urban farming 1

URBAN FARMING

Introduction, historical background, overview of settlements as food producing sites from the beginning of Ancient Age till

nowadays

Urbanisation, the first cities I.

• Catal-Hoyuk 6500 BC. The first city (almost city). Developed agriculture, wheat and barly production, signs of domesticated animals and hunting.

Urbanisation, the first cities II.

• Jericho 9400 BC. Settlement, with central tower and surrounding wall (!). Wheat and barley crops. Surrounding wall was probably contructed against permanent flooding.

Urbanisation, the first cities III.• Permanent settlements requires permanent settling :)• Hunter-gatherers and hunters usually can not afford permanent settling

(even not in present days, sans/bushmanns, inuits etc.)• Nomadic herders also do not have permanent settlements (some central-

Asian tribes, masai people, etc.).• The first agricultural plant (crop) producer societies created the first

permanent settlements.• First crops were barley, wheat in Mesopotamia. Later became important

rice (East- and Southeast- Asia), corn (America).• It can be declared that if there is a plant, which can produce easily huge

amount of food, then there appear cities automatically (for example indian rice (tuscarora rice/Zizania sp.).

• These early settlements were densely built. The crop production was outside of these settlements. Walls were originally against flooding, not enemies (the community was much greater than any hunter-gatherer tribe).

Exceptions• Till the 18th Century the cities were walled.• In America walling was never customary. • In Japan, walling was important only before 1614 (Tokugava

shogunate).• In China, walling was customary till the 20th Century, although not

only by single cities, but even by long state borders.• Due to walling, the urban farming was practically impossible because

the finite sources.• Exceptions could happened only due to special environmental

circumstances.• The most important: oasis cities. Practically whole Egypt. Morocco,

Niger, Sahara and sub-saharan settlements, Yemen and Oman, Central-Asian oasis cities in present day Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kirghizistan, Kazakhstan, China (Amu-darja, Syr-darja valleys, Turpan-depression, Tarim-basin).

Exceptions:oasis I.

• Oasis in egyptian desert.

Exceptions: oasis II.

• Oasis in Morocco.

Exceptions: oasis III.

• Wadi Do’an oasis, Yemen. Wadi means a not permanent small river or creek in the desert.

Exceptions: oasis IV.

• Turpan depression oasis, Tarim basin, China. Historically here were the so called Tuyuhun city states (oasis states)

Exceptions: oasis IV.• Oases are usually relatively small in area.• There are usually a fountain-head, or a small creek (wadi), or simply a

water well.• Due to the harsh surroundings walling is not necesary, the desert itself

provides protection, moreover huge crop fields are unaffordable.• Oases are traditionally fruit producers. Almost all well known fruits

were selected and domesticated in Central-Asian oases (grape, apricot, peach, pear, fig, almond, mulberry, muskmelon).

• Water melon is south-african, Date-palm is north-african. Walnuts and cherries can be found traditionally rather in mountain regions (Caucasus), than oases.

• Traditional urban farming appear only in oases. Even present days urban farming means usually neither crop production, nor stock-farming, but fruit and vegetable production.

Exceptions: coastal cities• In some special cases there are other kind of urban farming: stock-

farming=fishing.• In case of traditional coastal cities the fishing is not urban farming.

They are using the sea as food production field, and the city is separated.

• But there are certain cases, when there are floating cities on lakes, this can be considered urban farming.

• A historical example is Tenochtitlan in Mexico, a city on a lake (the downtown of present day Mexico City).

• Cane islands on Lake Titicaca in South-America.• Myanmar, villages on the Inle lake and Irrawaddy river.• Cambodia, Tonle Sap lake and Angkor culture.

Coastal cities: Tenochtitlan

• The city of Tenochtitlan on the Texcoco lake before spanish conquest.

Coastal settlement: Titicaca lake

• Floating artificial cane islands on the Titicaca lake.

Coastal settlement: Inle lake, Myanmar

• Fishing community on the Inle lake.

Coastal settlement: Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia

• Cambodian village by high water level. Not only fishing, but also rice producing community.

Coastal settlement: Tonle Sap lake, Cambodia

• Cambodian village by high water level. Not only fishing, but also rice producing community.

