GREENING THE CITY WITH PARKS AND AGRICULTURE

CASE STUDY

BY JEFF KENWORTHY

All photographs by Jeff Kenworthy

INTRODUCTION
REHABILITATION OF URBAN WATER WAYS
SAN ANTONIO"S RIVER WALK
URBAN AGRICULTURE
INNER AREA OPEN SPACE PROJECTS

INTRODUCTION

The importance of green spaces in a city is almost universally recognised. Planning techniques to ensure there is a proportion of local open space available in any new development are standard professional practise across the world in all city forms and types. This does not always ensure that the best kind of greening occurs and in old parts of cities there is a need to find new ways to make open space available.

Below are some case studies of more creative processes that have made nature a more significant part of the urban system.

REHABILITATION OF URBAN WATER WAYS

The rehabilitation of urban wetlands and creeks has become a symbol of the greening of the city.

Register (1986) has shown how to rehabilitate an urban drain in Berkeley where one of the first city drains was converted back into an attractive piece of urban ecological landscape. This drain runs through a dense urban area. A similar refurbished creek which was once a concrete drain in Zurich is part of a high density housing complex with agricultural allotments adjacent to it.

The refurbished creek, in inner Zurich was once fed into the sewer system in order for the water to be cleaned up before entering the Lake of Zurich. This drain was exhumed by the developer of an urban village and now percolates through the area and assists in giving the development a more natural quality. The urban village, located on the junction of a light rail line and trolley bus line to reduce car use, is built on a disused quarry site near the centre of Zurich. It contains a number of ecological features which contributed to the developer being granted some significant density bonuses. For example, all water that falls on the site is captured there and the on-site compensation basin has become an attractive water feature of the development with boardwalk and seating area integrated with it. The developer also allowed land surrounding the water area to undergo a natural ecological succession by only providing soil and hollow logs so that native plant species and local small mammals and frogs would reinhabit the area.

Photo 1. An urban village in Zurich on an LRT line.
The development incorporates a number of ecological features described above.

Photo 2. A view from Uetliberg in Zurich, showing a green corridor linked to an exhumed waterway.
Extensive community allotments are visible in the foreground associated with older-style cooperative housing.

Zurich has other examples where creeks, previously diverted to the sewer system, are being brought back to the surface, in order to create havens for birds and many aquatic species. It is possible to do this now become the sources of the original pollution have been cleaned up and the creek water no longer requires treatment before entering the lake. Another creek in Zurich has been brought back along a street. It is possible to identify these sites in Zurich through the serpentine green corridors that are created, providing important links between rural areas and open space across the city.

San Antonio's River Walk

This particular project, which is really in the league of a central city revitalisation scheme, is a successful early attempt in the US at bringing some ecological thinking and greater human sensitivity into urban planning and management practices, as they relate to natural features.

San Antonio's River Walk is a narrow, meandering waterway in downtown San Antonio some 20 or so feet below street level, and bordered on both sides by a rich array of restaurants, hotels, green, richly landscaped garden walkways, amphitheatres and other activities, and Venetian style bridges, linking both sides at regular intervals. It is a cool, attractive and quite unique urban oasis in the midst of a typically car-dominated and often ugly downtown environment.

The origins of the scheme date back a considerable time as a flood control programme for the San Antonio River which would periodically burst its banks, inundating the downtown area. The original idea was essentially to call in the US Army Corps of Engineers to turn the river into a concrete ditch whose water level could be controlled through traditional engineering techniques - a very crude approach to controlling nature which would have added more ugliness to the city center. However, the city authority at the time believed that more creativity could be used to turn the flood control exercise into something that would contribute uniquely to the quality of downtown San Antonio by exploiting the water theme in conjunction with good urban design and aesthetics. The council at the time was strongly represented by women.

Photo 3. The River Walk oasis in the heart of downtown San Antonio.

That is what happened and the very successful River Walk scheme which now runs some distance through downtown San Antonio has been extended at least on one occasion to take in a wider area of the city. By adopting a more organic, ecological approach to the problem of flood control, San Antonio has been able to exploit not only the benefits of engineering technology, but also the positive human aspects and beauty of urban design and landscape architecture based around a water theme.

Photo 4. A range of residential accommodation lines the pedestrian paths in River Walk.

Photo 5. River Walk provides a lush and shady pedestrian environment away from the very hot climate of San Antonio.

