Research on Urban Farm Precedents

In order to best prepare for designing the Ellis Urban Village, we began by researching many existing and planned urban farm projects. Urban farming is not an untested idea; in recent years, many groups throughout America and overseas have launched programs to bring high-intensity food production into close proximity with city-dwellers. These projects have ranged in scale from gardens atop the rooftop of one small building to studies of the possibility of planting crops throughout an entire city.

Throughout our research, several unifying principles of urban farming stand out. First, it is essential that a farm fit into the historical and social framework of the city in which it is built. Much like Cultivate Hope, every successful example of the urban farming movement has worked to achieve its goals by engaging the wider community and teaching farming techniques that are of lasting use to visitors. For example, the Lenape Edible Estate (right) is an urban farm attached to a children's center in the neighborhood of Chelsea in Manhattan. By partnering with school events, the project has drawn the lasting interest and support of local parents and community organizations. Originally based on the farming practices of the Lenape people who inhabited Manhattan centuries ago, the garden's programs teach both old and new methods of practical gardening. While not meant as a profit-making venture, the Lenape Edible Estate is successful in that it teaches visitors how to apply its lessons at home.

Such educated and sustainable 'Permaculture' practices are another guiding principle of urban farming. Plant species interaction, planting placement, growing cycles and composting must be made to work together for maximum yield and renewed soil. One example of these principles at work is Growing Power, Inc. (left), a very large-scale urban farm in Milwaukee. Growing Power has used a network of greenhouses to extend their growing season far beyond the normal range for produce-yielding plants in the Midwest.They also make use of efficient capture and storage of rainwater from their farm site to supply the water needs of their crops without having to pay to pump in water from outside. Both of these strategies will be put to use in the Ellis Urban Village.

Precedents large and small have demonstrated that urban farms can make a difference in the education and nutrition of cities and neighborhoods. We continue to research successful projects and explore the art and science behind urban farms as we work to help make Ellis Urban Village a reality.