Urban Cultural Greenways: The Potential of Urban Agriculture as Sustainable Urban Infrastructure

Basically about the reason for Roehr's urban agri pilot project in North Vancouver

Cultural greenways are a great way to strengthen community identity and cohesion
Vancouver Urban Agriculture Network (VUAN) responsible for reviewing proposals for urban agri projects
The city currently offers 37 acres of green spaces suitable for urban agri
Edible Garden Project very community based and donate to food banks
Greenway project showcases integration of the hydrological cycle, balance of nutrient cycle and the production of renewable energy within the areas. It also tests the best growing conditions and agri practices within the city to increase crop fields
The success depends on the choice of farming techniques and integral design elements
Harvesting of rainwater in Vancouver great for this type of project b/c it creates a more sustainable water cycle that has a large impact on urban infrastructure
Leads to reduction of food miles and decrease in CO2 emissions
Preserves heirloom crops that are adapted to regional climate
ReVision Urban Agriculture Project practices sustainable farming

Potential research projects
- Effect of urban agriculture on the nutrient cycle. This could look at organic vs. non organic because agriculture run off in non organic farms would probably have a larger negative impact on the environment. This type of project could tie into the hydrological cycle and rainwater collection some how.
- "Success depends on the choice of farming techniques and integral design elements" so maybe nutrient or hydrological cycle related to different urban farming techniques
- Going back to an idea we dropped a while ago --> heirloom plants and how they preserve biodiverstiy. Maybe a project could compare the efficiency of local heirloom plants as opposed to non-native foods growing here as well as food being imported. In theory, naive crops should be better suited to this environment and maybe use less fertilizers and water to grow. We could research what these plants are, what are their best growing conditions and seasons (perhaps by talking to local farmers) and compare that to the growth of non native food.

Hybridizing the American 'Parkway'

Very similar to previous article but references here a lot more helpful
A more sustainable water cycle wold have huge impacts for recharging the groundwater as well as conserving water that is used for agriculture
Preserves heirloom crops and increases availability of organic produce
Further references:
- "Victory Programs ReVision Urban Farm," ReVision House Urban Farm, http://www.vpi.org/Re- VisionFarm/. Sept. 28, 2009.
- Vilijon, A. and Bohn, K., 2009. "Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes (CPUL): Essential Infrastructure and Edible Ornament," Open House International, 34, 2: 55
- Viljoen, A. 2005. Continuous productive urban landscapes: designing urban agriculture for sustainable cities. In: A. Viljoen (Editors). Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes. Elsevier Architectural Press, Oxford, pp. 21.
- Mendes, W., 2004. "Creating a Just and Sustainable Food System for the City of Vancouver", Cities Feeding People Workshop Paper, International Development Research Centre.
- Mendes, W., Balmer, K., Kaethler, T., and Rhoads, A., 2008. "Using Land Inventories to Plan for Urban Agriculture: Experiences From Portland and Vancouver". Journal of the American Planning Association, 74, 4: 435.

Potential research project
- Yet again, something on water conservation through the use of rain water collection. Maybe looking at if x amount of rainwater is collected and harvested per year in Vancouver, y is the amount of water conserved in the ground and reservoirs. This would look at the amount of water used in agricultural practices around Vancouver and how much of that water use can be diverted to the use rainwater instead. This wold of course have to include a small cost estimate involved in rain water barrels as well as the long term benefits of harvesting rainwater, both in terms of cost as well as future water conservation (looking at how much water we have and how fast we are using it)
  - this project diverts slightly from the food sustainability question but we cold incorporate it somehow

Foodshed Vancouver: Envisioning a sustainable foodshed for Greater Vancouver

Masters thesis (2010) by James Richardson in the Landscape Architecture program
but there is a "need for modelling nutrient cycling given its significance in net foodshed size and energy balance"
This paper is awesome. It answers a lot of the questions we are looking to answer and it has a lot of useful information about Vancouver that we use later on in whatever we do relater to food security. I also has great visuals! Just look at the table of contents to see that the paper covers.
The nutrient cycling part is the most applicable to us and there seems to be research lacking in that general are when it comes to urban agriculture
The conclusion of the paper (from various models) is that vancouver can't really support itself in terms of food

General summary:

