The Unforgiving Endeavour

THE UNFORGIVING ENDEAVOUR HAZIQ ARIFFIN

THE UNFORGIVING ENDEAVOUR

THE UNFORGIVING ENDEAVOUR MANCHESTER SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE MA ARCHITECTURE & URBANISM DISSERTATION

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

© 2018 Muhammad Haziq bin Ariffin ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

vii

Abstract Muhammad Haziq bin Ariffin; The Unforgiving Endeavour: Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure (Under the direction of Eamonn Canniffe)

The exponential rate of population growth and urbanization forces a reimagining of the most efficient food system to feed everyone. This dissertation presents discussions and arguments in questioning the extent to which productive agriculture can be integrated into urban infrastructure. It is comprised of five parts.

Firstly, it presents the history of the relationship between agriculture and cities. It continues with a comparison of developments in the Global South and the Global North. The third part is comprised of precedent studies of important concepts that have proved to be influential. This is followed by a discussion on technological advancements which may influence the future of urban agriculture. Finally, the dissertation assesses the success of Kuala Lumpur in implementing agriculture through a snapshot of its current condition. The dissertation concludes by speculating on the future of urban agriculture and its role in the growth of modern cities.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to all those with whom I have had the utmost pleasure to work with, learn from and be friends with during the tenure of this course.

Thank you to Eamonn Canniffe for sharing his knowledge and wisdom, always delivered with patience, positivity and good humor. Thank you to David Chandler, Claudio Molina Camacho, James Dyson and Julie Fitzpatrick for sharing their unique experiences and sentiments, without which this work would not have been possible.

Thank you to my coursemates for sharing a culturally diverse learning environment.

Thank you Mak and Ayah, for your lifelong love and support.

And finally, thank you to the dedicated, courageous and humble farmers who inspired me to always endure hardship, to never stop learning, and to live in gratitude.

Table of Contents Abstract

v

List of Figures

x

Introduction

1

Setting the Context

3

Urbanizing Agriculture

7

Discussions in the Global North

11

Discussions in the Global South

Precedent Studies

Garden Cities of To-Morrow

9

15 16

Broadacre City

19

Continuous Productive Urban Landscape

20

Agrarian Urbanism

25

Discussion

26

Technological Review

The Medium - Soil-less Cultivation

29 30

The Fuel - Artificial Lighting

33

New Typology - The Plant Factory

34

Adaptation – Zero-Acreage Farming (ZFarming)

35

Sensing & Automation -The Internet of Things Revolution

37

Discussion

38

The Case of Kuala Lumpur Agricultural Legacy The Global Middle

41 46 48

Conclusion

54

References

56

List of Figures

pg. 2 Figure 1.1.

Evolution of Agriculture By author

pg. 3 Figure 1.2.

Multifunctionality of Agriculture

By author, based on diag. from IAASTD (McIntyre, 2009)

pg. 4 Figure 1.3.

Supermarket distribution centre in the UK Retrieved from birminghampost.co.uk

pg. 4 Figure 1.4.

Emancipation of agriculture from the urban By author

pg. 4 Figure 1.5.

The Green Revolution - Industrialising Agriculture Retrieved from inmarsat.com

pg. 5 Figure 1.6.

Breakdown of global land use

By author, based on data from ourworldindata.org (Ritchie & Roser, n.d.)

xii

pg. 6 Figure 2.1.

Global Atlas of the North-South Divide

pg. 16 Figure 3.1.

The Three Magnets

pg. 8 Figure 2.2.

Satellite Image of Havana, Cuba

pg. 17 Figure 3.2.

Garden City Plan

pg. 8 Figure 2.3.

Organoponicos, Havana, Cuba

pg. 17 Figure 3.3.

Schematic of Garden Cities of To-Morrow

Retrieved from wikipedia.org

Retrieved from Google Earth

Retrieved from http://www.eduardomartino. com/?portfolio=urban-farming-in-cuba

pg. 9 Figure 2.4.

Urban Agriculture: Food, Jobs and Sustainable Cities Retrieved from jacsmit.com

pg. 10 Figure 2.5.

World War I era US Poster

By James Montgomery Flagg

pg. 10 Figure 2.6.

“Dig on for Victory”

By Peter Fraser

pg. 11 Figure 2.7.

Food Systems and Charters and Strategies issued at the subnational level in developed countries per year from 2001 to 2015

By Rositsa T. Ilieva

pg. 13 Figure 2.8.

Urban Food Systems Star

By Kenneth Dahlberg

xiii

By Ebenezer Howard

By Ebenezer Howard

By Ebenezer Howard

pg. 17 Figure 3.4.

Garden City Growth Principle

By Ebenezer Howard

pg. 18 Figure 3.5.

Schematic Plan of Broadacre City

By Author, adapted from diagram by Quittenton, Lietz, Lindal

pg. 19 Figure 3.6.

Broadacre City Model

Retrieved from franklloydwright.org

pg. 19 Figures 3.7. & 3.8.

Closeups of Broadacre City Model Retrieved from franklloydwright.org

pg. 20 Figure 3.9.

Sustainable Visions of CPULs

By Author, based on information by Viljoen, et. al.

pg. 21 Figure 3.10.

CPUL Implementation Strategy

By Viljoen, et. al., 2016

pg. 22 Figure 3.11.

Artist’s Impression of Almere Oosterwald Retrieved from Draft Structural Vision Almere 2.0

pg. 22 Figure 3.12.

Schematic Plan of Agromere concept By author

pg. 24 Figure 3.13.

Food Along the Transect

By Andres Duany

pg. 25 Figure 3.14.

Dwelling Types along the Transect

By Andres Duany

pg. 27 Figure 3.15.

Overview of four precedents By author

pg. 28 Figure 4.1.

A worker at the GE lettuce factory

pg. 35 Figure 4.14.

Building uses combined with ZFarming

pg. 30 Figure 4.2.

Aerofarm in Newark, New Jersey, USA

pg. 35 Figure 4.15.

ZFarming typology

pg. 31 Figure 4.3.

Bird’s eye view of the Newark Aerofarm, a nondescript warehouse

pg. 36 Figure 4.16.

The OpenAg team tend their garden, the Food computer

pg. 31 Figures 4.4. & 4.5.

Interior Views of the Newark Aerofarm

pg. 36 Figure 4.17.

The Personal Food Computer

pg. 32 Figure 4.6.

Green Spirit Farms founder Milan (left) and Dan Kluko (right)

pg. 39 Figure 4.18.

Tending to a small scale farm

pg. 32 Figure 4.7.

Diagram of stacked drum hydroponic system’s space efficiency

pg. 39 Figure 4.19.

A typical conventional rural farm requires hard labour

Retrieved from modernfarmer.com

Retrieved from aerofarms.com

By author, from image retrieved from Google Earth

Retrieved from aerofarms.com

Retrieved from Edible Michiana

By Gordon Graff

pg. 33 Figure 4.8.

Diagram of an A-frame hydroponic system’s space efficiency

By Gordon Graff

pg. 33 Figure 4.9.

Diagram of a stacked bed hydroponic system’s space efficiency

By Gordon Graff

pg. 33 Figure 4.10.

Diagram of Valcant’s Verticrop system’s space efficiency

By Gordon Graff

pg. 33 Figure 4.11.

Horticultural LED grow lights Retrieved from hortamericas.com

pg. 34 Figure 4.12.

Six principal components of a plant factory

By author, based on information from Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan

pg. 34 Figure 4.13.

Integration of plant factories into the urban fabric

By Dr. Toyoki Kozai

By Thomaier, et al.

By Thomaier, et al.

Retrieved from MIT Media Lab, medium.com

Retrieved from MIT Media Lab, medium.com

By author

By author

xiv

pg. 40 Figure 5.1.

Kuala Lumpur City

By Nur Ismail

pg. 42 Figure 5.2.

Sectoral contribution to Malaysia’s GDP from 1960 to 2000 Retrieved from MIT Media Lab, medium.com

pg. 42 Figure 5.3.

Agricultural land use in Malaysia, 1960 By author, based on data from Bank Negara Malaysia Annual Report

pg. 42 Figure 5.4.

Agricultural land use in Malaysia, 2005 By author, based on data from Arshad, et al.

pg. 43 Figure 5.5.

Summary of agriculture in Malaysian economy from 1960 to 2005 By author, based on data from Bank Negara Malaysia Annual Report

pg. 43 Figure 5.6.

Sprawl vs Smart Growth characteristics Retrieved from thestar.com.my

pg. 44 Figure 5.7.

Urban growth in the Greater Kuala Lumpur Area, 1990 - 2009 Retrieved from World Bank (2011) Malaysia Economic Monitor: Smart Cities

pg. 46 Figure 5.8.

Artist’s impression of Sunqiao Agricultural District Retrieved from sasaki.com

pg. 48 Figures 5.9. & 5.10.

