Community Voices # 4: Urban Farming and Agriculture
Sunday, April 11, 2010
The community voices common event I attended featured two guest speakers: Abby Youngblood from Just Food and Liz Carlo from the Greenmarket Program. Both speakers discussed their program’s mission of making healthy, fresh local produce available to all New Yorkers. Their presentations were informative as well as interesting because the agricultural issues they discussed directly impact the lives of New Yorkers daily.
According to their representative, Just Food is a small, non-profit organization that addresses challenges in the food system in New York City. This company works with many programs to increase access to fresh foods from local farms into soup kitchens and food pantries and support local farmers. Another challenge that this company strives to overcome is the decreasing farmland availability. Two acres of farmland are lost every minute. The necessity for farms is increasing drastically because farms serve many purposes. Some of the benefits of farms are environmental and public health improvement, economic development and job attainment for farmers, local food processors and distributors. Just Food also operates to mobilize citizens to actively participate in agricultural policy issues.
Some of the programs that Just Food works with are (1) The City Farm, (2) Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), (3) Fresh Food For All, (4) Community Food Education and (5) Food Justice. The City Farm program grows food in the neighborhood as opposed to obtaining it from other places by the “training of trainers” process in which people who know how to grow food are taught to share their knowledge with others. Workshops are held in food preservation, canning, medicinal herb and seed growing, composting, raising crops, raising chickens legally in New York, building chicken coops and obtaining eggs, selling farm goods grown in personal markets and more. CSA is a partnership between a group of people in a city and a group of farmers who are paid upfront for weekly, freshly produced, organic, in-season crops. This program directly supports local farmers and helps them stay in business by planning better so as not to create waste or under produce. Fresh Food For All, Community Food Education and Food Justice increase financial and physical access to local produce as well as enhance knowledge of the availability of these goods.
The second representative from the Greenmarket Program, a program of GrowNYC, explained that their creation of 49 greenmarkets around New York City was a direct result of the belief that all of New York City is a food desert. This program possesses a dual mission in providing New Yorkers with access to fresh local foods while also conserving farmland. The Farmer Development Project, a plan undertaken by the Greenmarket Program, supplies socially disadvantaged groups with a farmer that mentors them on equipment obtainment and lectures about the art of raising crops so as to allow the mentees to sell at the market and improve their economic standing through the farming business.
Some of the most intriguing aspects of these presentations were the discussion of the obesity epidemic, food deserts and the statistics of the programs up-to-date success. For the first time in thirty years, the life expectancy age for children has declined due to diseases linked to obesity. According to the Center for Disease Control Study, one in three (one in two for African American and Latino) children are expected to develop Type II Diabetes. Some of the reasons for this epidemic are convenience and low-cost of unhealthy, processed, inorganic foods, technological advances that decreased people’s mobility and the unavailability of fresh foods in local neighborhoods. About 300 million people in the United States are currently living in food deserts, neighborhoods with limited access to fresh, healthy foods but are served by plenty of fast food restaurants. The two companies represented at this event aspire to improve these statistics. The City Farm Program sponsored by Just Food has grown 170,00 pounds over crops over the course of only one year. The Greenmarket Program was created in the 1970’s and continues to grow until this day.
High Line Park Observations
Conducted by many. Presented by Shanna and Ryan who discussed visitations on Friday midday, Monday evening (5pm) and Sunday afternoon.
Students noted that Sunday is the most crowded day in High Line Park where people walked quickly almost in a single file. This park is built on top of an old train station in Chelsea which extends 25 streets long with lots of open space. Although the park lacks water fountains, the Hudson River is visible. The people that occupied this park were mostly upper-class/middle-class white people such a single white men. The entrances are secluded and there is a hidden sign that says “High Line Park.” It is clear that this park is clean and maintained with private guards, making it a safe place. Many visitors/tourists were seen taking pictures of the serene atmosphere. The most crowded place in the park is by the sundeck and water feature filled with sun chairs. Singles, doubles and triples occupy the local area and there are lots of parking garages in the neighborhood.
For more information about the High Line Park, you can visit thier website at: http://www.thehighline.org/.
LIC Park Observations
Conducted by Kanusheree and Lakshman on Saturday at 4pm and Tuesday 2pm on sunny days
This waterfront plaza is filled with ledges, chairs, joggers, couples eating lunch, children and residential buildings. Its relative proximity (2-3 blocks) to the subway station allows for easy access and the park is wheelchair accesible as well. Although the stairs were decorative, they were quite useless because people did not use them or sit on them. The park is full of open green grass space and has semi-circle shaped shore-line where the center of park serves as walkway. People were usually concentrated on the sides and the space is not used very well. There are no office biudings but piers and a water terminal are in sight. For the objects that are not in sight, there are machines available for use as binoculars with change. Observers recommended a list of improvements/programming such as: canoeing, kayaking, boating to make use of water space, movie showing and the addition of statues.
