Urban Ecological Tools

Urban Ecological Tools

Seth Zeren
Melinda Stylos-Allan
Walker Holmes

Growing Power, Milwaukee

Growing power map/airphoto

URBAN ECOLOGICAL TOOLS 21 OCTOBER 2012 | SNEAPA CONFERENCE

ROAD MAP
1. Who we are and why are we here
2. What is urban agriculture
3. Marrying site and use
4. Three frameworks: site evaluation, urban ecosystem, consensus building
5. Beyond urban agriculture


PART 1: URBAN ECOLOGICAL TOOLS

PART 2: FRAMEWORK

SESSION GOALS:

• Look at how the evolution of urban
agriculture is transforming sites
• Take an ecological approach to
site selection and program
development
• Present three frameworks to guide
and empower site reuse
• Showcase transformative new
models of urban reuse

PRESENTATION GOALS

Who are we?

A community developer An environmental problem solver A city planner
Melinda Stylos-Allan Walker Holmes Seth Zeren
Financial Education Manager, Skeo Solutions and The Trust for Chief Zoning Code
Roxbury MA Public Land Official, Newton, MA

INTRODUCTION

The Urban Ecosystem


The Urban Ecosystem
Flows and reservoirs
• Stuff
• Energy
• Money
• People
• Ideas

The environment
• Soil, air, water
• Streets and infrastructure
• Buildings
• Institutions and culture

Cities catalyze transformations

Positive and negative feedback
cycles cross domains

PART 2: URBAN AGRICULTURE

PART 2: FRAMEWORK

FOR DECADES, URBANISTS HAVE DEFINED THE CITY IN
FRAMEWORK
URBAN ECOLOGICAL TOOLS OPOSITION TO THE RURAL
21 OCTOBER 2012 | SNEAPA CONFERENCE

A NEW GENERATION IS RECLAIMING THE TRADITION OF URBAN
FARMING, URBAN GREENING & REDEFINING OUR URBAN FUTURE
FRAMEWORK

INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY CONNECT URBAN
AND RURAL AGRICULTURE

FRAMEWORK Source: Except, Integrated Sustainable Design

LESSONS FROM THE NEW URBAN AGRICULTURE
• Adoption of hydroponics and aquaponics and changing market for food
is creating new opportunities
• Business models are immature and evolving rapidly
• Startup schedules out of sync with regulatory timelines
• “You need to have friends in the right places”
• Planning is just one challenge out of many


UNINTENTIONAL
BARRIERS
Zoning approvals

Building permits

Health regulations

State and federal regulations

APPROVALS PROCESS

PLANNERS AND
FARMERS
Entrepreneurs must lead, but need
allies

Planners can:
• Remove barriers
• Create new zoning
• Lead community visioning
• Create incentives
• Identify Sites


PART 3: MARRYING SITE AND USE


Actual Site Lofty Idea Reality = Chaos

Photo: Walker Holmes


Lofty Idea


All Photos: Walker Holmes


PART 4: THREE FRAMEWORKS

PART 3: SPECTRUM OF APPROACHES

FRAMEWOR
K 1:
Site
Evaluation
Characteristics and context
Limitations and opportunities


Reuse Planning at Superfund
Sites
EPA’s goal: protect human health and the environment

Four Components:
1. Stakeholder engagement and conflict resolution
2. Strategic analysis and reuse plans
3. Education, tools, and training
4. Implementation strategies

31

Superfund Reuse Planning

Phase Activities

Reuse Assessment Reuse goals
Site characterization
Reasonably anticipated future land use

Reuse Plan Reuse scenarios
Stewardship options


Site-Driven Example
John Garland Park, Kansas


Mission-Driven Example
Danbury Community Garden, Connecticut

Photo Credit: Rebekah Butler


Photo Credit: Rebekah Butler Photo Credit: Rebekah Butler


FRAMEWOR
K 2:
Urban
Ecology
Ecology of people, community,
businesses, buildings, nature

Interpreting ecological health

Become a catalyst for beneficial
feedbacks


Efficiency


Resilience


Fecundity


Industrial Ecology
The study of the flow of materials and energy through industrial systems


Life Cycle Analysis
“Cradle to Grave”
Tracking environmental impacts from extraction through production,
distribution, packaging, use, and disposal


Industrial Symbiosis
Sharing services, utilities, and by-products among diverse industrial actors in order to add value,
reduce costs, and lower environmental impacts


Network Analysis


The Plant, Chicago

“Plant Chicago is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting sustainable food production, entrepreneurship, and
building reuse through education, research and development.”

THE PLANT, CHICAGO

KEY CHARACTERISTICS:

•Growing system and crops
•Business model
•Market
•Mission
•Site selection
•Regulatory avenue (how were
they permitted)

THE PLANT, CHICAGO

CITES AS DYNAMIC FLOWS OF PEOPLE,
GOODS, MATERIALS & SERVICES

Source: Swiss Biomas Flows
FRAMEWORK URBAN & INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY

Measure flows and reservoirs
• Inputs and wastes
• Energy and heat
• People
• Money

Inventory environment
• Networks
• Buildings
• Streets
• Parks
• Institutions
• Businesses

Can’t do everything, strategically
target what is essential to know


Integrating into the biosphere
• Carbon cycle
• Nutrient cycle
• Hydrological cycle
• Lower environmental impact

Look for balance…
• Efficiency
• Resilience
• Fecundity


FRAMEWOR
K 3:
Consensus
and
Collaboration
Expanding the pie

Power and politics

Beyond Robert’s Rules

Perception and vision

Flexibility and stability

Expand the pie


Power


A break from
tradition


It’s all in how you
look at it


Consensus Building Process
Pre-meeting
assessment

Working with Neutral facilitated
champions meetings

Building on points Managing
of light expectations

Creating new Structuring follow-
community groups up


Rose Kennedy Greenway,
Boston


Economic Gardening


Network Analysis, Part II


PART 5: BEYOND URBAN AGRICULTURE


Takeaways

KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Don’t get trapped in routine processes. Come at your site with fresh strategies and
metaphors. It will shake up your vision and lead to healthy growth.

• Urban agriculture is great, but not always the answer. Let site and context guide your
reuse planning.

• Study the feedbacks, flows, and points of light. Craft a solution that is resilient in an
evolving dynamic system.

• Put in a lot of pre-work, invest in neutral facilitation and consensus building.
Forge a stable, long-term consensus vision.

Urban Ecological Tools

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