What Does Vancouver’s Olympic Village Teach Us About Urban Agriculture?

Vancouver’s Olympic Village may be the first of its kind to integrate urban agriculture (UA) as a key sustainability principle. In concert with the development of the Olympic Village at Southeast False Creek, the City has adopted a comprehensive set of design guidelines for urban agriculture opportunities. The guidelines, although focused on one geographic area, have broad implications for identifying viable urban agriculture opportunities for high-density development in any growing city.

“In denser areas of cities, including multi-family areas, additional land needs to be provided for growing food.  A “multi-use” landscape that integrates UA offers opportunities to grow food, in addition to recreation and ecosystem programming.

Through good design and management, UA provides a broad spectrum of social, economic, and ecosystem services that help to build community and reconnect people to fresh local food.  Urban agriculture is a strategic resource for meeting sustainability goals.”

Designed as a tool to be used by City staff, community members and organizations, developers and design teams, to realize the plethora of UA opportunities, it is divided into four main sections:

• Section one outlines the project purpose and scope, provides perspective on UA, and puts forward a set of design principles that provide a framework for future work in the field;
• Section two presents the UA space typology in conjunction with design considerations;
• Section three addresses technical considerations and support systems for UA; and
• Section four tackles the challenge of managing UA initiatives and tables management approaches to create a platform for future discussions and planning around the management of UA.

Core to the document are the city’s identified design principles, which are at once practical and visionary. From the ‘celebration of food’ to ‘start with the sun’ to ‘think-like-a-gardener,’ the design principles embrace a plethora of perspectives on UA. There is a recognition that UA needs to be integrated into all aspects of a high-density development and that every nook or cranny that receives ample sunlight can be leveraged for food production.

The design principles also highlight the importance of marketing, indicating that “UA design should promote tidy, neat, and attractive UA opportunities in highly visible, public, or semi-private spaces.” It is presumed that an attractive appearance will enhance a design concept and marketing strategy of market residential/commercial projects. This initial buy-in hopefully translates into long-term responsibility for management of the private UA spaces.

Once the design principles are set forth, the document dives into the design components and technical considerations of UA in places such as:

• Rooftops and balconies;
• Around buildings;
• Inside buildings;
• Courtyards;
• Parks;
• Plazas;
• Waterfront;
• Streets;
• Schools and Community Centres; and,
• Community Demonstration Gardens.

For each location, the document discusses the basic needs of solar exposure, water, growing medium, materials, spatial needs and loading capacity; identifying the opportunities and resource constraints. For each place, the reader is guided through various applications of UA, the exact design parameters (ie., depth of soil, size of planter bed) and the most appropriate edible plantings.

Unlike many planning documents, Vancouver’s Urban Agriculture Design Guidelines function as both a policy framework, as well as a how-to guide on integrating UA into high-density developments. As the City of Seattle moves forward with integration of UA into its neighborhood plans, transportation systems plans and district design guidelines, this document may serve as a model for implementation.

Related posts:

1. City of Seattle Launches Urban Agriculture Website
2. Mayor McGinn and City Council Officially Announce Seattle’s Year of Urban Agriculture
3. New Report on Promoting Urban Agriculture in Toronto

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