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Urban Agriculture:To What Extent is Urban Food Production a Necessary Consideration when Thinking About Sustainable Urban Design?

Case Study: The Biospheric Project, Manchester

By Nathan Fairbrother UP603288

Tutor: Catherine Teeling 2014

Word Count: 6041

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Contents

Illustrations………………………………………………………………………………………................................................…………….4

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………...…........................................………………6

History of Food and the City………………………………………….............................................………………….………………7

Urban Life and Contemporary Food Production………..........................................……………………………….………9

Case Study: The Biospheric Project. Blackfriars, Manchester………………….....................................………...16

Conclusion………………………………………………...……………………….............................................………………………….30

Bibliography……………………………………………………...................................................……………………..……………………..31

Appendix…………………………………………………………………….............................................…………………………………34

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IllustrationsDissertation

Figure 1. The Fertile Crescent.

Figure 2. The Allegory of Good Government.

Figure 3. Kensington Gardens, Dig for Victory Campaign.

Figure 4. Organoponicos in Havana, Cuba.

Figure 5. FARM:shop.

Figure 6. Blackfriars redevelopment: 1890 to 1970.

Figure 7. Location of the Biospheric Project.

Figure 8. Façade.

Figure 9. Vermiculture System.

Figure 10. Plant Growing System.

Figure 11. Mushroom Fermentation.

Figure 12. Water Filtration.

Figure 13. Tilapia Fish Tank.

Figure 14. Roof Garden.

Figure 15. 78 Steps.

Figure 16. Building Use.

Figure 17. Public Transport Routes.

Figure 18. Availability of Fresh Food.

Figure 19. Potential Space for Urban Agriculture.

Appendix

Figure 1. Age Structure, % Population.

Figure 2. Activity Analysis, % Population.

Figure 3. Health Perception, % Population.

Figure 4. Education Level, % Population.

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Figure 5. Economic Activity, % Population.

Figure 6. Car Ownership, % Population.

Figure 7. Occupation, % Population.

Figure 8. PM10 (Particular Matter) Assessment Salford.

Figure 9. NOx (Nitrous-Oxide) Assessment Salford.

Figure 10. Interview conducted by Nathan Fairbrother with Vincent Walsh, Managing Director of the Bio-spheric Foundation.

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Introduction

“Imagine a building like a tree, a city like a forest”(Braungart & McDonough, 2009, p.139)

Mankind is undergoing a major transition towards becoming a predominantly urban species. According to The World Health Organisation (WHO) by 2030, 6 out of 10 people will live in cities. This dissertation is therefore framed within the context of rapid global urbanisation making the subject of food production and its availability within cities a topical issue. (WHO, 2014)

This dissertation poses the question: To what extent is urban food production a necessary consideration when thinking about sustainable urban design? The aim of this study is to evaluate the importance of food production within cities in order to move towards more sustainable urban living.

To fully examine the role food production has to play within urban life, this dissertation will start by discussing the historic relationship between cities and the country. With this historic context in mind, a critique of the contemporary food production system will take place with an emphasis on urban agricultural case studies combating the social, economic, and environmental issues it creates.

The main case study of this dissertation focuses on the Blackfriars area of Manchester, the location of the Biospheric Project. By analysing various aspects of the area, and conducting an in-depth study of the Biospheric Project, this report aims to evaluate the extent to which urban food production has benefited the area of Blackfriars. An extrapolation of the data collected will also be carried out in order to suggest possible increases in scale, to further explore the potential for urban agriculture in Blackfriars.

After critical appraisal of all the research conducted by this dissertation, a conclusive statement will be provided discussing the extent to which urban food production should be considered when thinking about designing sustainable urban realms.

In order to answer the question posed by this study successfully, clear definitions of what is being discussed will be presented.

The RUAF Foundation’s article “What is Urban Agriculture?” defines urban agriculture as “the growing of plants and the raising of animals within and around cities.”(RAUF) The distinguishing aspect of urban agriculture compared to rural agriculture therefore is that it is integrated into a social, economic and ecological urban system.

The term ‘Sustainable Development’ is defined by The World Bank Group (DEPweb) as being “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Braungart & McDonough, 2009, p.150) this suggests that all human activity that wishes to be considered sustainable must guarantee economic, ecological and equitable longevity. This dissertation will therefore base the analysis on an understanding of these accepted definitions.

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The History of Food and the City

“Town and country never separate like oil and water. They are at the same time separate yet drawn together, divided yet combined.” -Fernard Braudel(Steel, 2008, p.23)

The invention and development of farming is synonymous with the growth of early settlements and from then on, the rural and the urban were inextricably bound. Around 10,000 BC, after retreating ice from the last ice age left rich fertile land behind, early settlements began to appear, in an area of land commonly referred to by archaeologists as the ‘fertile crescent’ – see figure 1 below. (Steel, 2008)

Figure 1. The Fertile Crescent.

The size of these early settlements were often restricted to the amount of crops the surrounding land could provide. The development of agricultural technology was slow and so it wasn’t until around 3500 BC, that anything reminiscent of an early city would be seen.

Steel (2008) states that it is commonly agreed amongst archaeologists that the complex of Uruk at Ur, founded by the Sumerians could be defined as an early city. Steel goes on to comment on how the discovery of municipal market gardens in archaeological digs show how for the first time in history, urban dwellers were starting to modify nature and their environment to serve man.

