Oakland Food Policy Council

Imagine a city where bee keepers grow colonies atop apartment buildings, where greenhouses are built of old window panes, and where recycled heavy-duty bags scattered throughout parks and vacant lots produce the fruits and vegetables that will later be cooked in houses and apartments just footsteps away. While these ideas may seem alien to conventional notions of what a city should look like and what a city should produce, these ideas are becoming increasingly popular, as designers and urban farmers respond to the growing urban agriculture movement to realize innovative ideas of sustainable urbanism and facilitate the production of food within the city. The question of ‘how can we change our built urban environment to foster a greater practice/ethic of urban agriculture’ has inspired designers and architects to new heights in innovation and creative design, as recently showcased at Carrot City, an exhibit held at the Design Exchange last April in the city of Toronto, Canada. The exhibit, sponsored by Ryerson University, brought together the work of international designers and architects, to share ideas, visions, and plans for the future of city design with localized urban food production as the goal. The resulting ideas, some already built and some in development, highlight a range of design ideas, from small-scale chicken coops to sky-scraping vertical farms to elevated beehives and to greenhouses made from recycled window panes. In an impressive display of creativity and innovation, the Carrot City exhibit showcased the idea of cities feeding themselves, and encouraged designers, urban farmers, architects, city planners, and citizens alike to design, build, and thrive in a healthy and productive urban foods system. Take a look!

Recycled bags used as planters

Elevated Beehives

Mini Greenhouse

Eglu: Backyard Chicken Coop