Restoring the Balance

A pandemic, heat domes, mass flooding and washouts of infrastructure; the recent lived experience within our community has spiked our awareness of urban | rural dependency.

 “Hungry City” by @carolynsteel has been around for awhile – but it’s worth another read in the context of all that has happened. She notes that “Without farmers and farming cities would not exist.” and that “We fail to recognise that this dependence means we humans can never be truly urban”.

It would be great to see a change in emphasis in our design discourse – an acknowledgement of the importance of food and where and how it is grown. What if an element of food and farming was implemented in every neighbourhhood? Used as a planning tool? Marketed as an amenity? Made mandatory in all new development by policy?

The base of this idea requires a re-balance of our valuation of what is important, a shift in priority and a significant dismantling of a system of food distribution that has lost all connection to place.