The downtown area of San Antonio can now boast a beautiful, serpentine, green, pedestrian walkway and waterway system linking many of its elements together. The River Walk attracts thousands of tourists and convention goers each year (as well as locals), who stay in the hotels set in this quiet, aquatic environment and who promenade along the walkways and bridges and travel on the flat-bottomed restaurant boats which offer lunch and dinner cruises along the narrow river channels.

Overall, the scheme is an interesting melding of civil engineering skill, which does indeed control the flood waters, good urban planning and human design, and a sound economic approach which has given central San Antonio a focal point upon which to market itself as a tourism and convention destination.

URBAN AGRICULTURE

The expression of nature in cities is not restricted to the rehabilitation of water-courses, but extends to other features such as agricultural or garden allotments dotted throughout the city, (a particularly strong tradition in European cities), extensive common garden areas around housing complexes, urban forests and community gardens. There are many good examples of these other forms of urban nature around the world.

Zurich again is a showpiece of a medium density, transit-oriented European urban region (47 persons/ha) which has retained an exceptionally green character through its extensive use of garden allotments, its commitment to preserving large forested areas on the ridges all around the city, and its retention of extensive common garden areas around almost all apartments and other housing areas.

Photo 6 and 7. Sections of housing in the inner area of Zurich demonstrate how high
density apartments are embraced with extensive green areas, including generous community allotments.

Garden allotments consist of sizeable pieces of land divided into a series of small parcels which are used by individuals and families as a place to grow a wide array of flowers, vegetables and fruit. In Zurich, they are often found abutting or adjacent to forested areas, creating an urban landscape that in parts looks more like the country than the city. Each allotment usually features a small shed or miniature 'house' which is used to store gardening equipment and other items such as barbeques for summer recreation. They are not supposed to be used as residences, but in practice many do use them in this way in summer time for short periods. Composting of organic waste on these sites is standard practice, as it is in the common garden areas around virtually every apartment complex in Zurich.

Photo 8. A community allotment with extensive horticulture and
vegetable growing is nestled between apartments on three sides.

Photo 9 and 10. Community allotments provide opportunities for Zurich's residents to develop highly productive garden areas and small buildings that receive heavy usage during spring and summer months.

An interesting aside to this very prevalent commitment to composting, is the city's policy on garbage disposal. Garbage can only be disposed of in special bags purchased from local supermarkets at a very considerable price. Garbage left on the street in any other form of container is not collected. For economic reasons it is important for residents to utilise each bag to its maximum extent, so that the disposal of green wastes in this way would be almost unthinkable. Interestingly, supermarkets in Zurich are also forbidden to supply plastic bags for shopping. Customers must bring their own bags or pay a significant sum to purchase strong paper bags at the checkouts.

The effect of the garden allotment approach to green space and productive land in the city is to consolidate, in quite large areas, a lot of the open space which in lower density cities would be scattered across the landscape in the form of often underutilised front and back yards. These large allotment areas in Zurich appear in the most unlikely places, such as next to a large warehouse distribution center, virtually in the CBD of the city near the central railway station.

Photo 11. A large community allotment adjacent to a grocery distribution
outlet near the centre of Zurich and the main railway station.

As well, the common garden areas around apartment complexes in Zurich, which are often concealed from view from the road, boast extensive communal space. This land is frequently exploited in a creative way to produce colourful and diverse gardens, as well as very productive fruit and vegetable plots.

Photo 12 and 13. Most medium density private and public housing developments in Zurich are surrounded by highly productive land that provides a sense of spaciousness and contact with nature. The photo on the right shows one of the forested ridge tops that characterise the Zurich region.

It would appear that in a city such as Zurich, despite lower standards of private open space, the access to nature and productive land is of a higher standard than in automobile cities where the demands on land for sprawling housing, roads and car parks is so intense that it defeats the possibility of preserving significant pieces of nature in the midst of the city.

Permaculture or 'permanent agriculture' is an international movement started by Australian Bill Mollinson (see Mollinson, 1988) with institutes and training programs now operating in most parts of the world. The approach to food production (and fibre as well as the many other ecological services from growing plants) is based on an innovative integration of different ecosystem niches. Mollinson defines it as 'the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems' It closes the cycle on water and nutrient use by integrating aquaculture, a huge variety of plants including vegetables, herbs, fruits and grains and small animal production.