An urban dweller’s instinctive growing plot under electricity pylon By author

pg. 48 Figure 5.11.

The mayor of Kuala Lumpur at the launch of a herb and garden project at PPR Raya Permai Retrieved from thestar.com.my

pg. 50 Figure 5.12.

Children from the Dignity for Children Foundation tending the vegetable garden as a means of education pg. 50 Retrieved from star2.com

pg. 50

pg. 50

pg. 53

pg. 53

pg. 53

pg. 53

xv

Figure 5.13.

Various vegetables being grown at Dignity Kitchen Garden Retrieved from star2.com

Figure 5.14.

Bountiful harvest from the Bangsar Farms

By Ng Seksan

Figure 5.15.

Farming against the backdrop of the city

By Ng Seksan

Figures 5.16., 5.17. & 5.18.

Babylon Vertical Farms in a shipping container in Kuala Lumpur

By Babylon Vertical Farms

Figures 5.19., 5.20. & 5.21.

CityFarm Malaysia’s stacked beds controlled environment agriculture system

By CityFarm Malaysia

Figure 5.22.

Poptani’s bespoke aquaponics system for the home

By Poptani

Figure 5.23.

Plant Cartridge’s sales gallery

By Plant Cartridge

“There’s a lot of romance around urban agriculture… many see it as a new way to revive cities, and that’s exactly it. The potential is huge. But this romanticism that surrounds it, this is very far from the reality of the work that must be. That’s why I sometimes say that urban farms, it looks great on a PowerPoint presentation. You find yourself here, it’s hot, the sun hits you over, you get dirty, it’s not easy work.”

– Malik Yakini & Kadiri Sennefer, D-Town Farm, Detroit (Tomorrow, 2015)

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Introduction The multifunctional character of food makes it a unique point of discussion. It is heavily implicated in socio-political, economic and environmental issues.

The world’s population continues to grow at an exponential rate. At the same time, there is a global instinct to urbanize. Yet, most of the food grown to feed urban dwellers continue to be imported from the hinterland and across nations. It is apparent and increasingly understood that the economic system we currently subscribe to is incompatible with our visions of a sustainable life on a planet of limited natural resources. This is both daunting and exciting as it requires us to adapt, innovate and evolve.

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of urban agriculture in many modern cities. Perhaps, this momentum was driven by fundamental needs, or as an effort to mitigate environmental issues, or to balance the diminishing number of rural farm workers, or perhaps the development of technology has allowed it to be a viable business endeavour. My own interest in the intersectional relationship between food, architecture and urbanism began after being involved in social work in rural Malaysia. Developing a close relationship with farmers gave me a close and personal understanding of the food system. I personally witnessed the practice of “the unforgiving endeavour� and was inspired by the resiliency of the farmers, and the extent of issues which could be addressed, if not solved, through agriculture.

A conscious choice was made to further develop this understanding in the context of cities due to the ever resonant statistic that may define the millennia: 70% of the world will be urban by 2050.

The dissertation presents discussions and arguments on the history, development and future of urban agriculture within the context of architecture and urbanism. Literature reviews, precedent studies of important concepts and a technological review is used to formulate a holistic understanding. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is used as a case study to situate the issues.

The discussion presented is then synthesised to speculate the extent to which it can be integrated as part of an essential urban infrastructure, in Kuala Lumpur as well as similar global cities.

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Figure 1.1.

Evolution of Agriculture Adapted by author

Setting the Context

2

3

Setting the Context Agriculture and urbanism once shared a close and symbiotic relationship. About 10,000 years ago, we started to domesticate select species of plants and animals. It is speculated that the effects of climate change made it possible and more profitable to farm rather than forage for food. The Neolithic Revolution or the First Agricultural Revolution, which began in the Fertile Crescent, occurred slowly and gradually over many generations, but fundamentally changed the way we lived. The ability to grow a steady supply of food meant that humans no longer needed to be nomadic and could instead settle down in one area. The need for irrigation and protection from looters encouraged agriculturalists to settle in villages rather than individual farms (history-world.org, n.d.). Permanent settlements were built and farmers tended to their crops and livestock. Subsequently, populations exploded as settlers need not worry about the hassle of migrating, especially with children, and soon overpopulation deemed it necessary to continue practising agriculture. Eventually, agricultural

techniques improved and became more productive, leading to a surplus. This marked the beginning of a social change as the surplus could then be used to trade for specialized services of non-agriculturalists such as toolmakers, weavers, and potters. Agriculture made urban living possible, and living in urban conditions made agriculture essential. There was a very intimate and close relationship between agriculture and the very beginning of urbanism.

Agriculture as an industry has far-reaching implications and is often regarded as being multifunctional. As illustrated in the following diagram, adapted from information provided by the IAASTD (McIntyre, 2009), agriculture is recognised as a multi-output activity. Although its core function is to produce commodities (food, feed, fuel and fiber), the role it has on the environment, economy and social spheres are nontrivial.

Figure 1.2.

Multifunctionality of Agriculture

By author, based on diag. from IAASTD (McIntyre, 2009)

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Figure 1.3.

Emancipation of agriculture from the urban By author

Figure 1.4.

Figure 1.5.

Retrieved from birminghampost.co.uk

Retrieved from inmarsat.com

Supermarket distribution centre in the UK

In her book, Hungry City, Carolyn Steel investigates the evolution of cities from a food perspective.

She coined the term Sitopia1 and uses it to describe the dilemmas of the 21st century dwelling, in particular of the urban. Steel attributes the physical separation and decoupling of agriculture from cities to the development of railways, which opened up the possibility of long distance transportation of goods. Cities were then emancipated from the limitations of needing to be close to the productive hinterlands which serviced them. As a result, cities grew in size and became places for specialized industries. Today, we see the separation between cities and agriculture manifested architecturally in the form of regional distribution centres which are used to aggregate a stock of products from all over the world to be distributed to local retailers (Steel, 2013). This is how the global food system currently operates and it clearly has a physical impact on the urban fabric. In order to form a critical analysis on the universal feasibility of urban agriculture, it is important to understand the innovations, in trade and logistics, which separated agriculture and cities.

2

An amalgamation of ancient Greek words, sitos (food) and topos (place)

The Green Revolution - Industrialising Agriculture

The period between the 1940s and 1960s was a very important time in agricultural history. It saw innovations which significantly impacted agricultural productivity. Largely credited to 1970 Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug, The Second Agricultural Revolution, or the Green Revolution, marked intensive changes to agricultural practises which greatly increased food production in terms of the number of calories produced per acre of agriculture (Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, 2018). The new practices were seen as a ‘package of practices’ which included high-yielding varieties of grains, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides, modern irrigation, and mechanization.

It also favoured monoculture – large scale cultivation of a singular type of crop. This technological breakthrough was timely as the 1960s experienced a population explosion (Lam, 2011) . There were great concerns of widespread famine in the developing world as it was speculated that the means of food production available at the time would not be able to cater to the speculated population growth.

Setting the Context

4

5

Figure 1.6.

Breakdown of global land use

By author, based on data from ourworldindata.org (Ritchie & Roser, n.d.)

It is indisputable that the Green Revolution was successful in curbing what could have been a famine disaster in countries such as India and Pakistan.

Furthermore, it significantly contributed to the growth of agrarian economies such as those of Sri Lanka, China, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Thailand, and Turkey. The adoption of these practices saw the production of cereals more than double between 1961-1985. However, more than 50 years in retrospect, the unintended negative consequences of the Green Revolution have led to many criticisms, particularly of the harm it has caused to the environment. The increase in use and reliance on chemical fertilizers caused soil degradation and chemical runoffs into other land. Similarly, the dependence on chemical pesticides caused long-term damage as it travels through the food chain and accumulates. The encouragement of mono-cropping decreases soil quality and biodiversity (Bonfrisco, n.d.). These are issues which must be addressed in questioning the viability of re-integrating agriculture into the urban infrastructure.

Can urban agriculture improve upon the strengths and weaknesses of the Green Revolution? What will the Third Agricultural Revolution look like?

It is important to note that of the 71% of the land that is habitable on Earth, 50% (51 million km2) is currently devoted to agricultural activity, 37% is forest, about 10% shrub, whereas only 1% (1.5 million km2) is urban. It raises the question: if agriculture could successfully be integrated with the urban, could more land be restored to be forest land to safeguard natural biodiversity, and could cities grow in size sustainably? Furthermore, there is a great disproportion between the percentage of land used for livestock compared to crops and the food caloric and protein supply they respectively provide for global consumption. It can be said that plant-based foods are more efficient in the use of land. Concurrently, it also highlights that perhaps the bigger challenge on hand is the raising of livestock. To what extent can the space needed to grow livestock be reduced, and can it be transplanted into an urban setting? This provides an appropriate context for thinking about what can be appropriately expected from reintegrating agriculture into the urban. It illustrates that by no means can urban agriculture be regarded as a panacea for the issues regarding the global food system, nor will it cure all the illnesses of urbanism. The dissertation, therefore, seeks to find urban agriculture’s current position on whether it is able to or unable to be economically feasible, environmentally friendly and socially enriching.