As agricultural technology became more advanced, and our ancestors began navigating further afield than ever before, cities, and their empires slowly grew.

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By the first century AD, evidence shows how Rome had grown to a population of over one million, with this increase and because of diminishing crop yields from its surrounding territory Rome began importing food from all across Europe. (Steel, 2008)

After Rome’s fall urban civilisation as we understand it waned, ‘barbarian’ hunter-gatherers sustained themselves in small tribes throughout Europe’s dense forests and it wasn’t until Frankish and Gothic tribes began to carve out territories did small permanent towns and villages start to re-emerge.

Figure 2. The Allegory of Good Government.

‘The Allegory of Good Government’ by Lorenzetti is said to symbolise the symbiotic relationship between the rural and the urban. It can be deduced from this painting that it is the responsibility of the government to ensure both work in harmony to create a civilised society. In this way it is also possible to see the re-emergence of food as a geo-political phenomenon, as it was in ancient times.(Steel, 2008)

It is identified by Steel how this relationship between rural and urban can be practical as well as poetic in the way in which resources are allocated and distributed. In 17th Century Dutch society canals were used to link the towns and the surrounding rural areas. Waste was transported from the towns to the farms, where it was used to fertilise the soil, and food was sent back in the returning barges.

Steel identifies the industrial revolution of the 19th Century as being a pivotal turning point in the way we produce and consume food within cities. It is argued that with new industrial developments with mechanistic production and modern transportation is when we began to disassociate ourselves from the origins of our food. (2008)

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Urban Life and Contemporary Food Production

“The city is one of mankind’s greatest inventions”(Rogers, 2010)

(i) Food, Cities and the Economy

Economics is defined as being concerned with the production, consumption and transfer of resources. By rethinking our urban food production system, we may be able to manage our resources more effectively.

Steel links the rapid increase in car ownership in the UK in the mid 20th Century with the spread of out-of-town supermarkets. Suddenly, people were able to travel further afield for their weekly shop and large corporations could directly compete with smaller high street providers (2008). This inevitably led to the spread of monopolistic supermarket chains throughout the UK. Garnett (2000) found that Tesco’s, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrison’s now make up 67% of all food purchases in the UK enabling these corporations to use their vast buying power to squeeze the profit margins of producers, and often, smaller suppliers that rely on more ecologically sensitive means of production cannot compete.

Whilst Steel characterises the 20th Century as one where our reliance on global food production only grew, events in Britain during the Second World War prove otherwise (2008). According to Gibbs (2013) Britain imported 75% of its food before the German U-boat blockade. The government’s response to the blockade was the propaganda campaign ‘Dig for Victory’ which encouraged civilians to grow their own food in order to reduce Britain’s reliance on imported food with tag line ‘Spades not Ships’. The campaign saw the most unlikely patches of land, such as school playing fields, public gardens (see figure 4, Kensington Gardens) and factory courtyards were all transformed into allotments, forming part of the nations ‘Garden Front’ (Gibbs, 2013).

Figure 3. Kensington Gardens, Dig for Victory Campaign

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Gibbs concludes, that by the end of the war the UK had halved its reliance on imported food (2013). This therefore sets a powerful precedent of resistance and self-reliance, and counters the belief that modernisation of this period only increased our reliance on imported food. It is also a testament to the enormous productive potential of our cities and towns.

The rise of supermarkets, after the war however, did have negative consequences for local economies: Barford (2014) reiterates these concerns by stating how damaging out of town shopping centres were to the local high street, giving the example of the convenience store Premier, whose 200 stores were forced to close due to inability to compete.

This view is also supported by Rusnakova (2010) who found that a study conducted by Communities and Local Government (1998) that estimated that the market share of local retailers in town centres dropped by 13-50% after the opening of large food stores in the area.

Interestingly Barford finds that supermarkets have only recently begun to reverse this trend, by increasing the number of smaller, high street, convenience stores they run (2014). Sainsbury’s stated that said this year it will have more high street stores than out-of-town shopping centres. This new evidence suggests a possible rejuvenation of the high street due to changing consumer behaviour and demographics.

Barford also states that the Association of Convenience Stores, whilst admitting competing against the larger retailers is tough, on a local scale it is far more achievable by playing on specific strengths such as customer service, specialities and deeper understanding of the local community (2014).

Another trend, counter to the rise of supermarket monopoly, is the increasing popularity of local farmers markets. Rusnakova (2010) found that local food markets were one of the fastest growing agricultural sectors in the United States in 2008. The main reason stated, was because of increased awareness of the importance of healthy eating and also a desire to support local farmers.

It should be put into perspective however, as Rusnakova points out, that local food markets only represent 1% to 5% of the total grocery market share. This is a surprising statistic, when you consider that Rusnakova also found organic vegetables sold at local farmers markets to be on average 33% less expensive than supermarket prices (2010).

Considerations should also be made to the importance of local economies and the multiplier effects they produce (Paxton, 2005). Paxton states that only a small amount of the money spent at a supermarket stays in the area (in the form of spent wages). However every £10 spent in a local store on locally grown food is worth £25 to the local economy through the ‘multiplier effect’ mechanism.

