“The hollowing out of older suburbs and the growing suburban periphery continues in most cities. These growing areas of vacancy between the newer, trendier suburbs and urban areas offer opportunities to mend cities. I believe suburban farming, like urban farming before it, can begin to bring back a more civic, sustainable economy. After urban renewal we need a suburban revision, where responsible production of food and energy moderates the consumptive nature of suburbia.
It seems to me that suburban farming can be implemented on a much larger scale than urban farming. Abandoned retail’s huge expanses of parking lots, large big box spaces, and lower real estate prices point to an opportunity to reclaim the productive pastoral atmosphere of the land before sprawl. The original promise of suburbia, refuge from the industrial city in the productive countryside, is still achievable.“
———————————————————————————————————————–
One of our contributors wrote a pretty nice piece over at CivilEats.com, and I felt the need to re-blog it over here. At least a link to the story. As I read, I envisioned my own version of what farming through suburbia could be. While my sight was a tad different that Forrests’, his short post should give a nice glimpse at what could be in the spaces that now lie in between us. Everyday.
Link, via Civil Eats
—————————————————————————————————————-
Forrest Fulton is founder and principal of Forrest Fulton Architecture in Birmingham, AL
I’ve given this a lot of thought since reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma a couple years ago. The intensive polyculture methods described at Joel Salatin’s farm in Virgina struck me as being adaptable to some sort of suburban situation (we will have to get used to eating more goat and lamb, though). In Texas, many of the suburbs (like mine) have rear alleys and garages. The street is mostly for show rather than transportation. You could flip that relationship and make the back yard an entrance court with a much smaller, almost medievel, lane from the old alley. The street and front yard area would be available for production. Many of the utilities run along the street right-of-way. If you aren’t on the grid anymore, that wouldn’t be a problem.
I saw a good film recently about a homestead family in Pasadena, CA. They grow 3 tons of food per year on 1/10 of an acre. They are almost completely independent and sell some of their harvest to local restaurants.
Here’s the movie trailer: http://www.homegrownrevolution.com/trailer
The family has a blog: http://www.pathtofreedom.com/
They are extreme, but it’s amazing what you can do on a small piece of land.
I say “Bring back the local farmer markets!!!!”
Let me continue, that was vague:
Bring back the local farmer markets in Galveston, TX. Of all places wouldn’t you think that Texas would have local growers all over the place!?!? And maybe the state does in general, but not here on this island!
I miss the Woolbright Market, they have it all figured it!
i was thinking about these spaces in between on the drive in this morn. Thinking about how my neighbour and I share a garden plot, which extends over the property line. A compost pile, and a fire pit. We live on modest plots, and reexamining mine, there is room for much more garden. I have a 16×40 bocce court, that, if times warranted could be a great plot.
The triangulated spaces at interstate exit ramps could lend themselves to some serious growth. Though I imagine that growth would be better suited for industry uses, hemp, etc. No one wants to eat anything grown that close to exhaust.