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Figure 2.1.

Global Atlas of the North-South Divide Retrieved from wikipedia.org

2 7

Urbanizing Agriculture

The history and development of urban agriculture can be understood through the lens of the North-South Divide. The literature on urban agriculture was predominantly focused on the Global South before the turn of the milennium, and only thereafter was there more noticeable attention given to the Global North. Indeed, the difference in socio-economic context meant that urban agriculture served different functions: in the Global South, it concerned food security, public health, and income generation, whereas in the Global North the focus has been on environmental sustainability, quality of open space and public procurement and identity politics. Consequently, the viability of integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure and the needs and desires of citizens to engage will differ based on unique local socio-economic and political factors.

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Figure 2.2.

Satellite Image of Havana, Cuba Retrieved from Google Earth

Figure 2.3.

Organoponicos, Havana, Cuba Retrieved from eduardomartino.com

Urbanizing Agriculture

8

9

Discussions in the Global South

The case of Havana, Cuba is perhaps the most noteworthy example of the impact of urban agriculture in the Global South. The dissolution of the Soviet Union after 1989 led to an extreme economic depression, now commonly referred to as “The Special Period”. It made it necessary for Cuba to achieve self-reliance because of the severe shortage of chemical inputs which its modern agricultural sector was heavily dependent on. This presented a seemingly insurmountable crisis: the need to double food production with less than half the inputs (Cruz & Medina, 2003).

Cuba was able to overcome this challenge with the introduction of the National Food Program, which aimed to make the area in and around Havana as self-sufficient as possible. It was also significant for its change to organic methods, colloquially known as “organoponicos”, using organic substrates from crop residues, household waste, and animal manure. Urban agriculture was manifested in three different scales of organisation: at an individual and domestic level with gardens on private land, in organized groups of neighbors on public land, and institutionally organized gardens.

As of 2013, there were 97 high-yielding organoponicos and about 318 other intensive gardens.

Around 90,000 Havana citizens were engaged in urban agriculture, making for the total area used at an estimated 35,900 hectares, which is half the area of Havana province (Koont, 2009). The Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) suggests that a key lesson from Havana’s experience is that “to be productive and sustainable, urban agriculture must adapt to physical urban conditions and to local potentials and resources.” (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, n.d.)

Figure 2.4.

Urban Agriculture: Food, Jobs and Sustainable Cities Retrieved from jacsmit.com

Besides Havana, there are many other examples of cities in the Global South which have seen the effects of urban agriculture including Kathmandu, Jakarta, Lusaka, and Kampala. Jac Smit, often referred to as the “Father of Urban Agriculture” predominantly discusses urban agriculture in the context of cities in the Global South in his seminal book, “Urban Agriculture: Food, Jobs, and Sustainable Cities” (Smit, et al., 2001).

The discussions are comprehensive and covers almost all aspects of urban agriculture and its practices, with relevant case studies from across the globe. Smit, et al. attributes the continued practice of urban agriculture in the Global South to contemporary developments such as the industrial agriculture revolution, global information revolution, rapid post-World War II urbanization, settlement patterns resulting from contemporary urbanization and great expansion of low-income segments of the urban population (Smit, et al., 2001).

This provides a useful lens for which to understand the continued practice of urban agriculture, especially in the Global South.

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Figure 2.5.

World War I era US Poster

By James Montgomery Flagg

Figure 2.6. “Dig on for Victory�

By Peter Fraser

Urbanizing Agriculture

Discussions in the Global North

Not dissimilar to the emergence of urban agriculture in the Global South, it was a matter of crisis which gave reason to its widespread practice in the Global North. The two World Wars had a significant impact on urban food self-sufficiency and consequently, more citizens began to actively participate. Victory gardens materialized in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany as governments advocated for proactive public engagement in reducing the pressure on the food supply.

10

However, the idea of farming for subsistence has largely changed. In more recent times, urban agriculture in Germany has been politically driven whereas, in the United Kingdom, the focus is more towards environmental education and quality urban space production (Viljoen & Bohn, 2014). There has also been a significant interest by local administrations and governments to formalize the practice, with over 90 urban and regional sustainable food system plans and strategies in the Global North alone (Ilieva, 2017). One of the more recent initiatives is the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, which acknowledged “that urban and peri-urban agriculture offers opportunities to protect and integrate biodiversity into city region landscapes and food systems, thereby contributing to synergies across food and nutrition security, ecosystem services and human well-being�.

The pact is telling of the way urban agriculture is perceived in the Global North and it was signed by more than 100 cities, mostly of developed countries (Milano, n.d.).

Figure 2.7.

Food Systems and Charters and Strategies issued at the subnational level in developed countries per year from 2001 to 2015

By Rositsa T. Ilieva

11

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Ultimately, the discussion on urban agriculture and its implications can be succinctly and holistically captured in the following “Urban Food Systems Star�

by Kenneth Dahlberg. It illustrates four major themes which encapsulate the concept and is useful for defining the true extent of urban agriculture.

There are limitations to what urban agriculture can offer. Firstly, and perhaps the most crucial factor, is the access to land and space. Initiatives which are led by lower-income communities experience disparities in access to land, government funding and political support. In developed urban centres, there will inevitably be questions behind the necessity as well as viability of using precious land for farming agricultural goods. There is often a lack of formal acknowledgement or classification of the land used for urban agriculture and therefore projects are often vulnerable to redevelopment or competition. Secondly, the promotion of use of open land for urban agriculture may lead to lower population densities and more sprawling cities as opposed to more sustainable compact cities. There are also health risks to the growers, consumers and community from soil contaminants and pollutants. Additionally, the food grown on urban agriculture plots may not be more desirable than the food urban dwellers can purchase from supermarkets. (Santo, et al., 2016) The global food system now functions in such a way which allows for on-demand consumption, and is no longer dependent on nature’s cyclical seasons or weather factors.

Urbanizing Agriculture

Figure 2.8.

Urban Food Systems Star

By Kenneth Dahlberg

12

13

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

3 14

15

Precedent Studies

Within the architectural realm, the idea of unifying agriculture and the urban is not a foreign nor a new concept. There exist many precedents which can aid in positioning how the concept has developed and been perceived over time. They range from utopian visions to more practical solutions and some have remained ideas whilst others have had more success in being tried and tested in the real world. Nevertheless, the following ideas have all contributed to the discussion of urban agriculture.

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure Figure 3.1.

The Three Magnets

By Ebenezer Howard

Garden Cities of To-Morrow Ebenezer Howard // 1898

More than a century ago, Ebenezer Howard published his utopian vision of the Garden Cities of To-Morrow. Howard’s concept was a social critique of the urbanization which resulted from the Industrial Revolution and the slums and low quality of life which accompanied it. Famously depicted in his diagram of The Three Magnets, Howard positions the Garden City as the “town-country” – the best alternative to either the town or the country. He devised a holistic vision of the concept, including the economic workings to support its feasibility.

The Garden City concept begins with an imagination of acquiring 6,000 acres of agricultural land at a rate of GBP 40 / acre. It would cater to a population of 32,000 with 1,000 acres for the city, and 5,000 acres of agricultural land (32 people per acre). The City would be built near the centre of the total area. Six boulevards radiate outwards from the city core. These boulevards are connected by belts of housing, retail, factories, and warehouses outwards towards the agricultural land. It was also to be serviced by a railway line. The agricultural land was to be held by 2,000 individuals of the total 32,000 citizens in the forms of large farms, small holdings, allotments, cow pastures etc. Howard believed that the economic workings of the Garden City would determine the specific land use of the agricultural land.

The farmers would have the benefit of the close proximity of the market in the Garden City and would be assured a fair rent. Conversely, the Garden City dwellers would have access to cheaper and fresher agricultural goods (Howard & Osborn, 1973).

Howard was adamant in maintaining the agricultural component of his concept. Residential space was to be divided into plots of 20 by 130 feet, which Howard proposed would be enough to provide for a family of five. In questioning how the Garden City will grow, which Howard considered was bound to happen once others have recognised its numerous advantages, Howard dismisses the possibility that development would take place on the agricultural land commenting that it would “destroy its right to be called a ‘Garden City’” (Howard & Osborn, 1973). This thought experiment is particularly relevant as one of the main issues in implementing urban agriculture today is the access to land. The value which urban land holds does not justify the economics of using it for agricultural activity.

Howard’s vision would be saved from this because “the land around Garden City is, fortunately, not in the hands of private individuals: it is in the hands of the people: and is to be administered, not in the supposed interests of the few, but in the real interests of the whole community.”

