The Worldwatch Institute has recently published the new State of the World Report, which includes writings from 60 authors, commenting on various topics from design to social movements. I particularly like the section on the role that media plays in promoting consumerism that is not sustainable and how media and entertainment encourages a lack of accountability to ourselves, to each other and to our planet.

The ‘Building the Cities of the Future’ Chapter by Peter Newman from Curtin University is an inspirational piece highlighting the examples of two sustainable cities, Vauban and Hanover in Germany. Newman explains how both of these places have transformed and reduced their impact on the planet. Newman writes about the reliance that modern cities have on fossil fuels and how it has been proven in Vauban and Hanover that eco-cities can be both green and economically viable.

Every year the Worldwatch State of the World Report provides an insightful view into the issues that we are facing and the sustainability solutions that could help advert us from disastrous environmental outcomes, Transforming Cultures From Consumerism to Sustainability is no different. I recommend it for anyone interested in sustainability and our planet.

Collectively we still live every day as though we are not connected to the planet, that we are somehow exempt from this web of life, we live as though the resources we are consuming are endless and renewable. If we don’t shift away from our individualised and consumerist attitude, toward a more holistic view of our relationship to the planet and each other, I am not sure there will be a future for us or the other creatures that we share this incredible planet with.

You can purchase or find free portions of the SOW 2010 Report here

The Edible Brisbane: Public Fruit Map & The Brisbane Feral Fruit Map

For anyone interested in learning about indigenous community gardens and social enterprises in Australia I recently discovered this wonderful website and resource, http://www.remoteindigenousgardens.net/

It has lists of indigenous gardens across Australia and access to resources and information.

I recently visited the market village of Axminster on the South West English coast, where the River Cottage Canteen is situated. River Cottage Canteen is the British celebrity chef Hugh Fearnly Wittingstall’s (HFW) cafe and local store. Why am I writing about a celebrity chef? Well HFW is a celebrity chef with a difference, along with Jamie Oliver he was hugely influential in the UK free-range chicken / egg revolution, through their programs, respectively Hugh’s Chicken Run and Jamie’s Fowl Dinners. In an independent poll by the RSPCA, it was found that since this movement 73% of adults in the UK claimed that they now only purchase birds that have higher welfare conditions.

HFW started a program titled River Cottage which is about him moving to the countryside and growing organic vegetables, harvesting from the hedgerows and the seaside, and producing organic meat. Since then he has created something of a brand, a brand of green living and sustainability, and he has grown in popularity as a result. I am impressed by his ability to shift the public psyche and popularise sustainable living, however my interest in Hugh has not been born of this, my primary interest in Hugh has developed from his interest in and support of the Landshare movement and Guerrilla Gardening movement in the UK.

I have written about Guerrilla Gardening on Brisbane to Bogota before, and HFW has shown interest in his program and on his website about this movement. He has reported on a wonderful urban group in Sheffield called the Abundance Crew. Although not Guerrilla Gardeners in the traditional sense, they are certainly utilising the urban space to harvest produce for the entire community. The Abundance crew have gained permission from landowners to pick the fruit from trees that usually go un-picked and are often left to rot. The crew pick the fruit (including apples, pears and peaches) and distribute these to poorer members of the community. Check them out hereon the Grow Sheffield site

Also Hugh has spoken about two Guerrilla Gardeners Pam and Mary in Todmorden, who started Guerrilla Gardening in Todmorden, because of a lack of Allotment sites. Pam and Mary started planted wherever they could in Todmorden, so they could inspire others to do the same in their town. They then launched the Incredible Edible Todmorden campaign and their plight was so successful that in March 2008 Calerdale Council got on board and now Todmorden has an extra 500 fruit trees and every school in Todmorden is now involved with growing food with the Incredible Edible crew. It would be amazing of more cities could take a leaf out of the Todmorden hat. I reckon you should check em out here and get inspired to grow some food on your streets.

What is Landshare?

With 100,000 people on the allotment list in the UK, HFW created the Landshare website which aims to connect people (or communities) who are looking for land to grow food to people with land to share. Landshare is to be launched in Spring 2009, although they already have 25,000people registered on the website.

In the UK interest in growing food has increased recently, this is partly due to the financial crisis and also due to a revival of the civic voice and community involvement, not to mention peoples increased interest in ethical and sustainable living. This increased interest in community agriculture has inspired the the UK National Trust has get on board and they are now working with Landshare to provide some National Trust land to keen growers, in fact in February they pledged to provide 1000 new plots over the next 3 years.

This is an inspiring contribution and will provide a lot of communities, families and individuals with a connection to the land that they may not have previously experienced. As individuals create their own food not only does the food security of that country increase so too does the social capital, as people connect with each other to share knowledge and stories (this is essential to creating sustainability). I think too often people hear the word ‘sustainability’ and they think only about the environment, however sustainability is the interconnectedness of the social, environmental and economic. Without all three of these working in unison sustainability with remain an overused, under-explained word, meaningless to too many.

I guess in conclusion I really appreciate HFW’s presence in the British public sphere; I think that anyone who can use their status to inspire conscious eating, sustainability and civic engagement is at least worthy of comment. I hope the UK citizens continue to strive to find connection to the land and each other, what else is there really?