Permaculture was seen as an ideal way of using private spaces around houses in low density Auto Cities, however some of the most successful Permaculture experiments are in community gardens, often rehabilitating land in old inner city. This is not unexpected, as the skills and labour to operate a Permaculture garden invariably are more than is feasible for other than the most avid household gardener. They lend themselves to an urban (or rural) community who focus their activity around a shared public space.

Urban agriculture has been very active in European cities through allotment schemes for many decades and has become a tool for rehabilitating parts of US inner cities through groups such as Denver Urban Gardens who facilitate the development of community gardens and urban farms. These projects seek to provide healing to racial tensions in inner city areas, as well as a source of food.

Photo 14 and 15. The Peace Garden in inner Denver facilitated through Denver Urban Gardens. The project was spearheaded by a mother who lost a son in gang warfare crossfire and is designed to bring healing and peace to the neighbourhood and its young people.

Urban farms provide a focal point for unemployed youths to learn practical skills as well as providing locally grown food (pers. comm, Denver Urban Gardens).

Photo 16. Denver Urban Gardens first attempt at a sizeable urban farm amidst low income/high youth unemployment neighbourhoods of the city. The farm is planned to create training, employment and economic opportunities, mainly for young unemployed people.

However, the role of food growing in cities is far more important economically in many (or most) third world cities (Smit, Ratta and Nasr, 1996). The UN development Program has estimated that 800 million people worldwide are engaged in urban agriculture. People engaged in urban agriculture for some part of the year vary between 15 and 70% of households in cities surveyed in Africa, Russia and Eastern Europe. In Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania) urban agriculture is the largest land user (33% of city region) with 34,000 ha turning out over 100,000 tons of food in 1988 and employing 20% of the urban population (Mougeot, 1998).

In Harare the amount of urban open space in cultivation grew from 4,822 to 8,392 ha between 1990 and 1994.

The advantage that urban agriculture enjoys, according to Canada's Luc Mougeot from the Cities Feeding People Program of their International Development Research Centre, is:

'...urban agriculture taps into economies of agglomeration that are unparalleled in most rural areas. On the other hand, it suffers from greater economic and ecological pressure than is the case with most rural agriculture and requires more intensive and better controlled production to stay competitive and safe.' (p18)

Cities developed through history around this extra advantage provided by the density of settlement and the immediate markets (Jacobs, 1969). In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries Paris was an exporter of food (mostly vegetables) based on intensive allotments fed by the waste from horses (used for transportation) and human sewage (composted from carts that collected it each night - the origin of the phrase 'night soil' "!).

There are many cities now recognising that they must plan to incorporate urban agriculture into their economies and urban management. Hong Kong and Singapore have elaborate systems to manage urban agriculture (Boyden et al 1981). These extremely dense cities use their adjacent rural land very intensively.

However, most Auto Cities do not see urban agriculture as more than a hobby and adjacent peri-urban market gardens and farms are often just regarded as future urban land that will inevitably be rezoned for suburbs. Growth management needs to incorporate a far more serious approach to the importance of urban agriculture and the reurbanisation process needs to have a simultaneous process of ecological renewal involving an integrated approach to water, waste and urban agriculture.

INNER AREA OPEN SPACE PROJECTS

In some dense cities access to nature is at a premium, and in these cases radical approaches sometimes have to be taken to secure green space. One such case is central London, which, for the many residents who live there, seems replete with office buildings and other intense urban uses, and short on open spaces.

This shortage of open space and nature has been the inspiration for concerted and effective community action to create community gardens, right in the heart of London's business centre.

Perhaps one of the best examples of this is the Calthorpe Project in the Borough of Camden. Opened in September 1984. This 1.2 acre site was originally earmarked for office development.

Photo 17. The Calthorpe Project Community Garden in the Borough of Camden in London.
The site was slated for office development.

However, under intense community opposition, the site was eventually purchased by the Borough for the purpose of turning it over to the local community for establishment of a community garden. The sign at the entrance partly reads:

'The project is funded by the London Borough of Camden. Local people fought and won against office development and created these community gardens, play space and under fives' area. Enjoy your green belt in Kings' Cross.'