Definition of a foodshed: "A sustainable foodshed was defined as a regional form that meets local food needs, is energetically productive, and is ecologically and socially resilient"
Life-cycle assessment of production, distribution, processing, and nutrient cycling inputs to determine the food system energy balance for Greater Vancouver’s hypothetical foodshed
ALR land in Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley has been reduced by 9% and 6% respectively since 1974 (ALC, 2009) and will likely continue to erode without objective justification for its protection. (1)
main question of article: what is the size and shape of a sustainable foodshed in the context of Greater Vancouver
Dietary habits- what and how much Canadiens eat(mass of food purchased as an indicator)
4.6 million ha of land in British Columbia’s Agricultural Land Reserve (Agricultural land commission, 2009 p7). Only 2.8 million ha of farmland were declared in the 2006 Agricultural Census, and lesser still is actually producing food (15)
Given current land use patterns, this study assumed 30% of remaining farm lands (discounting macro-circulation) were dedicated to circulation and wildlands. (18)
The driving force of this increase is the use of large fossil fuel inputs in cultivation practice and the production of nitrogen fertilizers (Kaltsas et al, 2007), aggravated by a meat-based diet (19)
Study incorporates distribution- moving it, energy, moving the food, buying it from the grocers to moving farmers. Also- food processing and preparation and packaging energy inputs
Nutrient cycling- use of fertilizers
- Nutrientshed Vancouver
  - To determine the dimensions of a sustainable foodshed in practise, farmers and designers should ask:
    - 1. How much additional plant available nitrogen is required by the farm system7.1?
    - 2. Where can it be sourced?
    - 3. How much energy and area is required to move and grow it? (47)
After local sources and sinks are accounted for, the Foodshed Vancouver requires an additional 12 kg cap-1 or 25,440 tonnes of plant available nitrogen (table 7.2, 7.3), but would likely be much higher if compost moisture contents were accounted for7.2. (49)
Models foodshed- business as usual 2006, business as usual 2050, energy efficient 2050, lactovegetarian 2050, almost sustainable 2050
Conclusion- While changes in diet the distribution network and production and processing techniques achieve a much reduced land foodprint, no scenario was able to achieve a net positive energy balance (63)
Appropriate placement of farms with reference to their intended function, proximity to distribution networks or population pockets, and in consideration of soil, moisture and light access can guide sustainable foodshed design. This multi- scale approach is necessary to shape food lands that meet scale-specific functions.(71)

Every Bite Counts- Climate Justice and BC's Food System

Recommendation #9: Evaluate and support research in GHG emission reductions in Agriculture
- "Direct support for research on GHG mitigation through alternative agricultural practices, specific to the BC context, is needed (for example, UBC Farm). There are also opportunities to pioneer clean energy alternatives to fossil fuels in agricultural buildings, machinery and equipment."

General Summary:

If BC could shift just 1.5% of its overall consumption per year to local sources, the province would supply 80% of its food needs by 2030. (18)
A public “matchmaker” can help local farmers and institutions who might not otherwise find each other to form customized local food options specific to each others’ needs, closing gaps between supply and demand of local food from growers to institutional eaters (22)
The single largest source of BC’s agricultural emissions is fossil fuel combustion for on-farm machinery and equipment. (26)
No-till farming, greater use of cover crops, agroforestry techniques and more harmonious design practices (generally known as “permaculture”) have all been suggested as options to reduce emissions, but overall much more research on farm management practices to reduce GHG emissions is required. (27)
Because soils and plants can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, policies must enhance the role of BC agricultural lands as carbon “sinks.” (27)
For crop production, the production and application of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides generates substantial GHG emissions. (27)
Livestock emissions are also a major part of GHG emissions associated with food. Emissions from cattle, sheep and goats can be reduced by returning to a grass-based diet — for which their digestive systems are designed. (28)
Marketing campaigns geared towards low-carbon diets and carbon conscious consumers could help this transformation. (28)
Consumers seeing higher prices for local, organic produce would be correct to wonder whether they can afford the food system we describe above. In 2007/08, about 8% of house- holds in BC experienced food insecurity at some point in the year, and about one-third of these were considered “severe.”45 29) (a lot about income p. 31 onward)
New City Market is a proposed, permanent, centrally-located building intended to be “a physical place designed to drive local food consumption and production by providing a link between the rural supply and the urban demand in Vancouver’s Lower Mainland.” (36)
- Fill local food infrastructure gaps in the local food value chain by connecting and enabling a spectrum of local food producers, processors and buyers;