]]> http://www.brisbanetobogota.com/2010/02/17/hughs-edible-britain-%e2%80%93-landshare-and-guerrilla-gardening-in-britain/feed/ 0 http://www.brisbanetobogota.com/2010/01/21/bkk-the-honest-city-bangkok-car-free-day/ http://www.brisbanetobogota.com/2010/01/21/bkk-the-honest-city-bangkok-car-free-day/#comments Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:25:21 +0000 admin http://www.brisbanetobogota.com/?p=397

Bangkok Traffic

I recently reported that I was in Thailand for a couple for weeks a couple of weeks ago, and I noticed a sign for Bangkok (BKK) car free day, however the rest of the text was in Thai so I was unable to ascertain when it was. This sign intrigued me because BKK is one of those cities that doesn’t hide that its a city, traffic is a huge problem there. Imagining Bangkok without cars for a minute let alone a day is a refreshing thought, I wished for it often as I wandered on her network of roads and streets and allies. Food and fumes merge in the streets of BKK, At night the gutters become cafes and through the day the treacherous sidewalks become swamps in monsoonal rains. People live and eat in the streets, they walk, sleep, beg, buy, converse in between the cars out under the smog filled sky.

I have since found out that Car-Free day was facilitated by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and actually happens every year on the 20th of September and this year there is mixed reports about it success, some say it had no effect what so ever, as even BMA staff still hopped in their cars to get to work. Cyclist Sopon Benjakosonpreecha who cycles 60 kms to and from work everyday, reported to the Daily Xpress / Asia New Network that it had made little impact as people were still in there cars and few people participated in car-free day.

Bangkok is the country’s biggest pollute, in 2008 alone there were 2.5 million new cars in, and Bangkok residents make an average 12 million trips by car in the capital each day, which contributes to the average speed of 10km per hour in peak hour. However the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) is an efficient way to get around Bangkok, and I was often perplexed that people even bother driving in a city that has a walking speed faster than the driving speed.

It would be an amazing feat if Bangkok Car Free day took off, and although after 3 years it doesn’t seem apparent that change is on the horizon, there is hope and history says that ‘from little things big things grow.’

• “connecting and caring for country
• developing and maintaining the Re-Creation place for community gatherings; sharing; listening; learning; self-reflection; discussion and collaboration
• developing sister/brother relationships with rural/remote Indigenous communities
• sharing creative practice, skills, experience and knowledge between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people through small -scale (achievable) projects
• conducting both public and private events/ceremonies
• being an advocate for Indigenous rights” (Reconciliation Queensland 2008) 

According to the Balaangala Community Group “the name is made up of two parts:  balaang meaning ‘two coming together’ from the Gamilaraay language of which members and their family are connected, and ala which we understand to mean ‘place of’ from the local Turrabal language.” 

Balaangala have developed a partnership with the local Bush Care organization Save Our Waterways Now (SOWN) and are currently developing an Indigenous demonstration garden, which I had an opportunity to visit in November. According to the Reconciliation Queensland website the Balaangala group report that they will “grow food and other produce which can be used to run education/craft/art workshops.”  They report that their “main focus is currently to develop and maintain part of the block with traditional Indigenous plants, as a place for community gatherings, sharing, listening and learning.”  Balaangala Community Group state they “are interested in connecting and caring for country through giving value and respect and promoting the position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Indigenous peoples of this land.”

When I was at the Yoorala Street site in The Gap earlier last month I was shown the “re-creation space” which is a gathering place where the community can come together, I was also shown some native edible plants including native hibiscus, kangaroo apple, native spinach and the first tree that was planted at the site at Yoorala St on 26^th May 2009 to commemorate Sorry Day.

It was a pleasure to visit the site in its development phase, it was a wonderful opportunity to meet with some of the members of the Balaangala Community Group, who are opening dialouge about reconciliation and engaging the community through growing food and connecting to the land.

To learn more about Reconciliation please go to the Reconciliation Australia website.

To learn more about GetUp! please visit their website.

Reference: Reconciliation Queensland. 2008. Balaangala Group. http://www.rqi.org.au/LRGProfiles.htm  

I’ll be blogging more over the next month, after a fleeting visit to Thailand I’ll be arriving in London. Among other things I be visiting a few examples of sustainability including; Totnes, the UK’s first Transition Town and BedZED Beddington Zero Energy Development, the UK’s largest mixed use sustainable community. I’m hoping to do some Guerrilla Gardening in London if I can find some people who want to go planting just before Christmas.

So stayed tuned, as the sustainable odyssey is about to begin. As I read these words I become increasingly excited. Before I go I’m going to pop down to Northy Street City Farm to take some photos, I was there the other day and noticed that after our recent rain in Brisbane it is looking incredibly lush and green and beautiful. Until then, go well.

