Designing Productive Urban Landscapes

Abstract

This chapter discusses the design and calculation for the possibilities of productive urban landscapes: open urban spaces planted and managed in such a way as to be environmentally and economically productive through the implementation of urban agriculture. Urban Agriculture differs from rural agriculture because of a direct relation with the city’s market and presence in the (green) public space. Therefore, it is necessary to include functions and qualities associated with urban green.

Productive urban landscapes contribute to adapting cities to future changes in climate and population, improving cities’ resilience and establishing a better living environment. The ProduCityPlanner researches the productive potential of Amsterdam through analysis of the city for productive potential on three scale levels (S, M and L). It is a toolkit that contains guidelines to check spaces’ suitability, match place, person and business model and then design a productive park according to a set of design principles and the spatial characteristics of the production system itself.

Every city can change into a productive urban landscape. After many successful local initiatives on the small scale, it is time to apply the framework at a larger scale. By introducing M- and L sized projects, a difference can be made at city level. Productive urban landscapes are both a framework and a network: they (re-)use resources, adapt cities to climate change, generate community involvement and social control and explore new markets – linking people to new places.