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz
The City Reader
“The Design of Spaces” by William H. Whyte
Sociologist William H. Whyte examined New York City’s parks and plazas composed mostly of empty space to help sketch a complete design for the city. He described his ideal plaza as one in which there was a high proportion of couples and groups. Whyte videotaped pedestrians in New York City parks and plazas to test the many hypotheses he predicted. Whyte found some theories to be obvious and consistent in all parks while others were contrary to intuitive belief. For example, Whyte discovered the instinctive conviction that the number of occupants directly relates to size of the empty space is false. Shape did not factor into the park use either. Whyte came to the conclusion that park use is in direct relation with the amount of “sittable space” (Whyte 448). Furthermore, he found that aesthetics did not relate to usage of the space surrounding it (451). Another falsehood is that “location is a prerequisite for success,” (451) which Whyte found to be the complete opposite. Some of the best parks are in the worst places and vice versa.
Whyte’s research in New York City’s open space led to the realization that there are gender discrepancies which is associated with the quality of the park. Women tend to be more judgmental and discriminating against the chair or bench that they sit in. By watching the park inhabitants and recording the average female to male ratio, Whyte related the higher ratio to the better-used park. Women also tend to favor places that are slightly secluded indicating a high-quality park with lots of space. William H. Whyte’s brilliant discovered inspired the design of Bryant Park and completely transformed empty space into the park we all know and love today. This park clean, vivacious and provides plentiful seating making it suitable for people of all genders.
According to Whyte’s description of a park in good use, Verdi Square Park does not meet the qualifications. Verdi Square Park served as a walkway for pedestrians trying to avoid the busy streets or quickly hop on the train. Only a few people sat down even though plenty of seating was available. Only one couple was observed in the forty-five minute observation and one man eating his lunch on a bench. Elderly men and women as well as pedestrians with their pets walked by without ever taking a seat. Its unique trapezoidal space did not demonstrate its usage just as Whyte exposed. Verdi square is not a sociable place nor was there a high propensity of women, signifying the poor quality of the park. One factor that makes these observations slightly biased is the weather. Whyte found that the sun is an important factor but did not explain the population of a plaza.
Verdi Square Observations
Verdi Square is a small triangular shaped piece of land with the Giuseppe Verdi stature enclosed by fencing on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The following descriptions refer to the area enclosed by 72nd street and 73rd street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue known as Verdi Square Park. These observations were recorded on a warm, sunny Friday afternoon (Friday, March 5th at 2:30pm). Please refer to the map attached.
Verdi Square is named after Giuseppe Verdi, whose large monument stands erected in the center of the north side of Verdi Square. The statue depicts Verdi at the top and four characters beneath him on a lower platform. Surrounding Verdi’s monument are trees aligned along the perimeter of the area and plants. This patch is the only organized garden with equidistant trees and short plants. The other two gardens (two in the center of the park and one parallel to Broadway) have random plots of trees as well as stone seating along the perimeter. Analogous to the individual seating are thirteen single and coupled benches along the non-street side of Verdi Square inside the park.
Connecting the two gardens on the east an west side of the park (between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, are black posts that prevent vehicle entrance such as buses that run up Amsterdam Avenue and down 73rd street. The garden blotches are fenced along the perimeter followed by these black posts, hindering non-pedestrian access. No bike riders were observed at the scene, which may have been due to the hindered entry or crowded vicinity. Consequently, the Verdi Square Park serves as a walkway for pedestrians wandering the streets of Manhattan, walking their pets or taking the 1, 2, or 3 trains at the 72nd Street Station. The train’s convenient location in the center of two major roadways makes it easily accessible to those on either side of the street and acts as an excellent transportation center.
Neighboring the Verdi Square Park premises are major name brand stores and locations such as Urban Outfitters, Strawberry, The North Face, Apple Bank, Chipotle and Haagen-Dazs. At the site of Verdi Square Park are two magazine stands, one flanked by the train station and a mini garden, and the other attached to the train station entrance. These stands sell drinks, snacks, candy, magazines, newspapers, chips, gum, ice cream etc. The magazine stands are well-located adjacent to the train station where passengers often seek a snack or a good read for the ride.
Pedestrians passing by were observed carrying shopping bags from the neighboring stores, suitcases and schoolbags. Children, adults, seniors, teenagers and even dogs were seen in Verdi Square Park rushing busily to the train, strolling through the park or sitting on benches. Couples sitting next to each other talked while others ate lunch, played with their pets, talked on their cell phones or enjoyed the scenery.
The park was not only people-friendly, but it was also environment-friendly. Fourteen garbage bins were placed in this small trapezoidal park, two of which were recycling bins. One can was designated for bottles and cans and the other for magazines and newspapers. The park was very clean with minimal garbage on the floor. The floor pattern can be described as a web of interconnected hexagonal light grey tiles. Every estimated meter laid four joined hexagons in a darker grey. At the center of Verdi Square Park was a floor design composed of four circles with a large global 3-dimmensional figure at the midpoint. Surrounding the centerpiece where 8 other circles in different sizes as if to represent the solar system with linked rings. Overall, the park serves many purposes (walkway, transportation center, spacious environment) and is well designed to meet the needs of its populace.
Hi every one! My name is Yasmin and I am a Biology and Psychology major and aspiring Behavioral Neuroscientist. I am currently volunteering for the “I Have A Dream” Chelsea Elliot Program tutoring elementary school children. I plan on studying abroad this summer and next winter to Greece and Argentina with the goal of traveling to all the seven continents by the end of my college career! (Besides Antarctica of course! Egyptians can’t survive the cold.)
