Student of the City

If you’ve ever taken a sociology class you probably read about  Max Weber and Georg Simmel; two of the first urban sociologists to study urban social life and how factors such as race, class, gender and economics change the ways people interact with the urban environment and public spaces.

Think of a public space you know. What do people do there? Do they eat lunch? Read? Talk on the phone? What kinds of people use the space and for how long? Do people sit in chairs or on ledges? Do you feel comfortable there or like you’re being watched?

Well if it was 1980, William Whyte may have been watching you. He wrote one of the most important books on this topic called The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces about the goings on in New York’s plazas. Whyte also produced a film illustrating his findings that is usually shown in urban sociology classes around the globe. In the film, Whyte narrates the activity of people in the plaza as if it were a nature special. Some say its dry, but those of us with nerdier dispositions or people watchers may find it quite humorous. Whyte found that successful public spaces fostered more positive social interactions, and in order to increase positive sociability careful design of our parks and plazas was needed. 

What makes a good public space? The Project for Public Spaces, a non-profit devoted to creating and sustaining healthy public spaces, heavily influenced by Whyte, says there are 4 elements that make a successful public space:
1. The space is easily accessible. Walking, biking and public transportation should be readily available in close proximity. The space should function equally for people with special needs.
2. People can engage in activities there. This could be anything from watching a band play music to participating in a chess game. People of all ages should be involved in activities, as well as people in groups and people who are alone.
3. The space is comfortable, clean and friendly. Are there enough places to sit? Is the space used equally throughout the day?
4. The space is sociable - a place you meet people for lunch or somewhere you want to show to your out of town guests. Do people know each other there? Are they smiling? Do people take care of the space by picking up litter?

I’m sure you can think of spaces you’ve been to that have many of these qualities or have none at all. One such plaza recently caught in a battle between the City of Minneapolis and Historic Preservationists is Peavey Plaza. Built by modernist designer M. Paul Friedberg in 1973, Peavey Plaza was meant to be an “urban oasis” where people could escape the noise of the city and relax next to the sound of the plaza’s waterfalls and fountains. Friedberg’s aspirations were high; a skating rink in the winter and a calm gathering place in the summer, but for years the fountains have been out of commission due to pipe problems and multiple soapings.  The concrete has crumbled and the general atmosphere of the plaza has dwindled.
In spring of 2012 the City of Minneapolis sent out a redevelopment plan of the plaza and the debate began. Preservationists did not want the plaza demolished, but restored to its original design - waterfalls and all as a well-preserved example of the designer’s work. But the City of Minneapolis felt the plaza had devolved into a crumbling eye sore that was not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

City of Minneapolis Redesign Rendering (above)

This debate went on until a few days ago when the City Council voted to demolish the plaza; even skipping over M. Paul Friedberg’s own plan (shown above) for revision in favor of their own. 

I’ve been asked frequently about my stance in this debate and though I often drift to the side of historic preservation I just don’t this time. While it is pretty accessible by bus, bike, car and by foot, there is not much to speak of as far as a range of activities go and I personally don’t feel especially comfortable there with all the concrete and exposed rebar. I also don’t feel very sociable there since not many people are around and the majority of the plaza is recessed far below street level, hidden to passers by. But is it unique? Yes. Did it at one point in time live up to it’s aspirations? I think it did. 

Obviously, designing a successful public space is difficult. It may work for a while, but people’s needs could change with time. Just like art, fashion and food, architecture like that of Peavey Plaza looks different to us all. Will the new Peavey be accessible and busy with activity? Will it be comfortable and sociable? Hopefully, Minneapolis has made the right choice in deciding to update the plaza, but I guess we won’t know until it’s done.

My first urban garden was a 5x3 foot weed pit behind my rented duplex. With my landlady’s permission, I dug out the weeds and threw the coffee grounds from my french press and some organic compost into the dirt. My mission was simple: salsa ingredients, hopefully enough for a few jars. This was my first attempt at gardening, let alone on the bath mat sized part of the “back yard” which was more driveway than anything. My expectations were low, but as usual I had high ambitions.  I sprouted my own tomatoes in egg cartons on the porch, concocted my own bug repellent and pulled a few weeds every morning before I went to work. Before I knew it the garden turned into a snarling forest of food. I couldn’t pick the romas fast enough, jalapenos were turning red and romaine was popping up in places I had not planted any. I sent anyone who visited me home with a bag of food and by October I was tired of pasta sauce and none of my friends could eat any more salsa.
That summer I discovered the power a tiny piece of land held. I greatly underestimated how much food I could produce, as well as what happened behind my house – it became a place I wanted to sit and where animals and insects thrived.

Urban agriculture has taken off as a movement in the last decade. You don’t have to go far to find a rooftop garden or even a class about how to start container gardening. People have begun to see the benefits of gardening in general and the positive impact urban agriculture has on our environment, economy and social systems.
Urban agriculture expands the economic base of a city through production resulting in increased entrepreneurship, job opportunities and the innovation of a new industry. One way urban farms can bring in revenue is through providing Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share. Typically, a CSA is a subscription in that the consumer pre-pays for a season’s worth of produce from a farm and receives a box of product weekly, eliminating grocery stores as the middle man. Fresh and healthy foods made available to urban areas that may lie within a food desert zone can impact childhood nutrition and form healthy adult food choice habits.