The garden consists of a series of different sections designed for different needs. There are quiet sections with water features and seating, grassed areas surrounded by flower beds where many office workers and residents come to eat their lunch, glasshouses and other areas for germinating seeds and tending seedlings, an area expressly for those under 5 years old, tennis courts, a small swamp area where children can catch tadpoles, a playground for older children, as well as an on-site office, information centre, meeting area and a small restaurant. The building housing these uses is constructed of wood and its roof consists entirely of a flat garden area. There is a special path running through part of the garden which is a tile mosaic created by the local community to celebrate life.

Photo 18. One corner of the Calthorpe Project designed for quiet passive recreation

Photo 19. Part of the Calthorpe project showing surrounding high density
development and the on-site management office and vegetarian restaurant.

Photo 20. A small pond in one corner of the Calthorpe Project provides young
children with an opportunity to catch tadpoles and frogs in the heart of the London business district.

Photo 21. Garden areas and old apartments surrounding the Calthorpe Project.

The garden is managed by members of the community with an annual budget provided by the Borough, a good deal of which is used to pay nominal salaries to a few local residents who act as official caretakers/managers. The green space provided by this project is quite different in character to a local park and there is more of a feeling of community ownership and control. Sound management is important as it is in an intense inner city area with problems such as homelessness and drug abuse. It is locked at night but still has to be regularly checked and cleaned up to guard against the dangers of used syringes and so on.

Within walking distance of the Calthorpe Project are literally a host of other smaller community garden projects established by local residents which help to green the inner city environment and make effective use of left over spaces. For example, there is a small meadow area called the Harrison Street Wildflower Meadow, which has been created out of a sliver of leftover land between residential buildings. It is used to grow wildflowers common in the English countryside but no longer present in London. It is expressly designed to serve as a reminder of disappearing nature under the spread of urbanisation in England and bears a sign reminding passers-by of the natural heritage which is being lost.

Photo 22. The small Harrison Street Wildflower Meadow in London developed
on a small piece of leftover land between high density apartments.

Within 100 metres there is another small garden called The Garden For Peace built by the Cromer Street Garden Association on a corner abutting a local church and surrounded by shops and flats. It has murals painted on the adjoining stone walls of the church, small painted garden seats, an entry arch of climbing roses and various other displays of flowers. Such small projects are as important for the care, involvement and sense of security they express in the local area, as they are for the amount of attractive public space they contribute.

Photo 23 and 24 The Cromer Street Garden Association's Garden for
Peace developed next to the Harrison Street Meadow in London.

A little farther away is another larger natural area called the Camley Street Natural Park which has been etched out of waste industrial land surrounded by derelict reminders of the industrial revolution and set on a man-made canal. The Park consists of different kinds of spaces such as swamp areas, woodlots and shrub areas, in which young children in particular are treated to nature study classes right in the inner city, as well as quiet secluded spots for reading and relaxing. At the entrance to the park there is an office providing information about wildlife and plants in the area and a formal classroom used by different primary school students brought to the park every day for nature study.

Photo 25. The main entrance to the Camley Street Natural Park in an
old industrial district of central London near Saint Pancras Station.

Photo 26. A view of the Camley Street Natural Park from the on-site nature
study classroom towards the heritage gas tanks in the area, preserved as a part of industrial architecture heritage.

Photo 27. Part of the Camley Street Natural Park showing derelict industrial structures
built along a canal. The canal has a well-established pedestrian and cycling path along its edge.

Another particularly good example of a community garden in this same area of London is the Phoenix Community Garden consisting of many of the same elements as the Calthorpe Project, but on a smaller scale. Again, this was to have been the site of another office building, but through organised civic action, a community garden has been created instead with a variety of very attractive green spaces for people to bring children, relax and to do gardening.

The garden receives an annual budget from the local authority, as in the Calthorpe Project and local people come in mostly on weekends to participate in planting and upkeep of the garden using tools kept on site. The garden is surrounded by new high density residential construction which benefits from its location next to well-managed natural space in the heart of the city. A small playground/park area on the other side of a stone wall forming the community garden's boundary, is punctuated with graffiti and signs of a lack of ownership, whereas the Phoenix Community Garden bears no such scars.

Photo 28. The main entrance to the Phoenix Community Garden in London.

Photo 29. A view of the Phoenix Community Garden from new apartments on one side.
Note the new apartments on the other side of the garden.

Photo 30 and 31. Scenes inside the community garden showing the well-maintained,
attractive and peaceful environment that has been created in a very dense residential district of inner London.