(Howard & Osborn, 1973) Instead, Howard proposed that development would occur just beyond the agricultural/country zone in what may be described as satellite cities. Although modern garden cities such as Welwyn and Letchworth did not develop to the maturity that Howard envisaged, it is noteworthy that at least 33 new towns have been built with the intention to integrate productive landscapes with domestic space (Ward, 1993).

Precedent Studies

16

17

Figure 3.2.

Schematic of Garden Cities of To-Morrow

By Ebenezer Howard

Figure 3.3.

Garden City Plan

By Ebenezer Howard

Figure 3.4.

Garden City Growth Principle

By Ebenezer Howard

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Figure 3.5.

Schematic Plan of Broadacre City

By Author, adapted from diagram by Quittenton, Lietz, Lindal

Precedent Studies

18

19

Figure 3.6.

Broadacre City Model

Retrieved from franklloydwright.org

Figures 3.7. & 3.8.

Closeups of Broadacre City Model Retrieved from franklloydwright.org

Broadacre City

Frank Lloyd Wright // 1932

More than 30 years after Howard’s Garden Cities, Frank Lloyd Wright proposed his own utopian vision of city-living in the form of the Broadacre City in 1932 . Similar to Howard, Wright developed his vision as a social critique of the urban condition which he described as “soulless machines of capital accumulation”. As Howard’s response followed the industrial revolution, Wright’s was conceived in the midst of the Great Depression. Wright’s core concept entitled every person to have at least an acre of land and that communities would be connected by grand highways. His vision, eternalized in the form of the famous 3.7m x 3.7m model representing a hypothetical 10 km2 shown below, is noticeably more landscape than it is a built environment. Wright proposed that it would have a population density of about 2.5 people per acre which is more than 10 times less dense than Howard’s proposal (Wise, 2013).

Wright’s scheme placed significant importance on the automobile and the infrastructure needed to support this. The road/highway, which he called “great architecture”, plays an important role to “unite and separate” the households and farms to the interspersed built environment of factory units, small commercial centres and markets, and civic buildings. In imagining the success, and therefore growth of his scheme, Wright imagined clusters of smaller cities which would cover the entirety of the United States connected by a superhighway, not dissimilar to Howard’s ideas except for the substitution of the railway for the highway.

With the acre of land, Wright envisioned inhabitants of the Broadacre City to be involved in food production and have access to markets which would be established by the roadside enabling trade, sale, and distribution of each household’s produce. The importance of agriculture to his vision resonated through his words, “Of all the underlying forces working toward emancipation of the city dweller, most important is the gradual reawakening of the primitive instincts of the agrarian” and that “the farm itself, notwithstanding the animals, becomes the most attractive unit of the city” (Wright, 1944).

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Continuous Productive Urban Landscape Viljoen and Bohn // 2005

A more modern and formal exploration of the synthesis of cities and agriculture emerged in 2005 by Bohn and Viljoen. The Continuous Productive Urban Landscape (CPUL) is a design concept which aims to put productive land use at the centre of urban design.

It advocates for interlinked productive landscapes as an essential element of sustainable urban infrastructure through the creation of multi-functional open urban space networks that complement and support the built environment. Rather than envisioning a utopia as a medium for social critique, Bohn and Viljoen’s concept was a practical proposal which was rationalized to be applicable to existing contemporary cities.

The concept as a design was conceived as an entry for the architecture and urban design competition, Europan 5, following research on the role of urban agriculture within urban design which Bohn and Viljoen had been engaged in during the 1990s. Its central proposition was that an intensively treated urban landscape can make up for the lower building density which it naturally requires. Its use of the term urban agriculture largely refers to fruit and vegetable production

Figure 3.9.

Sustainable Visions of CPULs

By Author, based on information by Viljoen, et. al.

with the rationale that it provides the highest yields per square metre. (Viljoen, et al., 2016) However, it is also likely that this distinction was made due to the relative ease of integrating flora as opposed to fauna into the urban. Animals and livestock have more risks in terms of diseases and hygiene.

In addition to urban agriculture, CPUL seeks to promote the idea that the urban landscape can be productive through designing spaces for “leisure, movement, and commerce shared by people, natural habitats, non-vehicular circulation routes and ecological corridors.� As highlighted in the diagram below, Bohn and Viljoen assert the various ways in which CPULs would be productive within the three pillars of sustainability. Environmentally, the concept would improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gases (CO2), reduce noise pollution and enhance biodiversity. The concept would promote cultural, educational and leisure activities and address unproductive shopping habits, diets, and health concerns. Economically, it would add another dimension to the opportunities of local employment and provoke new socio-economic thinking. However,

Precedent Studies

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An established city with no CPULs.

Inserting productive urban landscapes.

21

Identifying continuous landscapes.

Feeding the city.

Figure 3.10.

CPUL Implementation Strategy

By Viljoen, et. al., 2016

these visions remain abstract and akin to policy-speak.

Although the vision is somewhat achievable and not difficult to imagine, it still fails to make clear just exactly how the concept would achieve it practically.

In contrast to Howard and Wright’s ideas, CPULs do not “seek a tabula rasa from which to grow” (Viljoen, et al., 2016). The vision is that the concept can be applied over existing characteristics of a city by “overlaying and interweaving a multiuser landscape strategy to present and newly reclaimed open space”. Interestingly, Wright’s vision of an automobile dominant city is replaced by a design that is “primarily for pedestrians, bicycles, engine-less and emergency vehicles” which the authors claim is to allow for healthy plants and varied functions. Ultimately, the urban form would take the shape of a series of green strips from the very urban to the peri-urban to the rural, connecting allotment gardens with parks along the way. It would be “green, natural and topographical (except when they happen on buildings), low, slow and socially active, tactile, season-

al and healthy.” The following diagrams illustrate Bohn and Viljoen’s strategy of how the CPUL would be implemented by identification of the existing landscape, insertion of productive urban landscapes with an end goal of feeding the city. However, it is vague and perhaps too implicit in its message.

Ultimately, the concept calls for CPULs to be as integral to the urban infrastructure as the supply of energy and water and waste disposal. Realistically, this would require complex and demanding planning, management and maintenance and should be introduced incrementally. However, Bohn and Viljoen draw the distinction between CPULs and current elements of urban infrastructure which mainly deal with distribution and circulation in suggesting that CPULS would have “productive elements embedded within them, which add directly to our positive experience of the city” and that “this is unique.” (Viljoen, et al., 2016) However, the authors fall short of proposing a design methodology or approach for establishing a CPUL.

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Since its publication, the concept has garnered global attention. Most notably, the planning concept for the city of Almere in the Netherlands could be said to be derived from the ideas proposed in CPUL. Established in 1976, Almere is relatively new and one of the fastest growing cities in Europe with a population of approximately 200,000. The Agromere concept was developed by Wageningen University & Research Centre for the area of Almere Oosterwald specifically in an attempt to integrate city life with agriculture in anticipation of the growing population. The design included 15,000 new homes planned on approximately 4,000 ha of agricultural land. The plan consisted of four different urban farms with functions aimed at fulfilling the local population’s needs. The four urban farm types were vegetables and fruits with chickens and cereals (25 ha), greenhouses with community services (6 ha), arable farming with cattle (61 ha) and dairy and community services (88 ha). The amount of land allocated for each urban farm type was calculated based on the presumed average consumption of 5,000 inhabitants (Jansma & Visser, 2011). The designers behind Agromere feel that they were successful in inspiring the city planners to include urban agriculture in the Strategic Vision of Almere 2.0, published by the municipality. Since then, MVRDV was engaged to formalize a proposal for the area, building on the Agromere concept. (MVRDV, n.d.)

However, there are limitations with the CPUL concept. Undoubtedly, the process of realizing such a grand vision will be slow in pace and will require dedication and commitment of the city government. Although it may work for all cities, it will definitely be more feasible in cities with certain pre-existing characteristics. The concept could propose additional guidelines for the inherent qualities of cities which would make CPULs a significant contribution to the city’s development. Certainly, land remains one of the biggest limitations as CPULs will have to compete with commercial land-use activities which are productive in their own right, and whose productivity is much easier to quantify.

In the case of Almere Oosterwald, it is evident that the city has not been urbanized completely and thus may have made the integration of agriculture more feasible and logical. It remains to be seen how successful or likely it would be that CPULs are implemented in a completely urban setting.

Figure 3.11.

Artist’s Impression of Almere Oosterwald Retrieved from Draft Structural Vision Almere 2.0

Figure 3.12.

Schematic Plan of Agromere concept By author

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“The city and its environs will be developed together as a single unit. For each building unit, the environs will offer space for green structure combined with urban agriculture, space for lines of sight, generation of renewable energy, water purification, and the required infrastructure. Almere Oosterwold will be the paragon of sustainable area development.�

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Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Figure 3.13.

