Travelling for Landscape: Alice Miall

Alice Miall (Birmingham City University) won a 2016 award for her proposal, ‘Urban agriculture in Cuba’. She spent two weeks in Havana and the Pinar del Rio region in Cuba.

Urban agriculture in Cuba

© Alice Miall

What was the idea behind your proposal?

I wanted to understand how sustainable and productive urban landscapes could be retrofitted on a city-wide scale for very little cost and resources over a short time period.

Why did you choose the location you did?

Cuba has the best model for sustainable development in the world and ranks top of the World Wide Fund for Nature environmental footprint index. Although Cuba’s model of urban agro-ecology arose from a uniquely challenging and complex socio-political context, there are many lessons we can learn and apply to cities around the world.

What did you learn from your trip?

As professionals, we tend to focus heavily on the design and delivery of projects, but what we understand as ‘completion’ is really only the beginning for everyone else. The Cuban model was so successful when it first emerged because it empowered people to take ownership and responsibility for their environment, to learn and share knowledge and to build communities around economically viable and ecologically beneficial food systems.

How has your trip influenced you and your practice?

More than anything else, it shaped my interest in the relationship between people and place. Food growing is one of the most accessible ways for people to become active participants in the urban landscape around them.

Did your trip reveal new opportunities for landscape practitioners?

In Cuba, there are strong relationships between research institutions, healthcare bodies and educational establishments in order to exchange knowledge, carry out scientific research and consistently refine agro-ecological practices to improve efficiency, methods and yields. We have the opportunity to engage a wider range of people and maximise the impact of our work.