Urban farming in Ancient and Middle Ages• In the Ancient Age and the Middle Age the cities were usually walled

and densely built. Thus there were no place for urban farming.• A few exception occured:• The Hanging Gardens of Babilon (purpose is only representation)• Some capitals along rivers (Ctesiphon, Baghdad, Cairo) . There were

greater gardens inside the walls, their purpose were mostly representation, but fruit production was also remarkably.

• Imperial representation: Timurid gardens in Samarkand, mughal gardens in India, moresque gardens in present day Spain. Among their purpose appeared also food production (Timurid gardens) and climate moderation (mughal and moresque gardens).

• European monastery gardens: inside the walls were cemetery with fruit trees, vegetable garden and herb garden).

The Hanging Gardens of Babilon

Ctesiphon, Palace Garden, Reconstruction

• Ctesiphon was the capital of the Arsakids (Parthus Empire) and Sassanids (Sassanid Empire). The Tiger and the Euphrates is quite close here, ideal circumstances for gardening ande food product.

Baghdad, round city

• The original plan of Baghdad. An idealistic city, the inner palm trees can be clearly seen, those probably would have been also fruit producers (date palms).

Baghdad, round city

• A garden plan from the time of Temur (full of fruit trees). The inner garden of the great mosque of Samarkand.

Alhambra Palace, Granada, Spain

• The Alhambra is a moresque garden, designed basically for climate modification.

Alhambra Palace, Granada, Spain

• Mughal garden, Srinagar, India. The role of plants and water is extremely important in climate modification (in dry, hot summer).

Monastery garden, medieval Europe

• A typical monastery garden, with herbs.

Urban farming in the New Age I.• Before the 18th Century ther were not remarkably differences, cities

were surrounded by walls. In Europe, after the Ottoman wars and the Seven Years War the cities started to expand remarkably beyond their walls.

• It was not really caused by the general peace, but rather by the Industrial Revolution.

• The industrial revolution eventuated industrial centres, industrial cities with huge worker demand. Thee eventuated the first housing blocks and the great expansion of cities.

• The first public parks appeared at the end of the 18th Century, but these were for recreation, not for fodd production. Despite the greater mass of people, the demand for local food did not increased due to the usage of trains for product delivering.

• The Garden City movement at the end of 19th Century lead to the appearance of real urban farming.

Urban farming in the New Age II.

• Városliget (City Park) in Budapest. One of the earliest public parks in Europe (1813). This is the very first that was designed to be a public park.

Urban farming in the New Age III.

• The Garden City concept of Ebenezer Howard

Urban farming in the 20th Century I.• The urbanisation rate continously increased in this Century. The

modernism and the great rebuilding processes after the World War 2 practically realized the Garden City Concpet and caused a lot of new problems.

• In North- America garden cities were not to food production. As against in Central- and Eastern-Europe food production in these gardens were a daily routine. In Hungary in the 1980ties 10% of the food product was made in cities and towns.

• In the developing countries and even in Australia the food production in households was always normal and it is still a way ther to product vegetables, some fruits and sometimes even occur stock-farming (chicken, goat etc.).

Urban farming in the 20th Century II.

• A typical view of a suburb of a hungarian city in recent ages. The socialism before 1989 increased the rate of urban farming, by violently taking over the farms from their real owners.

Urban farming in the 20th Century II.

• Stock-farming in suburbs. Mostly poultry.

High-tech I.• After the first space travels, and especially after the Moon-missions,

there were a great interest in biosphere projects and other food producing abilities in absolutely isolated environments.

• In case of long-term space missions and space stations, the local food production is extremely advantageous, because continous food supply from the Earth requires a lot of resources.

• Te Biosphere Project was unsuccessful (absolutely isolated ecosystem, with only energy input similarly to the Earth itself).

• Hydroponic principle worked (plants stay alve without true soil, if they provided with all necessary nutrition).

• Currently there are absolutely closed food factories, with artificial LED lights (not sunlight) which were developed in former industrial areas (abandoned factory buildings and warehouses). Their basic purpose is to provide some special foods for local people. Main crops are not produced on this way yet, only vegetables.

High-tech II.

• The Biosphere experiment: in a few month the rate of carbon-dioxide increased in more than 10%, the rate of oxygen decreased unde 10 %.

High-tech II.

• A hydroponic farm: plant growing without real soil.

High-tech II.

• A LED-light powered food (vegetable) producing hydroponic factory.

Thank you for your attention!