Food Along the Transect

By Andres Duany

Precedent Studies

Agrarian Urbanism

Andres Duany & DPZ // 2011

Andres Duany is an architect who focuses on town and country planning and founded the DPZ practice with his wife in 1980. He is famously known as the proponent of the New Urbanism movement and was the designer of Seaside, Florida. In 2011, he published a book on his research into agrarian urbanism – supposedly distinct from agricultural urbanism in that agrarianism “emphasizes the society involved with all aspects of food.” (Duany, 2011) Specifically, the work seeks to integrate agriculture into the physical pattern of the New Urbanist model and Duany states that “Agrarian Urbanism works best when grafted onto the mature trunk of the New Urbanism” (Duany, 2011).

DPZ as a practice operates on developing the Transect as an analytical tool as well as a method to organize the built environment. In scientific discussions, a transect is a geographical cross-section of an environment in order to identify the habitats in which certain plants and animals live. In the case of Agrarian Urbanism, the rural-to-urban transect is used to allocate architectural/built elements to appropriate geographic locations in order to avoid “urbanizing of the rural” (office towers in otherwise pristine environments) or “ruralizing of the urban” (undefined, vacant open space in the urban core). The development of this transect, shown in the diagram below, essentially attempts to create zones along the rural-to-urban path and qualifies its suitable method and scale of food production.

Figure 3.14.

Dwelling Types along the Transect

By Andres Duany

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The diagram below shows a series of dwelling units of various typologies and their interaction with food production, coinciding with the different zones of the rural-to-urban transect and using a single acre as a point of reference.

Duany shows this in further detail in the following image which illustrates the various methods of production as well as what the expected products could be along the transect.

Furthermore, Duany emphasizes that “growing food is an unforgiving endeavour” and that “agrarian communities must… be well-run and inhabited by intentional residents.” (Duany, 2011) He envisions a community where the dweller buys into the agrarian lifestyle and agrees to certain preconditions such as participating in the appropriate level of food production and to contribute so as to make the system function holistically. He proposes that the municipal budgets spent on the upkeep of public and semi-public ornamental landscaping can instead be reallocated as labour for the demanding aspects of agriculture.

Duany posits that the ideal location for an Agrarian Urbanism to take place would be “near a city with a market, hotel and a restaurant culture prepared to consume and pay for the better food.” (Duany, 2011) Duany’s Transect diagrams and analysis of the urban condition in relation to productive agriculture is holistic and well thought through. However, despite this, it still remains doubtful whether it can be implemented on a real urban case.

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Discussion

From studying the four precedents, it is clear that there has been and continues to be a lively discussion on the marriage between cities and agriculture.

The earlier examples of the late 19th and early 18th centuries offered a critical social commentary with their ideas. The concepts sought a tabula rasa from which to grow, whereas endeavours of the 21st century are perhaps vague and broad in comparison – offering instead a loose framework by which a vision of urban agriculture can be realised in existing cities. It is also worth noting that all four precedents arise in the context of the Global North. Holistic and intentional planning of urban agriculture on a large scale has yet to be proposed for the Global South.

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Figure 3.15.

Overview of four precedents By author

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Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Figure 4.1.

A worker at the GE lettuce factory Retrieved from modernfarmer.com

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Technological Review

Technology has always had a massive impact on the advancement of agriculture, as seen in the First and Second Agricultural Revolutions. Not unlike other industries, agricultural technology of the 21st century has seen tremendous growth and development in the pursuit of more efficient, effective and sustainable production of food. In particular, this section will discuss the technological developments in crop cultivation post-Green Revolution in order to evaluate contemporary applications. Naturally, the urban form and architectural solutions will be effected by the technologies available as architects more often make use of existing means rather than come up with new innovations.

Plants grow through photosynthesis, which essentially converts carbon dioxide from the air and water into glucose and oxygen through the energy supplied by sunlight. A successful cultivation of plants requires supplementing the plants with the most conducive environment of a set of parameters. Typically, this includes suitable temperature, light, water, oxygen, mineral nutrients, and support.

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure Figure 4.2.

Aerofarm in Newark, New Jersey, USA Retrieved from aerofarms.com

The Medium - Soil-less Cultivation Recently, there has been a resurgence in the popularity of cultivating plants in a medium other than soil – commonly known as hydroponics (Schmidt, et al., 1983). Its current acceptance, amongst urban dwellers in particular, can be attributed to the loss of agricultural land (or scarcity of/lack of access to open land in general), depletion of soil health and overall environmental quality, the spread of ideas via the internet (advocating the high-density maximum crop yield possible with such systems) and the overall decrease in capital cost and increase in suppliers of related products. Hydroponics is an umbrella term which includes deep water culture, aggregate culture, aeroponics and rotary systems. It can be practiced in an outdoor setting which utilises natural sunlight and air or in an indoor setting with a more controlled system of lights and air circulation. The common denominator between the different systems is that the plants gather the needed nutrition and water through a nutrient solution alone, as opposed to through soil or other aggregate material which would otherwise support the roots.

First experimented in 1699 in England and successful on a large scale by the early 1930s (Schmidt, et al., 1983), the system of deep water culture involves fully immersing the plant roots in a nutrient solution and is perhaps the simplest to set up on a small scale. As such, it is often one of the first systems urban dwellers will attempt in their foray of growing produce on limited land. Although it is very easy to design and build independently, there are also many kits available on the market such as the IKEA Vaxer (IKEA UK, n.d.) and the Click & Grow (Click & Grow EU, n.d.). The main disadvantages of this system are that it requires a relatively large amount of water per plant, it can require more sensitive attention than soil-grown plants, and that top-heavy or fruiting plants may require more support which would normally be given by the grip of

roots onto the soil. Typically, this system has proven to be efficient in growing leafy greens, herbs, and fruit crops such as tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries.

Aggregate culture systems are similar to water culture except for the addition of an aggregate medium which essentially retains nutrients near the roots and provides additional support for the roots and plant as a whole. The most common materials used are rockwool, clay pebbles, gravel, perlite or foam chips (Schmidt, et al., 1983) .

Aeroponics was first commercialized by its inventor in 1983 and has proven to be a more efficient alternative to deep water and aggregate culture systems.

In aeroponics systems, the plant roots are basically suspended in mid-air with nutrients being provided by regular mists or fine drops of nutrient solution. Research by NASA has shown that this system allows for 80% increase in dry weight biomass whilst using 65% less water and 75% less nutrient input than deep water cultures (Dunbar, n.d.). It has proven to be successful for propagation, seed germination, tomato production and leafy greens and micro-greens. Formed in 2004, AeroFarms now operates the world’s largest indoor vertical farm using the aeroponics system in Newark, New Jersey. It boasts using “95% less water than field farmedfood and with yields 390 times higher per square foot annually” (Aerofarms, n.d.) in a nondescript converted steel factory. There is also a more advanced although more obscure form of aeroponics called fogponics which transfers the nutrient solution in a vaporised form (Elliot, 2016).

Technological Review

Figure 4.3.

Bird’s eye view of the Newark Aerofarm, a nondescript warehouse By author, from image retrieved from Google Earth

Figures 4.4. & 4.5.

Interior Views of the Newark Aerofarm Retrieved from aerofarms.com

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Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Figure 4.6.

Green Spirit Farms founder Milan (left) and Dan Kluko (right) Retrieved from Edible Michiana

A relatively new system which can be considered still in its infancy/experimental stages is the rotary hydroponics system (sometimes referred to as Volksgarden) (Salton, 2009). The system uses a continuously rotating cylinder housing to hold the plants while it continuously basks in even light. The most popular manufacturer claims that the system “can yield three to five times the comparable weight per watt average per harvest (when compared to conventional flat or tiered gardens)� (Salton, 2009). Currently, Green Spirit Farms based in Michigan uses this system to grow leafy greens, herbs and fruit crops such as tomatoes, peppers, and peas (Bartholome, 2012). However, the system is highly cost intensive.

Aquaponics is an amalgamation of aquaculture and hydroponics. It involves the breeding of fish other seafood such as shrimps and lobsters and uses the biological waste produced as nutritional input for the plants. This system is able to break from the dependency on chemical nutrient solutions and simultaneously allow the cultivation of both plant crops as well as seafood.

Clearly, alongside the medium of hydroponics itself, there has also been continuous development of the physical format of the farm in order to maximise productivity. A study done by Gordon Graff on vertical farming highlights various iterations and their improvement to the productivity levels of conventional land agriculture.

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The Fuel - Artificial Lighting One of the most important factors which influence plant growth is light. The development of technology has enabled the exploration of artificial lighting for a more efficient cultivation process. For many years, fluorescent lamps and high-intensity discharge lamps were used. However, due to more extensive research, price decline and rapid improvement in luminous efficacy, there has been a surge of interest in using LEDs recently. Besides its general benefits such as being more robust, compact and lightweight than fluorescent lamps, LEDs offer a more specific advantage: its flexibility for producing light of different frequencies which can be specifically suited for different plants and allowing for precision cultivation. For example, an LED module of blue, red and far-red LEDs is already being used for commercial production of lettuce in the Netherlands.

