High-tech greenhouse planned for downtown Vancouver parkade rooftop VANCOUVER -- The roof of a city-owned downtown parkade will be converted to a high-tech vertical growing space capable of producing 95 tonnes of fresh vegetables a year. Vancouver-based Valcent Products has entered into a memorandum of understanding with EasyPark, the corporate manager of the city’s parkades, to build a 6,000-square-foot greenhouse on underutilized space on the roof of the parkade at 535 Richards Street, in the heart of the downtown core. The inside of the greenhouse will be anything but ordinary. Four-metre-high stacks of growing trays on motorized conveyors will ferry plants up, down and around for watering, to capture the sun’s rays and then move them into position for an easy harvest. The array will produce about the same amount of produce as 6.4 hectares (16 acres) of California fields, according to Christopher Ng, chief operating officer of Valcent. Construction will begin on the project in January, with an eye to harvesting the first crops in April.
Gotham Greens Local Produce || Gotham Greens || Premium quality locally grown vegetables and herbs A Book that aims to bring the farm to the city Carrot City Creating Places for Urban Agriculture By Mark Gorgolewski, June Komisar and Joe Nasr. The Monacelli Press 240 pages How can we make cities into better places for growing food? That’s the central question of Carrot City, and the authors present some very creative strategies for bringing agriculture back to urban settings. Mark Gorgolewski and June Komisar are architects who also teach at Toronto’s Ryerson University. While activists and grass-roots food movements currently command a lot of attention, the authors point out that architects and academics – LeCorbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright among them – have spent years pondering the potential of urban agriculture. Carrot City is a learned book, which offers readers a mix of seemingly utopian visions and real-life case studies. Planning at the neighbourhood scale can facilitate the introduction of agriculture into high-density, high-rise urban areas, the authors argue.
Urban Farming: Zoning for Growing and Distributing Food in Portland Neighborhoods « Northwest Land Law Forum In a continued effort to encourage all things local, the City of Portland is taking steps to impose order onto the booming business of local, urban food production by formally recognizing market and community gardens, farmers markets, and food co-ops within its zoning code. Portland is joining a handful of other cities – such as San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia and Kansas City, reducing zoning barriers and encouraging the growing and selling of food in urban spaces. Although these activities have been allowed on a temporary basis within existing open spaces and empty parking lots, the objective with these amendments is to make existing uses permanent, create additional opportunities for access to new sources of food while, at the same time, restricting and mitigating negative impacts. A series of draft urban food zoning code amendments scheduled for adoption in May of 2012 aims to update food production codes to increase the food options available within urban areas. Carrie A.
Transition Toronto’s winning film! ‘The people in my neighbourhood’ 7 Oct 2011 Transition Toronto’s winning film! ‘The people in my neighbourhood’ Transition Toronto recently held a film competition for people to use film as a way of communicating Transition. The winner was Mariko Uda with her film ‘The People in my Neighbourhood’. Rather lovely it is too. The judge, Gregory Greene, producer of ‘The End of Suburbia’, said of why he chose this film as the winner: “I really enjoyed Mariko’s film. Mariko makes the point that the various stories in the film are already a reality… she writes: “Yes, that rooftop garden really exists! The composters are at the Stop’s Green Barn. When I thought of buildings for the future, I thought of Rohan Walters. Need something fixed? For the composting toilet I had to go all the way to Vaughn to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s Restoration Services Building. I kid you not – they did not smell at all! The lovely singing at the end were UofT students in Hot Yam!
Grow The Easiest Garden on Earth Live Green Toronto The Eco-Roof Incentive Program promotes the installation of green and cool roofs on Toronto’s existing buildings and new buildings not subject to the Green Roof By-law. Applications are currently being accepted for green and cool roof projects and will be reviewed on a monthly basis, subject to funding availability. The City of Toronto launched the Eco-Roof Incentive Program in 2009 to support the uptake of eco-roofs by building owners, make buildings more sustainable and promote the creation of green jobs. Performance criteria for the Eco-Roof Incentive Program are consistent with the Green Roof Bylaw and the Toronto Green Standard. Learn more: Read the Eco-Roof Case Studies Map: All projects supported by Eco-Roof Incentive Program to May 2013 Eco-Roof Overview Eco-Roof Incentives Eligibility Criteria Application Process Contact Information Contact the Eco-Roof Coordinator Eco-Roof Overview What is an eco-roof? What is a green roof? What is a cool roof? What about other types of sustainable roofs?
