At UW Charrette Designers Turn Blank Canvases into Productive Urban Farms

Once you start looking around, you begin to notice all sorts of spaces that aren’t being actively utilized. A large, flat rooftop here. A never-used alleyway there. There have been many efforts to convert vacant lots into productive agricultural hotspots, but what if would-be farmers started infiltrating all empty spaces in the city and filled them in with dirt and seeds? This was the inspiration for attendees of the University of Washington’s (UW) design charrette held last Friday.

The College of Built Environments asked designers to consider ordinary and absurd (Metro buses??) places to create urban farms. Designers were given drafting paper and writing utensils to map out how they would utilize these spaces. The purpose of this exercise was to inform next year’s Spring Into Bed event and to get people thinking about what they can accomplish. If someone can design a model for growing food on commuter ferries, just think how easy it would be to plant and tend to gardens on stationary rooftops.

At least one of the designs has a good chance of becoming a reality. UW currently has a demonstration garden that sits on a quarter acre and hosts a number of plants, fungi, a pizza oven, chickens and bees. Students are organizing to create another farm on campus that would act less as a place of experimentation and more as a economically-viable garden.

The piece of land they are eyeing is currently covered with grass and not used because it’s sloped. One designer sketched out an idea that included ramped pathways that cut through the tilted parcel, which would allow people with disabilities to tend to elevated gardens and water to run down gutters that line the pathways. Eventually, the water would end up at the bottom of the plot, feeding a wetland.

Another scenario involved using space on ferries. Designs included adding garden beds for community plots that would be cared for by residents during their long commute to and from work; establishing a farmers’ market on the boat; and utilizing those pesky ride-alongs–seagulls–for their nutrient-rich manure.

Other ideas included the future Northgate light rail station (where one designer envisioned a water-recycling system); Seattle City Hall; abandoned buildings; and alleys. One sketch demonstrated how art and agriculture could be combined to create a beautiful and productive space out of an otherwise gloomy alleyway. If we were able to fill every nook and cranny of the city’s gray landscape into rich, productive green spaces, the community would gain much more than food. These spaces would also provide beauty, purpose, and cleaner air and water.

Related posts:

1. Brown Bag Talk on Urban Agriculture in Seattle
2. Urban Farms Sweep Awards at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show
3. Holding Patterns: Converting Vacant Lots into Fruitful Spaces

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