The implications this has on urbanism shouldn’t be understated. It opens up the possibility for highly productive agriculture which can take place indoors. Underutilised spaces such as vacant and abandoned buildings, underground spaces, car parks and so on could be converted into productive agricultural spaces and give rise to new typologies.

Figure 4.7.

Diagram of stacked drum hydroponic system’s space efficiency

By Gordon Graff

Figure 4.8.

Diagram of an A-frame hydroponic system’s space efficiency

By Gordon Graff

Figure 4.9.

Diagram of a stacked bed hydroponic system’s space efficiency

By Gordon Graff

Figure 4.10.

Diagram of Valcant’s Verticrop system’s space efficiency

By Gordon Graff

Figure 4.11.

Horticultural LED grow lights Retrieved from hortamericas.com

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

1. Thermally well-insulated, nearly airtight walls 2. Multi-tier system with lighting devices 3. Air-conditioners and fans 4. CO2 supply unit 5. Nutrient solution supply unit 6. Environment control unit

3.

4.

1.

2.

5.

6.

Figure 4.12.

Six principal components of a plant factory

By author, based on information from Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan

Figure 4.13.

Integration of plant factories into the urban fabric

By Dr. Toyoki Kozai

New Typology - The Plant Factory Japan is a global leader and pioneer of the plant factory typology (more specifically the plant factory with artificial lighting (PFAL)). Its Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry defines a plant factory as a “facility that aids the steady production of high-quality vegetables all year round by artificially controlling the cultivation environment” (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, 2013). There are six principal components which make up a plant factory as shown in the figure below. The Ministry also states that there are currently around 211 plant factories across Japan growing lettuce, herbs, tomatoes, and strawberries.

The impact plant factories may have on the future of cities is foreshadowed in what is labelled as “one of metropolitan Tokyo’s biggest projects”. Kashiwa-noha is known as a smart city with urban agriculture, located in Chiba prefecture, a suburb of Tokyo. There exists an ongoing social and economic experiment with multiple plant factories of different sizes serving different purposes:

• Rooftop farm, organic city farm, organic restaurant • Mini PFALs at the shopping center, food shop, café restaurant, hotel restaurant, • Commercial PFALs • Household PFALs • Greenhouses at Chiba University • Solar panel and wind power generation, batteries • Oriental medicine clinic, acupuncture clinic, herbal garden • Honey bee house (Urban Ag News, 2016) Dr. Toyoki Kozai, co-author of Plant Factory, also serves as the Chief Director of the Japan Plant Factory Association and oversees the development of Plant Factories in the Chiba prefecture. He theorizes that in the future plant factories will be ubiquitously integrated into the urban fabric, as seen in the following figure.

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Adaptation – Zero-Acreage Farming (ZFarming)

The term Zero-Acreage Farming refers to the concept of cultivating crops without using additional acreage. This includes rooftop farms, productive building facades, and indoor farms in existing urban structures – effectively exploiting the potential of vacant unused urban spaces. Essentially, the advent of ZFarming can be credited to the new technologies discussed previously and the natural progression of societal needs. A study published in 2014 analysed 73 ZFarming projects distributed in North America (44), Europe (19), Asia (15) and Australia (1). The following diagram illustrates that a majority of the building types used fall under the hotel/restaurant, research/education, food business and housing (Thomaier, et al., 2014).

It is also interesting to note that 64% of the projects identified practiced ZFarming in the form of rooftop farms, followed by indoor farms, rooftop greenhouses, facades and others. The authors of the study also categorised the Zfarming typology along two scales: its purpose and its market orientation.

Figure 4.15.

ZFarming typology

By Thomaier, et al.

Figure 4.14.

Building uses combined with ZFarming

By Thomaier, et al.

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Figure 4.16.

The OpenAg team tend their garden, the Food computer Retrieved from MIT Media Lab, medium.com

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Sensing & Automation The Internet of Things Revolution

Big data, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence has also recently reached the realm of urban agriculture. Researchers at MIT Media Lab started the Open Agriculture Initiative in 2015, with the aim to develop controlled-environment agriculture platforms called “Food Computers”. The food computers utilize a variety of sensors, actuators and machine vision which studies and replicates the optimal growing conditions for different crops (Peters, 2017). This includes the monitoring, analysis, and adjustment of parameters such as the pattern and spectrum of light, salinity, temperature and pH of the nutrient solution, relative humidity, carbon dioxide and oxygen levels.

The data collected is then logged and shared online as a “climate recipe” for the specific plants so that it can be used across the world.

The food computer technology has also been implemented in different scales. The Personal Food Computer is a table-top sized unit for use in homes, classrooms and research/experimental facilities. The mid-sized model, coined as the Food Server, is about the size of a shipping container. As of 2016, there are three food servers operating at MIT, Michigan State University and Universidad Guadalajara in Mexico.

The largest scale would be warehouse-sized Food Data Centers similar in purpose to plant factories.

As controlled environment agriculture technology matures, it opens up a myriad of possibilities for urban integration. It provides opportunities for new adaptive reuse typologies and may in the future manifest into an essential urban infrastructure.

Figure 4.17.

The Personal Food Computer

Retrieved from MIT Media Lab, medium.com

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Discussion Generally, the invention and improvement of technology aim to make certain aspects of life easier. In the case of agriculture, the impact it has on taming “the unforgiving endeavour” is profound. The average age of farmers worldwide is around 60 years old , and the youth are generally not attracted to the prospects of farming as part of their future . In an interview conducted by the Institute of Development Studies, Miss S, a 19 year old migrant job-seeker from a nearby rural area said that:

“I never want to be a farmer, ever …

I don’t want to work under the sun; my skin will be darker. My mother said that I shouldn’t be a farmer; the [earnings] are not enough to provide for life; it doesn’t have a future; it’d be better to look for a job in the city... It is better becoming a factory worker; I don’t have to work under the heat, it is not dirty. The wage can be used to buy a cell phone, clothes, cosmetics, bags or other things needed by a teenager. It can be saved for parents, too.”

The study suggests that there are 4 main themes which may hinder youth from embracing being a professional farmer. This includes preference and aspiration for a certain social status, the constraints of access to land and inputs, as well as the tough mental and physical challenges which ultimately may not be financially rewarding. It is perceived that urban life is “easier, cleaner and more comfortable.” The adaptation and evolution of urban agriculture may attract the youth to participate as modern farm entrepreneurs. In fact, its success may depend on being able to attract the commitment of the youth. If that were to happen, it may offer a possible answer to the vital question: in the future, who will grow our food?

However, this phenomenon also raises questions about the qualities of the “culture” associated with agriculture. Conventionally, urban agriculture carried with it a certain lifestyle and social activities, attracting a certain crowd of enthusiasts. The urban agrarian culture may be starkly different. Additionally, it is still too early to predict just how far the innovations can go.

Currently, it is evident that there are still many limitations in terms of what can and can’t be grown. Robert Biel takes a critical view of technocentrism and questions “how far we can reproduce, in an artificial growing medium… natural complexity, in both the soil itself and surrounding ecosystem services” (Biel, 2016). Can urban and architectural design pursue biomimicry to a level which is near perfection? Furthermore, the absence of growing livestock is evident. However, there are innovations in plant-based meat and insect farming which raises many questions about its cultural and social acceptability. Are we ready to change our diets? In years to come, as the technology improves and the practice spreads, there may be a shift in the discussion and literature surrounding urban agriculture.

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Figure 4.18.

Tending to a small scale farm By author

Figure 4.19.

A typical conventional rural farm requires hard labour By author

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Figure 5.1.

Kuala Lumpur City

By Nur Ismail

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The Case of Kuala Lumpur

41

5 Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, will be used to explore the research question. Located in the tropics, Malaysia owes much of its economic success and development to its inheritance of rich natural resources. Historically, it has always been an important commercial port due to its strategic location being situated between the Straits of Malacca to the east and the South China Sea to the west, effectively linking trade from the West (Europe, India) to the East (China, Japan).

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

To better understand the Malaysian experience of urbanization and its relationship with agriculture, it helps to identify three broad economic eras in its development: Agricultural (1960 – 1974), Industrial (1975 – 1999) and Urbanization (2000 – present).

After achieving independence, in the period between the 1950s to 1970s, Malaysia had drafted its First Malaysia Plan in which it allocated 15.9% of its total budget towards the agricultural sector and rural development. At the time, the main commercial crops were rubber (65.7%) and paddy (17.5%). Consequently, agriculture contributed 33% of Malaysia’s GDP in 1960.

In the 1970s, Malaysia began to transition, with the implementation of the New Economic Policy, from a predominantly mining and agricultural-based economy towards a more industrialised multi-sector economy. This was done to improve socioeconomic factors and it successfully decreased poverty levels which were at almost 50% in 1970 to just 1% in 2014.

