Pool deck or propagation Table?

Pool deck or propagation Table?

Can a shift in the American diet and the offerings of American developers help cool our warning planet?

The standard answer to that question is obvious – If there’s a demand for such a thing, the market will respond. But is it wise to wait for a market driven response when year over year, global temperatures are on the rise (along with sea levels), forests are ever dwindling, and the challenge of lack of fresh drinking water has jumped the curb of ‘third world’ problem and is squarely set to become an issue few nations wont have to deal with. One would think that with recent research predicting that we will see the collapse of the amazon rain forest in our life time, or that coastal cities like Manhattan, Miami and Copenhagen will be submerged by 2050, that humanity would be devoting all of its resources and brain power to literally trying to save ourselves from destruction… One would think. Yet, the challenge of addressing these issues is most often passed along from the everyday citizen to governments, the innovation sector, and global initiatives to address.

And yet, as dire as the situation is, whats needed isn’t altogether a Bruce Willis, ‘Armageddon’ type, high tech solution, or for everyone to just buy a Tesla to significantly slow the runaway train we’ve placed ourselves on. We could all just eat less meat, and depend less on farm grown fruits and vegetables. If you want to know what you can do everyday to help save the planet in a real, tangible way, that’s it. Of course, thats not REALLY it, but its a huge slice of the pie.

Most folks are familiar with the stats around the amount of methane a singe cow belches, but overall methane emission from ‘cow breath’ isn’t the only problem. Its compounded by the fact that natural, oxygen emitting, habitat sustaining environments are wiped clear to the tune of millions of acres per year to provide for land for livestock grazing and for the sustaining of that livestock. As global temperatures rise as a result, methane that has been locked in the earth under permafrost is also released, compounding the issue. Crops like rice also contribute heavily to methane emissions, but lets forget about cars, coal, and dirty energy and just focus on cows for a minute.

One simple, eye opening stat to capture the magnitude of the problem and the affect everyday citizens can have on it:

Cutting the world’s methane emissions by 30% over the next decade would have the same effect on global warming by mid-century as immediately shifting the global transport sector to net zero CO2 emissions.

And, meat based agg accounts for a signifacant percentage of overall methane emissions.

So, what would a world that is less reliant on meat consumption look like on the every day?

https://ourworldindata.org/land-use-diets

In the context of residential development? – One where we might prioritize food production and sustainable living as an ‘amenity’ over the allure of the flashy pool deck and intensive green roofs that make us FEEL like we are doing more good than we actually are. Enter the new ‘old’ urban garden.

We aren’t talking Agrihoods, here, which for all of there benefits, have a point of entry cost that many people wont be able to reach. Tricky valuations and innovative business models also make these ventures challenging. The gap that these type of developments dont address and that will increasingly need to be filled is for the middle to lower middle class citizen or family who may be renting their homes.

Enter the ‘allotment garden’.

Sometimes the high tech future we seek is rooted in the low tech past we as a society have either abandoned or forgotten. Spend any amount of time in Germany and you have likely come across the private garden plot, garden areas, or developments like the one pictured above in Nuremberg, centered around urban gardening. This is a tradition in Germany that goes back to the early 1900’s when municipalities, businesses, and charitable organizations created what were called ‘gardens for the poor’ – parceled green area allotments for the use of the working class and impoverished citizens. Later, a Leipzig doctor by the name of Daniel Moritz Gotlob Schreber promoted the development of green areas in urban development as a necessary benefit for urban youths. Thereafter, the Schrebergarten or Armengarten was born. Now referred to more commonly as the ‘allotment garden’ (english translation), the practice is entrenched in German culture.

What are they? Essentially communities built in (or literally around) parcelized parks / gardens where citizens can rent small, postage stamp sized areas for the purpose of retreating to nature. These areas are frequently used to grow flowers, fruits and vegetables, but sometimes serve simply as a needed retreat where urban dwellers can immerse themselves in nature and working with it to the degree they desire. The spaces themselves are leased on a monthly or annual basis and can be shared between owners or families.

Lots often have a modest, shed styled structure on them to provide area for tool storage or shelter for owners to retreat from the elements. Some include kitchens and a small sitting room.

Estimates vary, but many indicate an area of anywhere between 3000sf and 10000sf (depending on where in the world you are) can feed a family of four for 9 months if used for fruit and vegetable production alone. Keep in mind, this isn’t standard crop row farming, but rather, intensive, maximum useable area type farming.

https://djarchitects.co.uk/journal/10-05-21-at-11-13

In the context of traditional US multifamily mid and high rise developments, at grade and rooftop amenity spaces might provide an opportunity for a similar model to take root.

The project pictured above provides roughly 175,000 SF of internal courtyard area within the context of the development. In addition to this area, there exists 142,000SF of parceled garden area just west of the development. Although this additional area is not likely part of the residential community, incorporating the area into a simple calculation reveals that the two areas could yield enough food to feed between 100 and 150 people for most of a year on an entirely plant based diet. We’d have to inquire about how much food is actually produced in the development as its unlikely the plots were created to maximize food production, but the area dedicated to gardening is certain. Is this a silver bullet in the fight against global warming? Nope. But if the sensibility of urban agriculture practices like the 200 year old Allotment Garden were embraced and adopted in the US as a way of living (and developing), it could go a long way to providing the framework for common citizens to meanfingfully engage in the fight to save our planet and do so in a way that is grounded in sustainability, community building and personal enrichment and healthy living.