2010, Prototype
In ‘rust-belt’ cities such as Buffalo and Detroit, urban farms are being envisioned and developed on vacant parcels (and, in some situations, entire city blocks), often located in neighborhoods which suffer from high crime rates and poverty. Urban crops are targets of theft and vandalism, leaving farmers searching for ways of ‘fencing off’ their property. With growing public interest in urban agriculture, interested citizens have put a lot of thought put into the functionality of urban farms. However, there are currently few constructed examples that demonstrate how an urban farm can actively contribute to a city’s spatial sensibilities. This project aims to challenge the ‘chain-link fence solution’ for security. We are interested in how the act of occupying vacant parcels can transform urban farms into an experiential part of a city’s spatial sequence.