In the 1990s, Malaysia had set its mission on becoming a fully developed and high income nation by the year 2020. Accordingly, the agricultural sector was overtaken by the manufacturing sector in terms of GDP (from 33.3% in 1960 to 8.2% in 2005), employment (from 67.7% in 1960 to 12.9% in 2005) and national export (from 62.1% in 1960 to 7.0% in 2005).

Simultaneously, land use for food crops halved from 31.5% in 1960 to just 16.3% in 2005 as more land was used for industrial crops. These are drastic changes for a nation in a period spanning a mere 45 years. (Olaniyi, et al., 2013)

Sectoral contribution to Malaysia’s GDP from 1960 to 2000

The prospects of better employment in the new urban economy led to outmigration from the rural to urban centres. The level of urbanization in Kuala Lumpur increased twofold in the span of 30 years from 34.2% in 1980 to 72.8% in 2014. It is projected to reach 86.7% in 2050 (United Nations, 2017).

Figure 5.3.

Agricultural land use in Malaysia, 1960

Figure 5.4.

Agricultural land use in Malaysia, 2005

Figure 5.2.

By author, based on data from Bank Negara Malaysia Annual Report

By author, based on data from Arshad, et al.

By author, based on data from Arshad, et al.

The Case of Kuala Lumpur

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Understanding the urban form and its condition is crucial. The morphology of Kuala Lumpur has largely been organic and does not have an easily defined grid or identifiable pattern. Its land use shows that 6.32% of land is still vacant, and 3.93% is open or recreational land which gives a rough indication of what may be used to cultivate land-based agriculture.

Infrastructure and utilities make up almost 2% of the total land, whilst housing make up almost 12% (Bahagian Maklumat Gunatanah Negara, 2012). These are factors which determine where Zero Acre Farming or controlled environment agriculture may be implemented. The physical urban form ultimately determines the extents of a successful city-wide urban agriculture infrastructure.

Although Howard’s Garden City and Wright’s Broadacre City are important concepts in the discussion, they require tabula rasa from which to grow. Bohn and Viljoen’s Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes is largely designed for cities of the Global North and presume that the city would have existing green spaces which are relatively close together so that they can realistically be linked to be a continuous form. This may not be the case for developing cities, especially in Asia. Kuala Lumpur covers a land area of 243 km2 and is the most populous city carrying 1.6 million people.

However, the capital city was unable to contain the fast rate of urbanization it attracted and has thus led to a serious case of urban sprawl. In the period between 1990 and 2009, its population approximately doubled but its area grew by a factor of 2.5. This urban sprawl

Figure 5.5.

Summary of agriculture in Malaysian economy from 1960 to 2005 By author, based on data from Bank Negara Malaysia Annual Report

Figure 5.6.

Sprawl vs Smart Growth characteristics Retrieved from thestar.com.my

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Figure 5.7.

Urban growth in the Greater Kuala Lumpur Area, 1990 - 2009 Retrieved from World Bank (2011) Malaysia Economic Monitor: Smart Cities

The Case of Kuala Lumpur

phenomenon and the rapid urban growth at suburban areas rather than the city centre has been attributed to the availability of cheaper land, the heavy reliance on private vehicles and the provision of more highways (Abdullah, et al., 2009).

This has a tangible effect on the urban culture as it changes the way city dwellers access their food. In a report conducted by DBS Vickers investigating the transformation of grocery retail in ASEAN, “the layout of many Malaysia towns tend to be spaced out and it is common for people to commute in cars. As such, there are many big box hypermarket developments in Malaysia. Hypermarkets are seen as a convenient place with a wide selection of products for consumers to visit. Supermarkets in suburban neighbourhoods play the role of supplementing hypermarkets, while convenience stores offer 24-hour service.� (DBS Group Research, 2015) There are almost 60 supermarkets and 4 hypermarkets per 1 million urban populations in Kuala Lumpur, many of them foreign companies, showing signs that Malaysians are perhaps not buying much of their local produce. Even at local, traditional wet market (grocery retailers), it was discovered that 60% of vegetables, fruits and some meat were imported because consumers said they taste better for a similar price (Ruban & Palansamy, 2016).

The urban sprawl phenomenon is accompanied with the rise of low-density horizontal suburban townships which are more affordable, and to some more desirable, than compact dwellings within the city centre. Proponents of New Urbanism argue that the fundamentals of the movement may be applied to suburban townships such as those found in Kuala Lumpur in order for it to be developed sustainably and enhance its liveability. These may counteract the many known issues of urban sprawl.

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Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

As discussed earlier, Duany’s Agrarian Urbanism suggests that townships may be specifically designed and marketed for a specific demographic; “intentional residents”. In recent years, there have been an estimated 200 suburban housing developments in the US which are designed and built to integrate productive agriculture at its core. They are marketed as “agrihoods” and “represent the values of Millennials—a convergence of food, health, local ties, and the sharing economy” according to a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute (Urban Land Institute, 2016) (Lee, 2016). In 2016, Sasaki completed a conceptual master plan design for “Sunqiao Urban Agricultural District” in Shanghai. It is described as “a new idea for urban life by celebrating food production as one of the most important functions of a city” (Sasaki, n.d.). “Agrihoods” may not seem out of place in suburban Kuala Lumpur.

Figure 5.8.

Artist’s impression of Sunqiao Agricultural District Retrieved from sasaki.com

Agricultural Legacy

In order to understand the viability of formalizing urban agriculture as a form of infrastructure, it is necessary to understand the need for it. As discussed previously, urban agriculture is multifunctional and tends to serve a more economic function for lower-income groups, and a more social and environmental function for those who do not depend on it for subsistence.

In the case of Kuala Lumpur, and Malaysia in general, the shift to being an industrialised and manufacturing based nation led to an increase in income and quality of life for its citizens, and urban dwellers particularly. This brought changes in Malaysian food consumption, most notably a change from carbohydrate rich food to more protein-based foods. For example, Malaysians in 2010 consumed approximately

The Case of Kuala Lumpur

double the amount of chicken, 4 times the amount of beef, and 60% more fruits and vegetables but almost 20% less rice than they did in 1985. Logically, this has changed the distribution of agricultural land use and saw many abandoned paddy fields converted for cultivation of commercial crops such as oil palm, fruits, and vegetables. Therefore, Malaysia turned from being a self-sufficient country in paddy production (95% in 1975) to a net importer.

From an economic perspective, according to senior director Mohd Anis Yasin from the fresh produce division of the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA), Malaysia imports vegetables and fruits even though it is capable of producing most of it, because of land scarcity, expensive labour and pesticides which increase costs . Of the total agri-foods Ma-

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laysia imported in 2013, vegetables made up 8.00%, cereals and grains made up 9.81% and fruits consisted of 5.53%. A majority of the goods imported were livestock feed, coffee, tea and spices making up a total of 32.6%.

The vegetables and tropical fruits it imported were varieties which could definitely be grown via traditional methods or with the aid of controlled environment agriculture. This means that there is a higher demand than the local supply can provide for. Urban agriculture can fulfil an economic function if it can provide an economic case for reducing the cost of access to land, labour and inputs.

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

The Global Middle

5.9.

5.10.

Although Malaysia is classified as being part of the Global South as it is still progressing towards being a developed nation, the following part of this thesis argues that Kuala Lumpur may be more aptly described as the Global Middle. There are several cases from Kuala Lumpur which help to position its citizens aims and aspirations. They range from being examples of agriculture for subsistence as seen in the Global South to more socio-political projects done by the urban middle-class which reflect similar efforts in the Global North. Interestingly, there have also been recent projects involving smart controlled environment agriculture as seen at Chiba, Japan.

The provision of public housing in Kuala Lumpur is implemented under the People’s Housing Project (Program Perumahan Rakyat or PPR). PPR dwellings are low cost high rise flats in clusters and have been developed since 1998. As of 2016, there were 32,762 units of PPR dwellings for rental in Kuala Lumpur. In a visit to a PPR Flat in central Kuala Lumpur in September 2017, a PPR dweller showed a plot of land in which she was growing a few vegetable crops and fruit trees. The land was under an electricity pylon and therefore would be under the authority of the local electricity utility company. She mentioned that she had just found the land was suitable for growing vegetables and naturally started cultivating some crops. She uses it for household consumption and occasionally gifts some produce to neighbours. However, she experienced theft and some vandalism to her efforts. Interestingly, almost a year before the interview took place, the Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government announced that PPR areas will be introducing urban farming for the dwellers’ own consumption and if successful, for commercial purposes. The Minister was quoted saying “If one PPR area has 300 houses, just imagine the outcome if each house unit growing three chilli plants.”

5.11.

Figures 5.9. & 5.10.

An urban dweller’s instinctive growing plot under electricity pylon By author

Figure 5.11.

The mayor of Kuala Lumpur at the launch of a herb and garden project at PPR Raya Permai Retrieved from thestar.com.my

A similar initiative was found in another PPR area in which the community came together to cultivate a herb garden at PPR Raya Permai (Nathan, 2015).

