Erika Hval, 2009 Reynolds Scholar and Senior at
NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development is a
contributing writer on the NYU Wagner Food Policy Alliance blog. Below is
an excerpt from her most recent piece on urban ag. Click the link at the
end of the excerpt to read the entire entry.
Love Thy Neighbors Urban Ag
As many of our readers
may know, the New School has decided to devote their Kellen Gallery space to
urban food systems this semester, hosting a series of lectures, research
projects, design studios, traveling exhibits and more on the topic.
Officially titled Living Concrete/Carrot City, the program most
recently offered a panel comprised of a few of our northern neighbors who
presented "Perspectives from Toronto," a fascinating look into another city's
activities within the urban agriculture arena.
Architect Joe Lobko first introduced the audience to two feats of sustainable design and community organizing efforts he helped to bring about, Wychwood Barns and Evergreen Brick Works. Both centers arose out of abandoned industrial sites, blossoming into thriving "environmental community centers" with sustainability designed into their every inch. The sites feature farmers markets, theaters, performance spaces, gardens, galleries and more-unquantifiable potential you'll understand after one look at the photo galleries. Our infamously scarce availability of space would require some creative solutions before implementing anything comparable here in NYC, but worth the extra effort considering the obvious community and local food benefits that such a project would provide.
Click here to read the full entry at the NYU Wagner Food Policy Alliance's blog.
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