Small scale, local agricultural projects, also have the potential to benefit the economy in other ways. Varley-Winter (2011) found the unemployment amongst young people was predominantly caused by a lack of confidence. It was proposed in Varley-Winter’s report that urban agricultural schemes have the potential to improve mental well-being, increase people’s sense of community and also provides soft skills such as introduction to working routines, self management, problem solving and interpersonal skills. Cultivate London, a charitable organisation that works with long term unemployed people around central London shows how by growing food locally in an urban environment socio-economic issues such as employment can potentially be addressed. For example Varley-Winter’s report: ‘Roots to Work’ summarises the success of Cultivate London by describing the experience of Justin Pearson, who dropped out of sixth form aged 17, and joined the scheme to increase his changes of employability. After working within the team, and with a gradual increase in responsibility on site, Justin’s confidence grew, securing him further work experience with the National Trust.

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Overall it can be seen that food production in the UK is a mixed picture, the re-emergence of local farmers markets and new innovative projects such as Cultivate London show that urban agriculture has economic potential.

(ii) Food, the City and Society

Other research in this area has also found that heart disease and diabetes afflict the poorest most (Leather 1992) particularly, black and Asian people (Anon 1995). Such disease rates are much higher in deprived area (Bardsley & Morgan 1996) where healthy food is neither accessible nor affordable (DETR 1998a). Many large housing estates could be described as ‘food deserts’ without shops selling fresh fruit or vegetables within walking distance (DETR 1998a), instead, retailers supply cheaper food which are often processed, fatty and sugary substitutes (Lobstein 1997) (Garnett, 2000).

It is recommended that a person eats at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, Rusnakova (2010) refers to DEFRA (2003b) when stating that only 28% of the UK population achieves this target. Rusnakova goes on to mention that the BioRegional Development Group (2008) who believe locally produced food to be relatively fresher and more nutritious, but states that sustainability of local systems is dependent on many factors and because of this ideal systems such as those proposed by Bio-Regional sometimes fail to fulfil their potential (Edward-Jones et al., 2008).

Whilst health concerns for urban populations are influenced by many factors, unhealthy diets are not simply just a characteristic of the poor it is clear from the findings of both the World Cancer Fund (WCF) and the British Heart Foundation (BHF) that food has an essential role to play in enabling people to live healthy and productive lives, however it remains evident that food inequality does exist to some extent in the UK.

Garnett’s report also suggests that there is a possible link between the way we consume food and our mental well-being. It was stated that mental health is becoming an increasing problem in Western society: “Never before has there been so much choice. At the same time thinness is portrayed as the ideal, and anorexia and bulimia are increasing” (2000, p.478).

Evidence has been found to suggest that the increased of dependence on supermarket food has significantly reduced our knowledge of food and food preparation. Garnett (2000) refers to the MORI poll in 1993, which found that while 93% of British children knew how to play computer games, only 54% could boil an egg. This is a small demonstration of how important education and training in food preparation for urban people is and shows the extent to which general cookery knowledge has subsided over the turn of the century.

Whilst that may be true, there does seem to be a counter-cultural movement emerging regarding food production and consumption in urban areas. The Slow Food Movement is such an example, this grassroots movement was founded in Italy in 1989, and through educational projects, group meetings and membership newsletters, members of the movement are informed about how they can choose to buy and cook more nutritious food, from sustainable, local sources.

The movement has over 100,000 members in over 150 countries (Slow Food UK, 2014) and organises events across the world. Each area has their own Food Magazine that supports all local produce and farmers markets within that region.

Another group concerned with increasing awareness of the importance of healthy eating, and eating local produce is Edible East End NY, a regular newsletter that local people can sign up to and find out more about fresh food produce within their area, and also attend meetings and events to learn more about cooking and sourcing produce (Edible East End, 2014). Other examples include, Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn demonstrating the growing demand from urban populations to learn more about fresh food, support local produce and gain knowledge and cookery skills etc.

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Other activities such as the underground Guerrilla Gardening movement have also spread and become more popular over time. The Guerrilla Gardening website advocates that its members take control of neglected or waste land and replant these areas with a multitude of ornamental or agricultural plants. Finley (2013) a Guerrilla Gardener in South Central LA claims to be one of 26.5 million Americans who live in a food desert. Obesity rates in this south central neighbourhood are 5 times higher than that of Beverly Hills, some 8-10 miles away. To tackle this problem Finley decided to grow his own produce on a strip of grass that ran outside his house, technically owned by the city, but was his responsibility to maintain. He works with other volunteers to encourage children to learn about growing their own food, eating healthily and being part of a community.

Despite the apparent progress of grass-root campaigns we are still over dependent on large food retailers to supply the urban populations. Steel (2008) remarks on the dangers of Supermarkets and Shopping Malls becoming shareholders of the urban realm and civic space. And argues that Supermarkets enjoy the same monopoly over food supply that traditional markets in public squares once did, except these privately owned entities do not have any civic role to play. Steel remarks, “the endgame of this trend is the death of public space itself” (2008, p.145). Many of the grass-root campaigns and groups that have been discussed advocate urban agriculture as an empowering activity, whereby citisens gain independence and educate themselves to live healthier lives.

In 2000, the city of Havana, Cuba was recorded to have grown 90% of all its fresh produce within or around the city. This case study therefore sits at the opposite end of the spectrum with regards to the West’s relationship with food. Rather than relying on grass-root campaigns to improve the sustainability of the city, the government enacted a series of laws, programmes and initiatives to encourage local people to grow their own food (Premat, 2005).

Cockrall-King (2012) explains how after the collapse of the Eastern European Block in the late 1980’s, and the final dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Cuba overnight lost its largest, and only trading partner resulting in the threat of wide spread famine.