However, this project was developed under the Local Agenda 21 programme in collaboration with Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Universiti Putra Malaysia, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and residents’ associations. These initiatives which are largely focused on subsistence and takes place in low-income housing projects are comparable to many other urban agriculture initiatives in the Global South.

The Case of Kuala Lumpur

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Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

A prime example of urban agriculture being used for social good can be seen in a volunteer run school catering over 1000 refugee, stateless and underprivileged street children in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur. The school initiated a food garden in between rows of shop houses and a busy road. The land is under the tenure of the Kuala Lumpur City Council who gave their approval for the garden with keenness. The City Council then proceeded to award them with more land along the same stretch. The initiative achieved success through collaboration between the Dignity for Children Foundation, a local landscape architect and Eats, Shoots and Roots, a social enterprise specialising in urban farming.

The founder of the social enterprise said “for other public spaces, I wouldn’t really recommend a garden unless there is an economic or educational incentive to put one in. Maintaining a big garden takes a lot of work, and doing it just with volunteers is difficult.” (Toh, 2017) The Dignity Kitchen Garden is used as a teaching and social tool for the children as well as providing supplemental food for the foundation’s school and café.

The same landscape architect who was involved in the Dignity Kitchen Garden project has recently initiated another urban farming project in the affluent middle-class neighbourhood of Bangsar. Called Kebun-Kebun Bangsar (Bangsar Farms), it was intended to be a community garden building on participatory development. It sits on a 2.5-acre site on a power reserve and was conceived in 2013 (Hong, 2016) but only came to realization in 2017 due to red tape. However, the project was accorded the land under the Local Agenda 21 division of the City Hall. There was also some public backlash against the project (Lee, 2017) fearing that it would pose risks by endangering the slope’s stability as well as further turning the area into a gentrified tourist attraction. Similar to efforts in the Global North, this project is largely intended for social cohesion and activism, education and environmental stewardship.

Soil-less agriculture is also emerging in Kuala Lumpur.

Building on work by Sime Darby, which had created the world’s first aeroponics farm almost 20 years ago , there are several examples of controlled environment indoor agriculture.

5.12.

5.13.

5.14.

5.15.

Figure 5.12.

Children from the Dignity for Children Foundation tending the vegetable garden as a means of education Retrieved from star2.com

Figure 5.13.

Various vegetables being grown at Dignity Kitchen Garden Retrieved from star2.com

Figure 5.14.

Bountiful harvest from the Bangsar Farms

By Ng Seksan

Figure 5.15.

Farming against the backdrop of the city

By Ng Seksan

The Case of Kuala Lumpur

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Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Soil-less agriculture is also emerging in Kuala Lumpur. Building on work by Sime Darby, which had created the world’s first aeroponics farm almost 20 years ago (Utusan Online, 1999), there are several examples of controlled environment indoor agriculture.

Babylon Vertical Farms is an agritech company with a mission to “maximize production of food produced by efficiently and effectively farming vertically indoors in buildings so that a farm can be built anywhere” (Babylon Vertical Farms, 2017). It is currently growing select varieties of crops, including herbs, chili and kale, in a shipping container in a food retail complex in the city.

CityFarm Malaysia is a similar organization which launched an indoor controlled environment farm in July 2017. Its system takes up 450 square feet and is capable of growing 2000 heads of lettuce per month. CityFarm’s main premise is to sell the growing systems, although they do sell the lettuce they grow to surrounding cafes and restaurants. They also provide training and education sessions for enthusiasts and school children to learn more about the process of growing vegetables.

Organizations like Poptani and Plant Cartridge aim to provide products for residential and domestic use to encourage households to grow their own food.

The products are primarily hydroponic or aquaponics based and designed to reduce the barrier to entry - essentially taming “the unforgiving endeavour”. Indications of interest in urban farming can also be found on social media. Facebook groups such as “Kebun Bandar: Jom Tanam Sendiri” (Urban Farms: Let’s Plant Ourselves) boast a following of almost 300,000 people from across Malaysia and its members actively post anecdotes of their endeavours and share tips on growing all kinds of crops from herbs and spices to fruits and vegetables.

However, a study published in the British Food Journal suggests that urban agriculture practitioners are facing financial hardship and are not viable in their business models after surveying 370 urban farmers in US cities. The authors of the paper posit that the long term viability of urban agriculture are dependent on three factors: the economic status of the practitioners, economically sustainable business models and how successful the farms are at meeting social goals (especially for those practising as social enterprises) (Dimitri, et al., 2016).

The Case of Kuala Lumpur

People are the most crucial factor in the success or failure of projects. The initiatives which have emerged over the past few years in Kuala Lumpur provides an indication of how urban agriculture may succeed if it were to be implemented as essential infrastructure. Urban dwellers are not opposed to the hard work that agriculture entails if it is done as a community or on a voluntary basis. However, if it is personal, within the home or for commercial purposes, urban agriculture requires technology and as much automation as possible.

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Figures 5.16., 5.17. & 5.18.

Babylon Vertical Farms in a shipping container in Kuala Lumpur

By Babylon Vertical Farms

Figures 5.19., 5.20. & 5.21.

CityFarm Malaysia’s stacked beds controlled environment agriculture system

By CityFarm Malaysia

Figure 5.22.

Poptani’s bespoke aquaponics system for the home

By Poptani

Figure 5.23.

Plant Cartridge’s sales gallery

By Plant Cartridge

5.16.

5.17.

5.18.

5.19.

5.22.

5.20.

5.21.

5.23.

Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

Conclusion

The research presented in this discussion tracks the intellectual discourse as well as practical efforts of urbanizing agriculture. It also evaluates the success of Kuala Lumpur’s urban agriculture endeavour through capturing its condition at a moment in time. Based on the research presented in this dissertation, it is possible to speculate on the future of urban agriculture in Kuala Lumpur, and it is reasonable that the speculation would apply to other global cities too.

It is clearly evident that urban agriculture manifests itself in various forms and scales for a variety of intents and purposes by a wide range of initiators.

Naturally, citizens may engage in the activity of growing their own food out of pure interest or for a fundamental economic need for subsistence. They may do this individually or as a collective community. Civil society organizations may implement it for social good, using urban agriculture as a tool for social cohesion, education, or community development. These will exist in the form of allotments or community farms. It is speculated that such forms of urban agriculture will continue to emerge as they are generally accepted as a positive endeavour by the general public. However, they will perhaps be short-lived as they do not prove to be economically sustainable.

Increasingly, commercial entities are experimenting with different business models in urban agriculture as the technology continues to improve and decrease in cost. These typically appear in the form of controlled environment agriculture which may be horizontal, vertical or even cyclical in format. The concept of Zero-acre farming will continue to inform the archi-

tectural approach of this activity. However, although the economies of scale continue to improve, the success of such initiatives largely depends on its alignment with the social values of the local people. To what extent can society accept the growing of food within city limits?

It is speculated that the increase in quality of life, better education and access to information on a global scale will lead to a more sensitised urban population in regards to planetary environmental wellbeing. If the practices of conventional rural agriculture continue to be unsustainable, perhaps urban agriculture will be widely accepted as the better alternative .

Local governments also play an important role. The design of formal policies may determine how conducive the socio-political environment is for urban agriculture to emerge and exist. Through the research carried out in this dissertation, it can be concluded that urban agriculture may not exist as an essential urban infrastructure in the same way that the infrastructure for water and power supply exists. The strength of urban agriculture lies in its multifaceted nature in being able to serve different functions and purposes. However, this is also its weakness when attempting to apply the concept as a universal provision. It is perhaps not beneficial to view urban agriculture as a precondition but rather as a remedy for several urban ills. Additionally, one of the most attractive functions of a city is its multiplicity of choice. Perhaps it is unreasonable then to state that urban agriculture should be a form of essential infrastructure in all cities, but rather to allow it to exist should there be a need or desire. Despite this, it is important that urban agriculture be seriously acknowledged as an existing phenomenon and to recognise its potentials and weaknesses in improving urban life.

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It should be understood that progress across all levels happens simultaneously. As was proposed by Jane Jacobs, cities are problems of “organised complexity”. The success, or even the survival, of agriculture in the urban realm exist within a complex system of nonlinearity, dependencies and feedback loops. History has shown that agriculture has been a method of regeneration on an individual, community as well as regional levels. Live experiments of alternative economic models such as the circular economy and resource-based economy may offer alternative baselines for urban agriculture to thrive like it hasn’t been able to before. Current trends of failed and failing enterprises, growing environmental crises and concerns, are balanced against technological and socio-economic developments. This foreshadows a future industry which may play a key role in the sustainability of an ever urbanizing global population.

Urban agriculture may indeed survive as an evolution of “the unforgiving endeavour” to feed ourselves.

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Integrating productive agriculture into urban infrastructure

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