Can Urban Farming Go Corporate? Farms have sprouted in cities across the country over the past several years as activists and idealists pour their sweat into gritty soil. Now Paul Lightfoot wants to take urban agriculture beyond the dirt-under-your-nails labor of love. He wants to take it corporate. In June, Lightfoot's company, BrightFarms, announced a deal with The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co., or A&P, to provide New York City-grown vegetables to the local chain's supermarkets year-round. With similar deals announced for St. "We're not trying to change the fringes of the supply chain," he said. The idea to grow more food within city limits has spread in recent years along with increased awareness about the quality of our food and where it comes from. In New York, two startups have already begun growing vegetables from the city's large commercial rooftops. "New York is really at the forefront of this," said Kubi Ackerman, of the Urban Design Lab at Columbia University's Earth Institute.
Family of Four Grows Their Food in a Swimming Pool Images: Youtube screen grabs Food Doesn't Get More Local Than That A family living in Mesa, Arizona, has decided to convert an old unused backyard swimming pool into a very productive DIY urban greenhouse, which they named Garden Pool. Within a small, mostly enclosed space, they grow all kinds of vegetables and herbs, as well as raise chickens and tilapia fish. An Oasis in the Desert There's a more detailed list of things they grow and facts about the Garden Pool here. Photo: GardenPool.org The Garden Pool is also off-grid thanks to solar PV! As you can see, space is used very efficiently. Photo: GardenPool.org Upside down tomatoes with radishes growing on top. Growing Your Own Food is Easy & FunWhile you might not want to go quite as far as the Garden Pool, having a garden and growing some of your own food can be both a relaxing hobby and a green way to feed yourself. Via Gardenpool
New Stories From 'Urban Agriculture Notes' High-end consumers taking up urban farming Coco de Mer co-founder Sam Roddick in her “bee buffet” garden in London’s Hampstead. Photo by James Ostrer. Putting the Chic in Chicken Coop By Jemima Sissons Wall Street Journal Aug 5, 2011 Excerpt: Sam Roddick, co-founder of London boutique Coco de Mer and daughter of Body Shop founder Anita Roddick, is also passionate about the preservation of the honey bee. Her 30-meter garden in Hampstead also provides her with abundant fruit and vegetables, and she is considering keeping chickens. Read the complete article here. Bee Lovely website here.
Farming the Cities, Feeding an Urban Future WASHINGTON - June 16 - As people move from rural to urban settings in search of economic opportunities, urban agriculture is becoming an important provider of both food and employment, according to researchers with the Worldwatch Institute. "Urban agriculture is providing food, jobs, and hope in Nairobi, Kampala, Dakar, and other cities across sub-Saharan Africa," said Danielle Nierenberg, co-director of the Institute's Nourishing the Planet project. "In some cases, urban farmers are providing important inputs, such as seed, to rural farmers, dispelling the myth that urban agriculture helps feed the poor and hungry only in cities." The United Nations projects that up to 65 percent of the world's population will live in cities by 2050, up from around 50 percent today. Currently, an estimated 800 million people worldwide are engaged in urban agriculture, producing 15-20 percent of the world's food. Close to home (and market). Empowering women and building communities.
Incorporating Urban Agriculture into Urban Planning: The Tale of Three Cities A comparative study: Urban Agriculture in Vancouver, Dar es Salaam and Copenhagen Independent Study by Afton Halloran University of Copenhagen Faculty of Life Science Jan 21, 2011 Abstract Although generally thought of as a livelihood strategy for the urban poor in developing countries, urban agriculture is prevalent in both the global South and North. Urban agriculture has been heralded for its environmental, social and economic benefits. However, in some cities it is an unrecognized practice and some typologies of urban agriculture are even treated as illegal. Urban planning has an important influence in determining the structure of a city. This paper argues that urban planners are important stakeholders, which influence the successfulness urban agriculture legitimization and its incorporation into the urban environment. 9. With increased urbanization and global food insecurity on the rise cities around the world are looking for solutions. Read the complete study here.(2.4MB)