Emergency rationing, Cockrall-King states was enforced by the government whilst scientists were tasked with implementing experimental agricultural projects in order to provide the largely urbanised population with a steady supply of food.

Cockrall-King (2012, p.287) describes how Cuban’s turned bare lots in every city into organoponicos – organic farms with small retail shops attached to them, laying the foundations for a new urban food system (see figure 5).

Figure 4. Organoponicos in Havana, Cuba.

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The urban nature and structure of the food system has made the grocery store irrelevant or rather has changed the nature of what a grocery store is, instead Cubans opt for either buying directly from organoponicos or local food markets. As a result Cuba has emerged as a global leader in establishing sustainable food networks (Cockrall-King, 2012, p.288).

Measurable benefits for the local people can be seen, for example Premat (2005) revealed from his interview of a local food grower that his plantain bushes gave him 2400 plantains in a good year, selling for about 1 peso each at the local market resulting in an income equivalent to nine average monthly salaries. Premat also discovered during her interviews that most producers identified the greatest value of their urban agricultural efforts to be the important contribution it provides to the family diet.

In contrast to this seemingly ideal system, Cockrall-King (2012) gives evidence to suggest that strict rationing of meat the refined carbohydrates still continues in Cuba and the selection of fresh fruit and vegetables is dependent on the season. Food scarcity in Cuba is still a real challenge, and urban agricultural projects haven’t solved all of Cuba’s food problems, with average income in Cuba allowing for food, clothing and rent, little is left over for everyday luxuries. (2012)

Whilst Urban Agricultural pursuits may appear to be community based, increasing peoples sense of belonging to a neighbourhood, a majority of the time this is not the case. Premat (2005) points out interestingly, that most producers enjoy farming in their city as a way to remove themselves from social tensions or from the physical decay of their surroundings. This is not to say that the system itself may not be inherently community orientated, even if its participants are not.

Overall the urban agricultural revolution in Cuba is anything but a romantic one, it is clear from the Cuban Model that urban agriculture has huge potential to contribute to the productivity of cities.

(iii) Food, the City and Ecology

Deelstra & Giradet criticise modern urban dwellers as not “really living in civilisation, but in mobilisation – of natural resources, people and products” (2000, p.43) through a combination of cheap transportation costs; increased use of fossil fuels and government subsidies for transport infrastructure. They reiterate this point by stating that London requires the equivalent of 40% of Britain’s entire productive land for its food (2000).

Paxton states that airfreight has doubled in the past twenty years to accommodate the increasing demand from global cities. Airfreight activity has resulted in 37 times more carbon dioxide emissions than sea freight contributing enormously to climate change. (Paxton, 2005)

Evidence that food miles of the average UK consumer have increased in recent years is also supported in Rusnakova’s (2010) paper, however it was stated that food miles may not be a completely reliable method of measuring environmental impact. Other factors need to be taken into consideration such as energy used in production, storage and cooking.

Rusnakova’s study found that some local fruit and vegetables may not always have a lower environmental impact than airfreighted produce. The greenhouse gas emissions produced by growing tomatoes naturally in Spain and then exporting them to the UK were found to have a lower CO2 contribution than the same quantity of tomatoes produced in the UK in a heated greenhouse (flavour may be an issue too).

Nevertheless, the UK food chain is responsible for as much as 22% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions from economic activity, something urban agriculture has the potential to reduce.

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The globalised food industry may argue for its existence on the grounds for providing consumers with unprecedented choice and variety and supplying produce from all round the world. Steel argues against this by claiming that “more than half we import into the UK is indigenous food in season; in other words, we could have grown it ourselves.” (2008, p.60) This argument does leave open the question of the productive potential of food in the UK, and the more urban land we make available for this activity, the less the UK will have to import.

Intensive monoculture relies heavily on a variety of fertilisers and pesticides which has raised ecological concerns, the publication ‘Silent Spring’ in 1962 warned people about how the pesticide DDT, could be seriously harming the environment due to its rapid spread through the food chain. (Paxton,2005)

Paxton gives the example of cox apples in the UK that are treated with a post-harvest chemical dip to preserve them while in transit, the Department of Health now recommending peeling orchard fruit to avoid eating these residues.

In addition, soil erosion and the reduction of fertile soil availability due to intensive farming methods means that right now we are losing five thousand times more soil than is being made (Braungart & McDonough, 2009, p.97). Part of this problem is also due to the fact we are one of the only species on the planet to use utilise up soil nutrients without naturally returning it (apart from examples at local levels). Braungart & McDonough (2009, p.97) criticises harvesting methods like ‘clear-cutting’, which increases soil erosion, and also relies on the use of chemicals for fertilisation and pest control, which increases localised salinisation and acidification.

The globalised food system is synonymous with waste creation too; 1.5 billion dustbins of packaging waste are produced in the UK every year, most ending up in landfill sites (Paxton, 2005, p.44). Steel also states that British households throw away a third of all food they buy whilst supermarkets also dispose of some 17 million tonnes a year of food waste. Interestingly Rusnakova’s (2010, p.10) report also highlights how local market stalls usually have lower cosmetic standards and food is ordered more efficiently compared to large Supermarkets and therefore is relatively less wasteful. (2010)

An example of how urban agriculture can be used as an innovative tool to reduce the environmental impact of food consumption in cities is the FARM:shop project in London. The eco-design group ‘Something and Son’ converted an abandoned Victorian terraced house into an agricultural laboratory.

