Im currently researching  the challenges that planners in London face around building and supporting sustainable food resources and so this article by Kendra Pierre-Louis is particularly interesting to me at the moment.

In this article she talks about how marketing organisations and food producers are now targeting LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) with organic food which is not necessarily healthy and although organically produced is not necessarily sustainable . She identifies this as chocolate made from ‘organic coco’ and coconut water, both very popular with organic foodies .

As a Londoner from an ethnic minority group, a point within the article that really struck me was on the question of Western demand for quinoa

Personally I am not into this or is it a native food source of my parents, but to date with my research, I have found that many writers currently support the local independent shops and produce found in many inner city deprived neighborhoods as a good example of local access to healthy foods, supermarket rivalry and a more sustainable source. However, while I dont doubt that some of the carrots, potatoes and peas are healthy and maybe locally sourced , what about the Yam, plantain and casava? While these are healthy foods, these are not local in anyway, and if they are given our climate they are not organic.

So my questions around sustainable food and the potential of planning is:

1. In a globalised locality how do you grow organically and encourage better use of local traditional foods in a community where local is segregated, culturalized and sometimes feels entirely foreign?
2. While evidence of community growing and local farmers market is evident throughout the UK, what is being done to challenge less sustainable but organically produced foods that arrive by Air to UK supermarkets international isles and local shops?
3. Is there an educational gap on the ‘organic truth’ and are planners ready to challenge sections of the community on the less sustainable food choices?

Get on ya bike!!!!….from your local library

Yes folks you heard right….. An innovative person(s) has come up with the of creating a bike library (yes you get a library card) where you can select a lovely shiney bike and ride away for… (not sure how long the loans are for)

I think its a great idea, especially for those who maybe in the city for a short period or may want to try out a bike before actually buying one. They have also come up with the lovely idea of ‘borrowing to buy’. Did I mention that they are on a bus, so the libabry moves around????

What a fantastic idea, but how practical is it? I mean they are based is East London at the moment, what if they came to south London and I borrowed a bike and a week later before I wanted to give up the bike, they moved back to east London, I wont be bothered with going all the way there to give it back and what if I wanted to swap halfway through the week??…I’m sure they have thought of all this and so if im in the London Fields over the next few days ill be sure to take a peak (bike)

This is a great introduction to vertical gardening and even gives some basic advice on how to start your own vertical garden. I also found some excellent pictures around the web of the stuff in action, although I am not sure if its all real or just some artistic impression.

Why students and regeneration don’t mix!

So here is a video shot by students from Goldsmiths university in south London about why it would be great to come and live in new cross and study there. I know its an advert but its so blind-sighted! New Cross, sits next to New Cross Gate, which is one of the poorest communities and like other areas of London which have large student populations, there is no acknowledgement of it. Students live next door to families and eat in the same restaurant and go to the same post offices, banks and sweet shops, but how many local residents go to the student run cafes or bars?

Why is it that when students market the area to outsiders they never mention the marketability of local people and community groups. There is a certain incubation approach by Goldsmiths and its students when it comes to improving the area. Its dangerous, dividing and perhaps the communities there should do more to challenge their approach.  Anyway here are a few comments I made earlier:

It might be beautifully shot, but most of it is filmed in Deptford and not New Cross!!! Furthermore it’s so misconceiving to believe that New Cross ends at Cafe Crema! Where is the Sainsbury’s and its massive car park? ,Post office? , Community groups? , Community centres? Ethnic minorities?  It’s interesting what people say in the video:  Take for example the guy who says that

‘The people that live here reflect the businesses that are here’

This is true, but why aren’t they in the video? I don’t see the mix of people that anyone in this video is referring too?

I think the whole video can be summed up really well when the lady at the end says:

’ It feels like the local people are aware of the university and quite proud of it’

 …but can the same be said about the students and Goldsmiths in general and how aware they are of the community that lives around them???

If this is to show what new cross is all about then for me it just highlights the blindness that many of the students at Goldsmiths have about where exactly new cross is and what else happens here.

Give us a break Boris

This is the digital image produced by the London Cycling campaign, which is demanding London Mayor Boris Johnson reconsider the pro car scheme designed for the Blackfriars Bridge. Having highlighted 2 fatal deaths in recent years and gathered data on near misses, at the heart of their design is the safety for both cyclists and pedestrians. The design itself is influenced by US road schemes which introduces Kerbs to keep cars out and in a time of financial restraint they claim that their proposals would only add an additional 1% to the cost.

With a notable increase in cyclists on the road and more people seeking to take up cycling through the encouragement of the Boris bikes and increased transport costs next year, it is clear that we are likely to see increasing demands from pro-cycle groups across the capital.

When Healh and safety gets in the way of supporting green priorities….. Valerie Nonis of the London Borough of Lewisham, south London has been asked to remove her flower pots on the basis that they obstructed escape routes…..

suchisthecity:

NEW YORK FARM CITY:

We all know urban farming is really taking root (*ahem*) in many places like Chicago, San Francisco, and New York.  Check out this video about urban farmers in NYC showing a bit of what they do, the movements and organizations they’re a part of, and where the food goes once it leaves the rooftop.

We also have lots of urban farms in the UK, for instance London has 10 at least and their great, but there is also a new initiative called the Farmshop in Hackney.

Its uses aquaponics (a sustainable food growing method using fish, water and plants), has chickens on the roof and occupys a former retail shop. Its great as they host social activities and food tasting sessions as well as a cafe. Its worked great here as its been used to overcome the empty shop problems on one of our inner city high streets.

Hackney - Farm Shop from Media Junction on Vimeo.

(via urbnist)

thisbigcity:

There should be more than one cyclist in this photo. It’s time to radically rethink cycling in London. Read the full article on This Big City.

畫面裡應該出現更多騎士，所以我們更要翻轉英國倫敦單車思維。全文請見《城事》。

As a casual cyclist, its definitely scary in London and is often off putting. If your new to a certain area, figuring out where the cycle roots are can be a bit daunting. On the upside I have definitely noticed more and more people on their bikes but as we enter into winter, will this still be the case???

(Source: thisbigcity)