Saint John Relocalization Network

When we begin to develop a plan for a city, we need to develop a vision of what that city should look like and all too often we pay too little attention to Nature and green spaces as we begin the urban planning process. We compound this oversight by not paying sufficient, if any, attention to food security issues. For example, we build roads and railways so that food can be transported to the city but we don't plant apple or other fruit trees in our parks or other community spaces.

Traditionally, urban planning is carried out, as though, it was acceptable for people to go hungry or that it is perfectly acceptable for food to travel thousands of miles to reach our tables. If the planners souht to design sustainable urban environments, then they would give some thought to incorporating, for example, community gardens, common spaces and livestock into the planning process.

The healthy city is a sustainable one. All too often the decision makers' eyes are focused so intently on the megaprojects dangled before them that they can't see the alternatives surrounding them. The urban farmer can help  turn a city that is dependant for its food supply on far away producers into a self-reliant entity.