Figure 5. FARM:shop

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Rawsthorn (2013, p.171) describes how one room on the ground floor has been converted into an aquaponic farm featuring tilapia fish and lettuce. The whole idea being, that the entire system is completely ‘closed loop’ with waste from the fish filling the water with nutrients, which nourish the lettuce when the water is pumped into their tanks. The lettuce then cleans the water where it returns back into the fish tank again.

FARM:shop demonstrates how the principles of creating closed loop, productive urban environments can be imaginatively integrated within the existing fabric of cities at the micro-level.

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Case Study: The Biospheric Project, Manchester

Introduction

Blackfriars is a small community within the area of Salford, Manchester. Very little evidence of historic Blackfrias’ urban structure remains today following the redevelopment of the area in the 1960’s (figure 6).

Figure 6. Blackfriars redevelopment: 1890 to 1970.

Walsh (2013) describes the Blackfriars area of Salford as a ‘food desert’, and suggests that his scheme; the Biospheric Project (figure 8) has potential to tackle this problem. The American Nutrition Association defines the term ‘food desert’ as areas “vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas. This is largely due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers markets, and healthy food providers.” (2011)

The Biospheric Project, described as a ‘living test lab’ by its founder Vincent Walsh, aims to see how architects and urban designers can challenge contemporary food systems within urban environments.

The project is located in an abandoned warehouse on the banks of the river Irwell, in the heart of Blackfriars (see figure 8).

The scheme goes beyond simply proving food that can be produced in an urban environment and is becoming a practical demonstration of how ‘food miles’ can be transformed into ‘food steps’, providing fresh fruit and vegetables for local people. Thus the project has established its own shop, ’78 Steps’, (named because of its location 78 steps away from the project).

Walsh (BBC, 2013) explains how the shop creates both green and brown waste, the green waste being leaf crops and the brown waste being cardboard which are sent to a vermiculture system, where the worms consume the waste. The worms, are then fed, to the fish, the fish create waste, which is irrigated to various crop systems throughout the building to provide nutrients. The plants cleanse the water, which is then sent back to the fish tank (figure’s 9-18). Walsh (BBC, 2013) stated that he found “production within an urban context not too hard, the most difficult challenge to overcome was the creation of complex food networks. The reason why supermarkets are so good at what they do is that they have really complicated food distribution networks. One of the biggest challenges of the Biospheric Project was to develop that kind of complexity but locally.”

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Figure 7. Location of the Biospheric Project

Figure 9. Vermiculture System.Figure 8. Façade.

Figure 10. Water Filtration Figure 11. Tilapia Fish Tank.

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Analysis of Blackfriars and the Biospheric Foundation

Community engagement is a necessity in order for projects of this nature to be success. An understanding the local demographic situation which the scheme responds to and supports is very important. The area of Salford is made up of an age demographic largely representative of the rest of England. The percentage of population between the ages of 20 and 29 are higher than average, however overall the data suggests there seems to be a healthy spread of age ranges in this area (Appendix, Figure 1).

Education is therefore, a big part of what the Biospheric Project aims to provide and improve upon. And the Biospheric Project has run over 60 workshops and courses from basic training in agriculture and garden, to advanced academic research since its conception in 2013. (Appendix, Figure 10).

The 2011 census shows that substantially less of the population of Salford has achieved Level 4 qualifications or above in comparison to the rest of England. The percentage of people living in Salford with no qualifications is also noticeably higher than the average in England (Appendix, Figure 4). There are therefore, noticeably less people in the area working in a professional occupation than in England on average, but also an above average number of people working in elementary occupations (Appendix, Figure 7).

It should therefore be considered beneficial, that an institution, not only dedicated to food production, but also in providing education in relating fields, has been able to become an active force within the community.Triggle (2014) finds that inactivity is more prevalent in deprived areas, and that in these areas chances of early death were also higher. Triggle also found that 39.07% of adults in Salford were not doing at least 30 minutes of activity a week, in contrast to 28% average in the UK. This put Salford in the top 3 areas for least activity in the UK.

Figure 12. Plant Growing System. Figure 13. Mushroom Fermentation.

Figure 14. Roof Garden. Figure 15. 78 Steps.

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As a result of this, a higher proportion of the population of Salford believe themselves to be in ‘bad health’ than the rest of England (Appendix, Figure 3).

Both figures 17 and figure 19 show the extent to which Blackfriars, could be considered a ‘food desert’. These diagrams show that before the Biospheric Project (BP) (marked red in the centre of Figure 17), access to fresh fruit and vegetables for the residents of Blackfriars would have been minimal (indicated by the buildings coloured red which are the only provisions for fresh food in the area). Figure 19 shows in more detail, how many residents in the West of Blackfriars are beyond walking distance to a fresh food supply. Whilst Figure 18 provides evidence to suggest that many of the housing estates in Blackfriars are relatively well served by regular bus services, no immediate shop, before BP, was available selling fresh fruit and vegetables.

For the scheme to be able to succeed in the future, economic viability and sustainability are key, BP is a research based project, therefore profitability is sacrificed in order to compete with the larger stores and to test the processes. With help from reduced rent, local volunteers, and small donations the ‘78 steps’ shop remains commercially viable, however, as for all innovative projects of this nature, it relies on funding to survive (Appendix, Figure 10).

