of working class residences, including a few important public housing complexes. Following the de-industrialization of the city's economy, many factories have been closed, as well as the railway line that served them, leaving the area with abundant empty spaces of significant size. In the last decades, many immigrants have found home in the area, leading to a difficult situation in integrating the local and immigrant population. In its long-term programme aiming at improving the quality of life in the peripheries, the municipality is focusing its attention and resources on its five year term on Barriera di Milano. The program will be centred around a major infrastructural work, that intends to transform the removed railway line into a second underground line connection to the city centre of Torino (10). The research chose to focus on this transformation, assuming that it could become the subject of a design process centred on urban agriculture.

Design process
In the case of Torino, the design process focused on the integration of agriculture in the above mentioned major infrastructural work. The existing open air railway, placed about 4 metres below the street level, will be transformed into an underground subway line, leaving a free area of about 90 hectares. The relatively low car traffic, the good exposure to sunlight, the low depth of soil (since it will be placed over the underground tunnel) suggests that this could be an ideal site for urban agriculture. This linear park bears the potential of becoming an ecological parkway corridor, connecting two existing major urban parks, and, although focusing on the role of agriculture, would include squares, neighbourhood parks, pedestrian and bicycle paths. The project also includes existing urban voids and other green spaces, in order to connect the intervention with the wider area of Barriera di Milano. Different types of urban agriculture will be placed along the linear park including: individual plots of different sizes, urban orchards; edible schoolyards in proximity to two existing schools; edible landscaping and land art in intersections and roundabouts. The central part of the park, situated close to an existing square and a hospital, will become the showcase of the intervention by creating a demonstration garden and small buildings for educational purposes and to host associations in charge of running these activities . The eastern end of the park would be destined to an urban farm, thanks to the larger amount of space available. The produce could be sold in an underutilized square that could host a regular farmer's market, strategically placed close to the future entrance of the subway stop. Finally, an urban void next to the site is foreseen for an urban plant nursery .
The plan subsequently concentrates on a specific block that has a total area of about 7,000 m2. The design emphasizes the linear shape of the block, dividing it into a series of longitudinal strips. The concept placed the vegetable gardens on the sides, separating them from the road using low walls and hedges. The pedestrian and bicycle paths are placed in the middle. Along these walkways, a strip is dedicated to service spaces, such as greenhouses, composting facilities, beehives, and playgrounds for children. In a garden that celebrates food, it was assumed that space should be given to an outdoor dining space, as eating is a highly convivial and social activity - especially in Italy. Finally, attention is given to pavement detail, by creating a modular system that allows space for informal and spontaneous vegetation, an important element in guaranteeing biodiversity within the whole intervention.

Conclusions
The rise of urban agriculture in the last years is challenging the relationship between city and countryside, and is questioning the contemporary planning of green spaces in cities. The arguments highlighted in this paper demonstrate that it is time for urban agriculture to become part of the current architectural and planning debate. If the future town planning will be centred on the integration of spaces, on the flexibility of solutions, on the involvement of citizens in decision-making processes, on the reduction of cities' ecological footprint, urban agriculture is bound to play an important role towards reaching these goals.
Due to the relatively small amount of urban agricultural projects implemented so far, it has not yet been possible to research in depth the impact, benefits and consequences of introducing agriculture in the contemporary urban pattern. Architects and planners must therefore investigate this issue, in order to regenerate the knowledge that was lost in the last fifty years and to introduce innovative and attractive food landscapes in cities around the world.

References
Been, Vicki and Ioan Voicu. The Effect of Community Gardens on Neighbouring Property Values. Real Estate Economics, vol. 36 Issue 2, 2007
Berger, Alan. Drosscape. Wasting Land in Urban America. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006.
Girardet, Herbert. Creating Sustainable Cities. Totnes: Green Books for the Schumacher Society, 1999
Kuo Frances E., and William C. Sullivan. Environment and Crime in the Inner City: Does Vegetation Reduce Crime?. Environment and Behavior 3, 2001.
Pasquali, Michela. I giardini di Manhattan, Storie di guerrilla gardens. Torino: Bollati Boringhieri, 2008.
Proksch, Gundula and Daniel Roehr, Urban Cultural Greenways: The Potential of Urban Agriculture as Sustainable Urban Infrastructure, New Orleans: ACSA, 2010.
Roehr, Daniel and Isabel Kunigk,. Metro Vancouver: Designing for Urban Food Production. Berkeley Planning Journal, Volume 22, 2009
The Corporation of the City of North Vancouver. Official Community Plan, Chapter 9: Parks and Greenways. 2002.
Viljoen, AndrŹ, Katrin Bohn e Joe Howe. Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes: Designing urban agriculture for sustainable cities. Burlington: Architectural Press, 2005
www.farmland.org/resources/fote/default.asp (accessed January 27th, 2010)
www.growinghomeinc.org/storage/WoodStreetDevelopment.pdf (accessed January 27th, 2010)
www.urbancenter.to.it/indexCont.php?s=36 (accessed January 27th, 2010)

Notes:
(1) www.farmland.org/resources/fote/default.asp
(2) Alan Berger, Drosscape. Wasting Land in Urban America (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006)
(3) Herbert Girardet, Creating Sustainable Cities (Totnes: Green Books for the Schumacher Society, 1999) (4) Francis Kuo e W. Sullivan, Environment and Crime in the Inner City: Does Vegetation Reduce Crime?, Environment and Behavior, 33(3), (2001)
(5) www.growinghomeinc.org/storage/WoodStreetDevelopment.pdf
(6) Vicki Been e Ioan Voicu, The Effect of Community Gardens on Neighbouring Property Values, Real Estate Economics, vol. 36 Issue 2, (2007)
(7) Michela Pasquali, I giardini di Manhattan, Storie di guerrilla gardens (Torino: Bollati Boringhieri, 2008)
(8) The Corporation of the City of North Vancouver, Official Community Plan, Chapter 9: Parks and Greenways, (2002)
(9) Gundula Proksch and Daniel Roehr, Urban Cultural Greenways: The Potential of Urban Agriculture as Sustainable Urban Infrastructure, New Orleans, ACSA (2010)
(10) further information on the future transformation of Barriera di Milano, named "Variante 200", can be found on the following website: www.urbancenter.to.it/indexCont.php?s=36

01
North Vancouver - current park system

02
North Vancouver - master plan for the implementation of urban agriculture



03
North Vancouver - urban farm pilot project



04
North Vancouver
urban farm pilot project



05
Barriera di Milano
current park system and project site



06
Barriera di Milano
bird-eye's view of the proposed solution



07image of the agricultural parkway



08
Barriera di Milano
sustainable cycle of the project



09
Barriera di Milano
current and future section



10
Barriera di Milano - sections of the project

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