Urban agriculture also has numerous environmental benefits. From decreasing the distance food is transported from hundreds of miles to possibly blocks, oil use and carbon emissions can be cut down considerably. Vacant urban spaces can be retrofitted into gardens decreasing the amount of heat that is absorbed into pavement. In many cities, policy is being made that would promote the use of gardens on rooftops to combat urban heat island effects.
Besides these benefits are the ones that come from the added exercise of gardening, the community and social benefits of getting to know other people who share an interest in gardening and how much better you feel when you walk down the street and see thriving plants instead of a vacant lots full of dandelions growing in the cracks.

Obviously I think that the positive effects of urban agriculture and gardening outweigh the negative, but in some cases the negatives can be serious barriers to entry into this new market. Especially in dense urban areas space is at a premium, and it may difficult and expensive to obtain. Soil in urban areas may have high levels of arsenic, lead and other heavy metals from years of car exhaust, as well as other contaminants from garbage, factories and lead paint from homes and garages.  Many cities and states do offer soil testing in order to determine whether it is safe to grow plants for eating and often the solution is as simple as a raised bed.

Support infrastructure such as access to water may not be available or too costly and even policy may stand in the way. Just recently, the city of Minneapolis reworked its zoning code in order to allow urban farms and gardeners to sell what they grow. Since urban agriculture often starts on a small scale, citizen participation will be extremely important in enlightening city policy makers on what amendments to zoning codes and ordinances are needed in order to make this new industry grow.

So where is urban agriculture happening? Everywhere, but one of the most interesting places is Detroit, Michigan.  After huge population losses, including 25% in the last decade, Detroit’s housing and infrastructure has deteriorated significantly. But near the vacant lots and burned out houses non-profit urban agriculture is beginning to thrive. Greening of Detroit is a non-profit “established in 1989 to guide and inspire the reforestation of Detroit. In 2006, a new vision was established, expanding The Greening’s mission to guide and inspire others to create a ‘greener’ Detroit through planting and educational programs environmental leadership, advocacy, and by building community capacity.” A surplus of land is enabling urban agriculture to be applied on a larger scale.  Even private enterprise has taken note, with companies moving in to buy land to begin farms. 

What will urban agriculture look like in the future? Terreform, an organization devoted to sustainable architecture and urbanism visualizes New York as a self-sustaining city of vertical farms but most likely urban agriculture and gardens(small scale as well as large) will continue to grow and benefit people in their surrounding communities.

Successful urban gardens seem to all have one thing in common: a strong and devoted social organization who believes in what they do and inspires others to participate. In many ways this may be more difficult to hold onto long term than changing policy, so lead by example and show neighbors and community members what you can do. Bring them a jar of your salsa!

Urban Farming In Progress:

Stones Throw Urban Farm (pictured above), Minneapolis

596 Acres, New York

Growing Lots, Minneapolis

In March I spent a few days in New York City. I had an amazing time visiting friends and taking long walks. I left feeling great, but when I had been back in Minneapolis for a day or two it felt as if I had left something behind, unease filled me. One morning I took the light rail to school from downtown and as the train stopped I could see down an empty street. It was 9 am on a Tuesday, the sun was out, the trees were full of baby leaves but the streets of downtown Minneapolis looked like a closed down movie set. I missed the density of New York, the people watching, the excitement of a new street or train and the never ending feast for the eyes that I often crave.

In planning, density is used to refer to the number of people who inhabit a certain urban area. Recently, density has become more of an important concept in designing cities and even suburbs due to the benefits urban density provides like increased walkability which leads to better overall health, increased economic development due to more people on the streets interacting with businesses and reduction in demand for fossil fuels.

Since the 2010 Census we have found that the urban population in the United States has risen with 80.5% of Americans living in urbanized areas. But even proponents of density acknowledge that there is a delicate balance between social streets and blocks of eclipsing skyscrapers. In an interview with Better Cities & Towns, Jan Gehl says, “people on the top floors — of apartments as well as workplaces — venture into the city less often than those who live and work in the lower four to five floors.” The author then adds that, “The atmosphere of the sidewalks is disproportionately the result of people in ground-floor units. If a design gives ground-floor residents comfortable semiprivate space in front of their units, the area will likely end up feeling well-populated. It will humanize the environment and put more “eyes on the street.”.  

Designing a dense yet friendly space that will be alluring to current residents as well as future ones must be done carefully. Kaid Benfield of the NRDC wrote in 2009 about The Right Kind of Density as being, “a built landscape that respects and improves upon its neighborhood instead of overpowering it”.

I think part of the excitement and romance of an urban area like New York is the dynamic and electric nature of density. Diverse people exploring and merging with compact neighborhoods and historic buildings is exciting and yes, even romantic. On the other hand it can sometimes feel claustrophobic like a school of fish fighting through a maze. Lines can go on forever and unexpected train delays can throw off your entire day.

In a city with less density it’s nice to take a walk and be alone, to get where you need to go with less planning and effort or to enjoy a more quiet existence.

There are positive and negative elements about living in a more or less dense city so ultimately it all comes down to personal preference. However, I see increasing density in the future of Minneapolis with the addition of more comprehensive public transportation that will better connect metro-area cities.

I miss New York very much; my friends, people I met and the romance of density. There is something innately collaborative about New York that I am drawn to and I will hopefully return soon. 

Here are a few photos I took on my trip!