Being able to compete with large supermarket chains, not on only quality, but also price is an important determining factor of success for this type of scheme, especially considering it is based in an area of social deprivation. 78 Steps therefore always matches, or beats local supermarkets on price (Appendix, Figure 10).On a macro-environmental level this scheme contributes to mitigating climate change by reducing food miles, and thus carbon emissions. Interestingly, it also has potential to improve local environmental conditions as well. The Forest Garden, to the north of site, produces clean, nutrient rich soil, replacing the old contaminated soil below. In addition biodiversity is encouraged through these sorts of systems, although it is admitted, that these systems do take time to have a measurable impact, and no evidence, as of yet, has been recorded (Appendix, Figure 10).

Analysis of atmospheric pollution levels of Salford indicates that whilst recordings remain in the medium range, higher levels of both particular matter and nitric oxide persist in the more central Blackfriars area of Salford (Appendix, Figure 8 and Figure 9). Theoretically, by introducing photosynthetic species into the local area, a carbon sink can be created, (via the process of photosynthesis) although no data to support this idea has yet been gathered due to the emergent nature of the scheme.

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Figure 16. Bulding Use with Food Availability in Red

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Figure 17. Public Transportation Routes Towards the Centre

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Figure 18. Areas within a 10 Minutes Walking Distance from Fresh Food

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Future potential for growth is an important assessment when considering the viability of urban agriculture. Figure 19 represents the various different categories of unbuilt land in Blackfriars. It also shows the extent to which land in the area is underutilised and thus could be seen as potential land used for urban agricultural activity, similar to that being done at the Biospheric Project.

The table shows a brief statistical analysis of the potential contribution urban agricultural projects could make to the area of Blackfriars, and Salford.

5 portions of fresh fruit and vegetables a day for one person.

0.5*

Land needed to produce 1kg annually. 1**

Population of Salford. 219,000***

5 Portions of fruit and vegetables a day for the Population of Salford annually.

39967500

Available Land (Natural Open Space) Assuming 30% is available.

29160000*****

Land needed to produce 1kg annually. 29160000

Potential amount of food that could be produced (kg) annually.

29160000

% of food consumed in Salford that could be grown locally.

73%

kg

m*2

n/a

kg

m*2

m*2

kg

n/a

Key Statistics Units

Area of Salford. 97200000****m*2

Note:*Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2434765/Forget-day--eating-SEVEN-daily-portions-fruit-veg-increase-life-expectan-cy-reduce-risk-heart-disease-15.html**Retrieved from http://www.fcrn.org.uk/sites/default/files/Urban%20Agri%20Cardiff%20Dissertation.pdf***Retrieved from Anon (21 August 2007). “Population estimates 2006 by district”. Statistics.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 11 December 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2007.****Retrieved from https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=cr&ei=kj3yUtu2Fqme0QXr1ICoDQ#q=area+of+salford*****Retrieved from Figure 19

The data suggests that if an average person in Salford consumed 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, urban agriculture could account for over 70% of that demand based on the land area in Blackfriars that is currently natural open space (see figure 19). It is therefore clear that this area could benefit from increased urban agricultural activity in the future.

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Whilst the opportunities for agricultural activity in Blackfriars is promising, there are important limitations that must be evaluated. Deelstra & Giardet (2000, p. 58) state that whilst the opportunities for urban agricultural activities have the potential to have social, economic and environmental benefits, its largest restraint is mostly political. These often come in the form of restrictive planning policy, laws and regulations about property rights of land. Other factors Deelstra & Giardet (2000, p. 58) discuss are also the lack of supportive services in government, unfeasible implementation of technologies, and lack of organisation between urban farmers.

The Biospheric Project Director, Vincent Walsh, discussed (Appendix, Figure 1) that the largest threat to the project was the run-down state of the building they occupied, and the amount of resources that it took trying to adapt it, whilst also making it safe.

Deelstra & Giardet (2000, p. 59) go on to state that governments may be able to encourage urban agricultural initiatives by introducing favourable conditions for city farmers. Evidence of this working in practice can be seen at the Biospheric Project where, by a mixture of public and private funding combined with low rent settlements has led to the beginning of a tangible change in the local area.

Overall, it has been shown that, Blackfriars has the productive potential to at least be 70% self sustainable in terms of its fresh fruit and vegetable consumption. It should also be noted that these figures do not take into account the various innovative growing techniques available (such as aquaponics and roof top growing) which suggests a further improvement on this figure is possible.

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Figure 19. Representing Underutilised Land in Blackfriars

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Conclusion

The aim of this dissertation was to discover the extent to which urban food production should be considered when thinking about sustainable urban design. This study started by analysing the historic relationship between the urban and rural, and how, by means of mass production and globalisation, traditional food production systems have been lost, leaving in their place, a socially, economically and environmentally destructive system.

It was shown, that in a social context, urban agriculture has the potential to be a positive force, in terms of community engagement and skill distribution. The educational aspect of urban agriculture has also been shown to be an effective tool for engaging the local community, whilst also improving individual’s knowledge of the environment and food. Some activists such as the Guerrilla Gardening movement have shown how such activities can be a proactive and empowering experience.

In the case of Cuba, despite its ecological successes, both its society and economy still suffer from the loss of imported food, despite the rapid rise of urban agricultural activity, indicating possible limits to the extent it can improve living conditions for people.

