suburban district (cont’d) prototype There are many opportunities for selecting a prototype for the Suburban District. It should be a place that allows multiple strategies to be applied to a single neighborhood. Such a prototype will respond to the district’s primary constraint—the pervasive lawns that surround homes and that were formerly farmland. The prototype takes advantage of the sprawling, flat lawns and turns them into optimal places to implement the cultivation strategies practiced by the Foti Family and Ann Renee Larouche, transforming lawns into oases of abundance. And for those residents who do not wish to garden but want to participate in the transformation of the neighborhood, they could offer their yards through a locally adapted Landshare program. Such a prototype could include the island of greenery found in the center of some cul-de-sacs. This island could become a prototype for a neighborhood central commons. This typically unused circle of land could serve as a micro-hub, housing neighborhood infrastructure needed to support front yard food cultivation, such as a greenhouse for extending the growing season, a shed for storing community tools and resources, and a neighborhood compost structure.
cultiVatioN StrateGieS The ultimate vision for this model neighborhood is shared community harvest, where each resident becomes especially adept at growing quantities of one type of food, and then food is swapped with neighbors to gather a rich variety. This type of practice is efficient because each household only need invest in the learning and resources required for one type of cultivation, although residents may of course opt to grow an annual vegetable garden or have additional berry bushes. In practice,
one neighbor might invest in bee-keeping equipment and skills needed to have an apiary to produce a surplus of honey beyond personal consumption. Another neighbor may take a permaculture course and buy fruit and nut trees to plant a food forest. A third neighbor may invest in a chicken coop and hens for laying eggs. Residents could then take the surplus they generate and share it with neighbors just down the street as an efficient way to achieve a greater variety of locally available foods and foster meaningful social ties.
lawN cultiVatioN Private property can be utilized for: • Growing annual and perennial fruits, vegetables, and herbs • Raising livestock for meat, eggs, and dairy • Raising bees for honey • Sharing with growers through a Landshare program
cul-de-Sac commoNS
Lawn transformed into site for food cultivation. Photo courtesy of Fritz Haeg and the Edible Estates project.
cOmpOsT
greenhOuse
TOOl shed
Cul-de-sacs and public open spaces could be used for: • Greenhouse to extend growing season • Storage space for tools and shared resources • Community compost structure • Rainwater catchment to be used for greenhouse • Demonstration garden beds and open space to hold workshops Figure 12. Cul-de-sac Commons 36
Feed NorthamptoN disTricTs
rainwaTer caTchmenT barrel
demOnsTraTiOn garden beds
bean Trellis