Brisbane City

Brisbane has a population of 1.8 million, with an annual growth rate of 2.2%, the city has been growing steadily for many years and it is the opinion of many ‘Brisbanites’ that the population growth rate far outgrows the infrastructure to support it. Although it does seem that Brisbane City Council are implementing some quality strategies to deal with our increased population. Although I believe Brisbane has a long way to go to be considered sustainable, Brisbane City Council (BCC) certainly are trying, amidst all of their bureaucracy and conservatism. Like many cities one of the main challenges that BCC must face is traffic congestion and transport issues and although currently we aren’t seeing too much in the way of traffic alleviation, BCC has some transport strategies that should improve our transport issue in a few years to come, including;

• Creating Brisbane as a walkable city, with improved pedestrian amenity.

• Increasing cycle paths and improving bicycle infrastructure.

• Introduction of a bicycle hire scheme similar to Vélib is Paris.

• Increasing public transport including buses, trains and ferries.

• Introduction of a new mass transit system.

Although these initiatives will be welcome I believe for my city to become sustainable it will need to increase urban density and establish additional Transit Oriented Developments (TODs). TODs are high density, mixed use developments that are situated along public transport corridors or in public transport hubs. They are designed to reduce reliance on private vehicles and encourage sustainable transportation.

The South East Queensland (SEQ)Regional Plan is attempting to respond the urban density issue by increasing the number of TODs, developing around nodes and corridors and ‘prioritising locations with high levels of transit service frequency’.

The SEQ Regional Plan aims to;

‘concentrate urban development in the Urban Footprint and redirect an increased proportion of new growth to existing communities. Containing urban growth pressures will preserve the region’s landscape, open spaces and farmland, and provide significant environmental quality and health benefits. Toward Q2: Tomorrow’s Queensland makes a commitment to preserving land for nature conservation and public recreation.’

During community consultation BCC also discovered that a imperative concern for Brisbanites was access to food in the city (which is personally one of my favourite city topics). One of BCC’s Natural Environment goals in Living in Brisbane 2026 is Food in the City which include various initiatives. Food in the City is also a key component of both the CitySmart and BCCs Green Choice Gardening awareness raising campaigns. On the BCC I Green Heart BNE ‘Green Heart CitySmart’ website it  states;

Council’s vision is that Brisbane has a network of community gardens and city farms where residents can grow and access healthy and affordable food.

According to BCC at this stage there are 9 community gardens within Council’s park estate, however they aim to increase this and other sustainability community activities in the coming years. According to BCC, community members can get involved with existing community gardens and apply for a number grants, including;

• Community Grants Program.

• Lord Mayor’s Sustainability Grant.

• Environmental Grants Program.

• Senior Citizens Grants Program.

• Community Support Funding Program.

• Creative Sparks Grants Program.

If you would like to learn more about Brisbane City Council’s Food in the City initiatives check out the new Community Gardens and City Farms section of the I Green Heart BNE ‘Green Heart CitySmart website.

You could also check out two of Brisbane’s Inner City City Farms including Northy Street City Farm and Spiral Gardens.

In 2005 Brisbane City Council released Our shared vision – Living in Brisbane 2026 for the future of Brisbane. This document was developed by Neighbourhood Planning forums and community consultation activities. The Our shared vision – Living in Brisbane 2026 for the future of Brisbane document states that;

The clear message from this consultation is that, for residents and visitors, our friendliness, our green open spaces and outdoor climate are the keys to enjoying Brisbane. Planning a sustainable future for Brisbane relies on our beingresponsible today – responsible in our care of the environment, our culture, our society and our prosperity. Right now, although water is our most pressing challenge within an environmental context, we must change the way we currently think and behave in response to all of our challenges. We want you to enjoy the benefits of living in one of the world’s most livable cities and to pass on those and other benefits to our future generations of residents and visitors.

The key themes of this document are;

• Friendly, safe city

• Smart, prosperous city

• Clean, green city

• Active, healthy city

• Well-designed, subtropical city

• Vibrant, creative city

• Accessible, connected city

• Regional and world city

Our shared vision – Living in Brisbane 2026 for the future of Brisbane links with Brisbane’s 2026 Masterplan which outlines the strategy Brisbane will use this to make Brisbane Australia’s most sustainable city by 2026.

Key components of the Vision of Brisbane’s 2026 Masterplan are;

• An integrated public transport network.

• Pedestrian and cycle friendly streets and spaces.

• Welcoming urban spaces that demonstrate sustainability, innovation, vibrancy and excellence in design.

• Strong integration between the public domain and transport and private development.

• An identifiable character derived from a subtropical landscape, significant views and vistas, public art and built and cultural heritage.

• Promotion of the river as the memorable centre of the city.

• Planning that recognises and reinforces our identity and unique qualities.

• An appropriate relationship between the core and the frame.

• A high–density core of tall buildings with flexibility in design control that allows each building to respond appropriately to its environment.

• A safe and welcoming environment.

• A composition of uses that ensures a sustainable and interesting city centre.

• A tourist and event–friendly city.

If we can go by the recommendations and reports Brisbane is going to be a wonderfully green city in a few years to come… but I guess in the meantime, I’ll have to keep day dreaming about the day when I walk along and not see singular people sitting in cars built for quintets and I’ll just have to imagine that out on the edges trees are not being felled to make way for big houses, to accommodate us and our big TVs and our big SUVs.