This study found that the economic sustainability of such projects can be justified to an extent, by providing a mixture of education and training to encourage community engagement shows how these schemes can have a real beneficial impact. The statistical analysis of the potential for urban agriculture demonstrated the amount of untapped productive potential of our cities.

It was discussed that the current globalised food production system relies too heavily on fossil fuelled mobilisation of resources and intensive monocultural activity. These activities have harmful effects both for the macro and micro environment and so efforts must be made to mitigate these practices. It was shown in the case of the FARM:shop and the Biospheric Project that even dense cities have the potential to be productive in terms of food and also, eco-system services such as soil production and by also acting as carbon sink.

The main hurdles for urban agriculture to overcome are largely a lack of available infrastructure and political will to engage with such innovative schemes. Councils and planners who insist on enforcing strict regulation and bureaucracy over land use and accommodation only exacerbate the issue of urban sustainability further. Overall, it has been seen in projects such as ‘Edible East End’ in London and ‘Just Food’ farm school in New York that public awareness surrounding food production and consumption is growing rapidly providing exciting opportunities for urban agricultural projects in the future.

In conclusion, throughout this dissertation it has been proven that a mixture of both grass root action, and top down organisation is needed to help urban agricultural projects contribute to urban sustainability in a real way. Considering this, architects and urban designers should start to work more closely with communities and local councils in order to facilitate change in the future towards sustainable urban developments that support and encourage urban agricultural initiatives.

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Bibliography

Books

Braungart, M., & McDonough, W. (2009). Cradle to Cradle: Rethinking the Way We Make Things. London: Vintage.

Cockrall-King, J. (2012). Food and the City: Urban Agriculture and the New Food Revolution. London: Prometheus Books.

Rawsthorn, A. (2013). Hello World: Where Design Meets Life. London: Penguin Books Ltd.

Steel, C (2008). Hungry City: How Food Shapes Our Lives. London: Vintage.

Academic Journals

Deelstra, T. & Giardet, H. (2000). Urban Agriculture and Sustainable Development. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.168.4991&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Garnett, T. (2000). Urban Agriculture in London: Rethinking our Food Economy. Growing Cities, Growing Food. Retrieved from http://www.ruaf.org/sites/default/files/London.PDF

Paxton, A. (2005). Food Miles. Viljoen, A (Ed.), CPUL’s: Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes (pp. 41-46). Oxford: Architectural Press.

Premat, A. (2005. Moving Between the Plan and the Ground: Shifting Perspectives on Urban Agriculture in Havana, Cuba. Mougeot, J (Ed.) Agropolis: The Social, Political and Environmental Dimensions of Urban Agriculture (pp. 153-185). London: IDRC.

Rusnakova, E. (2010). Determining the Environmental, Social, and Economic Impacts of a Local Food Market Stall. Retrieved from http://www.bioregional.com/files/publications/TheVegVanMScthesisRusnakova-Sept2010.pdf

Viljoen, A. (2005). Sandwell: A Rich Country and Food for the Poor. Viljoen, A (Ed.), CPUL’s: Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes (pp. 49-51). Oxford: Architectural Press.

Articles and Reports

Ackerman, K. (2012). Potential for Urban Agriculture in New York City. Retrieved from http://www.urbandesignlab.columbia.edu/sitefiles/file/urban_agriculture_nyc.pdf

Barford, V. (2014, January 17). The Rise, Fall, and Rise of the Mini-Supermarket. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25762466

Gibbs, M. (2013, April 16). How the Dig for Victory Campaign Helped Win the War. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/9996180/How-Dig-for-Victory-campaign-helped-win-the-War.html

Varley-Winter, O. (2011). Roots to Work: Summary Report. Retrieved from http://www.skillsdevelopment.org/pdf/Urban-agriculture-research-summary-report.pdf

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Internet References

Edible East End. News. (2014) Retrieved from http://www.edibleeastend.com/

Finley, R. (Lecturer). (2013, March 6). Ron Finley: A Guerrilla Gardener in South Central LA. [Webcast]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzZzZ_qpZ4w

Rogers, R. (Lecturer). (2010, October 5). Lord Richard Rogers: Architecture and the Compact City. [Webcast]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_VN3FWlKIU

RUAF Foundation. What is Urban Agriculture? (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ruaf.org/node/512

The American Nutrition Association. USDA Defines Food Deserts. (2011). Retrieved from http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/usda-defines-food-deserts

The Slow Food Movement. Who We Are. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.slowfood.org.uk/about/about/

Triggle, N. (2014, January 31). Poor Areas Suffer from ‘Inactivity Pandemic’. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25959582

Walsh, V. (Interviewee). (2013, October 19). Living Lad Tests Urban Food Farming. [Webcast]. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24580716

WHO. Global Population Growth. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.who.int/gho/urban_health/situation_trends/urban_population_growth_text/en/

Illustrations

Dissertation

Figure 1. The Fertile Crescent. The Sumerian Times. (n.d.). Map of Mesopotamia. Retrieved from http://priyakate.weebly.com/contact-us.html

Figure 2. The Allegory of Good Government. Lorenzetti, A. (1339) The Allegory of Good Government. Retrieved from http://espacelab.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/lorenzett_01.jpg

Figure 3. Kensington Gardens, Dig for Victory Campaign. The Imperial War Museum. (1942). Dig for Victory - Working on an Allotment in Kensington Gardens, London. Retrieved from http://media.iwm.org.uk/iwm/mediaLib//42/media-42304/large.jpg

