With food systems thinking re-entering urban thought, the creation of new design theories hasn't been this high since the 18th century, when Howard's Garden City and Giddens' City in Evolution revealed paradigm-shaking proposals for food-friendly cities. In Europe, landscape design and food systems scholars have taken on a new concept known as Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes (CPUL). According to CPUL, continuous landscape features, such as corridors are to be adapted as sites for food production. For instance, corridors could be thinned out and converted into food forests and other edible species. In addition, this features could be layered with other urban uses, such as recreational and educational features pertaining to food harvesting and discarding. All of these alter social practices by changing the conditions of the visible aspects of the foodscape in the urban fabric. Transitions in food-related practices are weaved together with existing approaches to generate resilience in the urban network such as promoting biodiversity and closing resource cycles (i.e., waste, nutrients) in the form of urban metabolism.
While these repurposed corridors take on more and more uses, they link food production hubs together. These hubs could serve their initial purposes, for example as sites of production or consumption, but some may take on new meanings, for example as a social meeting space where food drives the social and educational process. CPUL provides a tangible, material example of how a landscape may better incorporate multi-dimensional food practices toward environmental soundness via resource conservation, community economic development and public health.
While these repurposed corridors take on more and more uses, they link food production hubs together. These hubs could serve their initial purposes, for example as sites of production or consumption, but some may take on new meanings, for example as a social meeting space where food drives the social and educational process. CPUL provides a tangible, material example of how a landscape may better incorporate multi-dimensional food practices toward environmental soundness via resource conservation, community economic development and public health.
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Image Source:
Leseman, B., Diepmaat, C., Rachelson, H., van de Lagemaat, J., Prins, K., Kersten, K., Gerritsen, M., Sobhani, R., Bikker, R., de Groot, S., van Loon, T., and Yuan, Q. (2016). Kernhem Kinship: A Case Study, Analysis, and Redesign of Foodscapes, Ede, The Netherlands. Poster presented at Ede City Hall, Ede,the Netherlands.
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