Thesis Draft Proposal in ~800 words…

FOOD OPERATIONS

THE ISSUE
In his October 9th 2008 letter to the prospective President-Elect, Michael Pollan lays out the imperative of reforming the entire national food system:
“…unless you [reform], you will not be able to make significant progress on the health care crisis, energy independence or climate change.”

As this and much other current journalism and authorship indicates, food is at the epicenter of impending crises as well as integrally related to the current economic one.  The issue has operations and implications locally and globally, politically and culturally.  What we eat and where it comes from, how it is grown/produced, processed and distributed: these questions affect us at an individual, local, national and international scale.  In Room for Debate: A Running Commentary on the News last week, the New York Times published a piece entitled “Do We Need a Department of Food?”  Questions to and by the media and government related to the issue of food are increasing.  The need for action across disciplines and at all scales is necessary.  Food as a critical, contemporary issue is well positioned for a thesis investigation and proposition.

THE CONTEXT
Launching from this present situation, I am interested in engaging urban ecologies to propose an alternative to current development projects and a counter to the usual patterns of gentrification.  My project begins to locate a position within the discourse of architecture in opposition to the trajectory of “already made” as described by Michael Hays in Praxis 5:
“…Frank Gehry’s [work] after Bilbao… is for an audience that is everyone and everywhere (not so much an architectural ready-made in the sense of Duchamp, as an architecture already made, a clone that is its own template).”

The insular, polarizing scheme proposed by the Bruce Ratner/ Frank Gehry partnership for the forthcoming redevelopment of Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards is representative of the creation of a post-modern, mono-cultural milieu thinly veiled under the guise of public space and glossed-over programmatic diversity.  (As designed, the ‘public’ space is as inaccessible as a pie in the sky, and the low-income housing units are only for face-value, jammed amidst luxury condos, a boutique hotel and more shopping.  No schools or public-service amenities here.)

In tandem with this sort of capitalist architecture is the all too typical course run by gentrification.  The boutique-ization and concurrent soaring of rents in Williamsburg and Fort Greene represent model cases of the dilution of culturally vibrant neighborhoods in the wake of gentrification. The homogenization of architecture, and communities, creates too many imbalances, is unstable and unsustainable; we need a paradigm shift.

There is latent opportunity for intensification of diversity in neighborhoods that appeal to new populace.  In fact, the trail-blazers are often seeking a reprieve from the lack of difference (and unaffordable- read: unsustainable- lifestyles) elsewhere.  Entrance of new residents does not need to equal invasion and ultimate deposition or displacement.  However, the challenge to generate an alternative reality is unfortunately rarely met creativity at all or at large enough scales to counter driving economic forces.  More typical encounters are laced with animosity or resignation.

In yet another op-ed piece directed at the presidential candidates last fall, sustainable agriculture expert Fred Kirschenmann asserts, “the core issue here is to shift our food policy from subsidizing commodities to supporting communities.”   Food has the potential to mobilize and support sustainable, diverse development within a community, establishing a measure against dilution of difference and conquer of monoculture. My thesis sets out to investigate-design a project based on urban food production and distribution in order to both directly address pressing issues related to food and to imagine a more inclusive and sustainable model of urban redevelopment.

THE PROJECT
To focus attention at the community scale, the project will operate by way of strategic neighborhood intervention(s).  I have identified the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn as a suitable site, particularly because of its shared border with the recently booming Fort Greene.  This location with transit access and a steady trickle of young professionals into its housing stock means it is also primed for gentrification.  Numerous empty warehouses and lots as well as an observable lack of access to fresh food cinch its appeal.

Alice Waters  and Michael Pollan both insist that change must start in schools.  There is obvious potential for my project to manifest within this program-type.  However, I am also interested in identifying other programmatic sites and methods for operative interventions.  It is possible the project could become a system of “lite” (mobile or temporary) interventions rather than or in conjunction with a more fixed architecture.

THE METHODOLOGY + THE PLAN
March/April:
*Reading/writing: ongoing research into the history and theories of food and its associated systems.  -See bibliography
*Precedent analysis: researching and cataloging projects (friends + enemies on the architectural, educational and agricultural fronts) through indexing and diagramming.   (creation of a catalog)
-Atlantic Yards, Edible Schoolyard, Park Slope Food Co-op, Union Square Farmer’s Market, Chinatown
*Typology Analysis: researching and cataloging existing NYC typologies:
-NYC Bodega, Street Cart, Farmer’s Markets, Community Gardens, boutique  grocery stores
*Site analysis: researching and mapping current conditions and patterns in Brooklyn.  For example, food consumption habits and paths.  (creation of a map)