Figure 4. Organoponicos in Havana, Cuba.City Farmer. (n.d.). Organic Cuba Without the Fossil Fuels. Retrieved from http://www.cityfarmer.info/tag/cuba/

Figure 5. FARM:shop. NOTCOT. (n.d.). FARM:shop, Dalston, London. Retrieved from http://www.notcot.com/archives/2011/09/farmshop-dalston.php

Figure 6. Blackfriars redevelopment: 1890 to 1970. Edina DigiMap. (2014). Retrieved from http://digimap.edina.ac.uk/digimap/home

Figure 7. Location of the Biospheric Project. GoogleEarth. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.google.com/maps

Figure 8. Façade. [Primary]*

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Figure 13. Water Filtration. [Primary]*

Figure 14. Tilapia Fish Tank. [Primary]*

Figure 15. Roof Garden. [Primary]*

Figure 16. 78 Steps. [Primary]*

Figure 17. Building Use.[Priamry]*

Figure 18. Public Transport Routes. [Primary]*

Figure 19. Availability of Fresh Food. [Primary]*

Figure 20. Potential Space for Urban Agriculture. [Primary]*

Appendix

Figure 1. Age Structure, % Population. [Primary]**

Figure 2. Activity Analysis, % Population. [Primary]**

Figure 3. Health Perception, % Population. [Primary]**

Figure 4. Education Level, % Population. [Primary]**

Figure 5. Economic Activity, % Population. [Primary]**

Figure 6. Car Ownership, % Population. [Primary]**

Figure 7. Occupation, % Population. [Primary]**

Figure 8. PM10 (Particular Matter) Assessment. Salford. Salford City Council. (2012). PM10 Assessment Salford. Retrieved from http://www.salford.gov.uk/d/monitoring_appendix_1.pdf

Figure 9. NOx (Nitrous-Oxide) Assessment. Salford. Salford City Council. (2012). NOx Assessment Salford. Retrieved from http://www.salford.gov.uk/d/monitoring_appendix_1.pdf

Figure 10. Figure 10: Interview conducted by Nathan Fairbrother with Vincent Walsh, Managing Director of the Biospheric Foundation. [Primary]

*Note:All photos taken on 01/02/14 during a site visit to the Biospheric Project.

**Note:All data used for graphical presentation were retrieved from The 2011 Census:http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadDatasetList.

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Appendix

Figure 1. Age Structure, % Population

Figure 2. Activity Analysis, % Population

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Figure 3. Health Perception, % Population

Figure 4. Education Level, % Population

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Figure 5. Economic Activity, % Population

Figure 6. Car Ownership, % Population

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Figure 7. Occupation, % Population

Figure 8. PM10 (Particular Matter) Assessment. Salford.

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Figure 9. NOx (Nitrous-Oxide) Assessment. Salford.

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Figure 10: Interview conducted by Nathan Fairbrother with Vincent Walsh, Managing Director of the Biospheric Foundation

Location: The Biospheric Project, Manchester

Date: 01/02/14

Thank you very much for showing me around today, I wanted to start off by asking about the commercial side of the project. To what extent could this be a commercially viable scheme?

It definitely is a commercially viable project, we cover our costs (just about) at 78 steps and we also had the opportunity to scale up. We have already looked at opening up a larger store in central Manchester but in the end we struggled to find the staff.

What aspects of the project threaten its commercial viability?

The building we are situated in itself is a limiting factor, and the land we have as well. The whole of the organisation is set up in a building that is quite old, which we needed to run the projects that we have, but that also presents some massive challenges. And at the moment that is one of the major problems, however, in a new building we couldn’t do what we’re doing so its kind of like a catch 22 in a way.

Pricing within the shop was something that I wanted to mention, how do your prices compare with large supermarket chains in the area?

At 78 Steps we make sure that our prices either match or beat those at nearby supermarkets, we actually buy our produce at the same price as they do, the only difference is, this is an area of deprivation so we have to be lower to try and get people engaged. If that puts pressure on the economics of the whole thing, we are fine with that.

To what extent has the project been involved with community engagement?

We definitely have a community-orientated programme. We have raised just over £90,000 from the lottery fund to enable us to do run public engagement programmes, which will soon finish in March. We’ve been doing lots of different workshops, courses and tours…

Does this focus on education and training then?

Yeah, it does to some extent, we engage with a range of people from just those in the local area, from a basic point of view to people interested in contributing to our research from a very academic point of view. So across the board really.

How many of these courses have you run so far?

We’ve done about 60 courses, part time.

I wanted to quickly mention as well, in terms of environmental sustainability, how this scheme contributes improving the biodiversity of the area?

Oh definitely, the aquaponics system is still at very early stages at the moment and so having concrete evidence to support this is hard, but in terms of the forest garden, we can already see that having a positive impact, but these kind of complex systems take time.

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Does your scheme also work towards preserving, or even try to reintroduce indigenous UK plants and vegetables back into the food system?

We have a list of about 120 different varieties of species of vegetables, mostly based on perennials. We have lost a massive amount of skill (in the UK) in us being able to grow these species and that is something we are trying to address.

Could you give me a rough guideline, (based on the m2) of your site, how much you think you could produce?

We have only been growing for less than a year here, so unfortunately our systems are not mature enough to give you an accurate reflection of how much a site, and system like this could produce. I can definitely put you in contact with people I know who are involved with similar, much more mature scheme though.

Thank you very much, and thank you for your time.

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