Comments on: Bucky Fuller would be proud: geodesic urban agri-architecture http://futurismic.com/2009/07/14/bucky-fuller-would-be-proud-geodesic-urban-agri-architecture/ Presenting the fact and fiction of tomorrow since 2001 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:29:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: gmoke http://futurismic.com/2009/07/14/bucky-fuller-would-be-proud-geodesic-urban-agri-architecture/comment-page-1/#comment-38609 gmoke Wed, 15 Jul 2009 06:07:18 +0000 http://futurismic.com/?p=8159#comment-38609 "Smart Decline" folks are already seeing that in places like Flint, vacant lots and the yards of abandoned houses are becoming gardens. Urban agriculture has been going on for a long, long time. I remember visiting the Bronx Pioneers in the late 1970s to see their gardens which included a mechanized and large scale composting operation. I got about a half pint a day of strawberries from my community garden strawberry patch, about 30 square feet, all through June. I'm getting close to a pint a day of raspberries from my raspberry patch now. All in an urban community garden. At retail prices, that's a pretty good payback. To say nothing of all the red currants and zucchini and cukes and herbs and tomatoes (to come) and peas and beans and.... I'm a notoriously lazy gardener too. There are urban farmers in SF and LA who have been growing for years and decades. There are now people making a living by managing gardens for others in most major urban areas. This stuff will continue and expand as the foodie movement grows and as the locavore movement grows and as the organic movement grows and as the environmental movement grows. Maybe in a decade or so there will be a threat from increased real estate prices but it may be too ingrained and socially profitable to turn back by then. “Smart Decline” folks are already seeing that in places like Flint, vacant lots and the yards of abandoned houses are becoming gardens. Urban agriculture has been going on for a long, long time. I remember visiting the Bronx Pioneers in the late 1970s to see their gardens which included a mechanized and large scale composting operation. I got about a half pint a day of strawberries from my community garden strawberry patch, about 30 square feet, all through June. I’m getting close to a pint a day of raspberries from my raspberry patch now. All in an urban community garden. At retail prices, that’s a pretty good payback. To say nothing of all the red currants and zucchini and cukes and herbs and tomatoes (to come) and peas and beans and….

I’m a notoriously lazy gardener too.

There are urban farmers in SF and LA who have been growing for years and decades. There are now people making a living by managing gardens for others in most major urban areas. This stuff will continue and expand as the foodie movement grows and as the locavore movement grows and as the organic movement grows and as the environmental movement grows. Maybe in a decade or so there will be a threat from increased real estate prices but it may be too ingrained and socially profitable to turn back by then.

]]> By: Rick York http://futurismic.com/2009/07/14/bucky-fuller-would-be-proud-geodesic-urban-agri-architecture/comment-page-1/#comment-38581 Rick York Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:07:07 +0000 http://futurismic.com/?p=8159#comment-38581 Urban Farming always seems to crop up during economic downturns. Partially because it is an inexpensive way to feed urban poor. However, one of the principal reasons for this is that empty lots lose substantial value, particularly when commercial real estate tanks. When the economy and commercial real estate rebound, bye bye urban farms. The vacant lots just become too valuable. Of course, this doesn't happen in every city, Detroit, Flint, etc. But, any reasonably dense and prosperous metropolis sees huge fluctuations in commercial real estate prices, including land. Sorry to rain on the urban farming parade. Urban Farming always seems to crop up during economic downturns. Partially because it is an inexpensive way to feed urban poor. However, one of the principal reasons for this is that empty lots lose substantial value, particularly when commercial real estate tanks.

When the economy and commercial real estate rebound, bye bye urban farms. The vacant lots just become too valuable. Of course, this doesn’t happen in every city, Detroit, Flint, etc. But, any reasonably dense and prosperous metropolis sees huge fluctuations in commercial real estate prices, including land.

Sorry to rain on the urban farming parade.

]]> By: Evil Rocks http://futurismic.com/2009/07/14/bucky-fuller-would-be-proud-geodesic-urban-agri-architecture/comment-page-1/#comment-38572 Evil Rocks Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:25:01 +0000 http://futurismic.com/?p=8159#comment-38572 >maybe the construction of urban farms will be started in blazes of publicity and viridian glamour, only for the funding to be pulled (or embezzled, or just plain “lost”) half-way through< In which case I will snap one up for my multi-use, not-so-secret food-production and MAD SCIENCE research labs. And grow sophisticated food-producing ecologies to show all the haters. YOU ALL DOUBTED ME AND WHO'S LAUGHING NOW! http://www.c2.com/cgi/wiki?ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder >maybe the construction of urban farms will be started in blazes of publicity and viridian glamour, only for the funding to be pulled (or embezzled, or just plain “lost”) half-way through<

In which case I will snap one up for my multi-use, not-so-secret food-production and MAD SCIENCE research labs. And grow sophisticated food-producing ecologies to show all the haters.

YOU ALL DOUBTED ME AND WHO'S LAUGHING NOW!
http://www.c2.com/cgi/wiki?ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder

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