Urban Farming, Suburban Conservation
The teaser from ReadyMades’s April/May 2009 cover reads “Hoe Your Own: Farming In The City.” I don’t know what I expect from things like that, but I always manage to be disappointed when I flip to the article. “Oh look. You have a backyard. And it’s about an acre. How ever did you manage to grow that chard or find room for that chicken coop?” But really, what kind of magical DIY farming instructions exist for those of us without access to yard or roof or balcony? Such an article could be complete with just one word. “Move.”
Though I realize that a title of “Farming In The Suburbs” has less hipster appeal, it would at least win points for accuracy. City and Suburb have different working definitions, and moving from the former to the latter carries with it the coveted opportunity to plant, build, hoe. But there’s some sacrifice involved as well. Sacrifices of very real and very green city benefits.
Worldchanging.com recently published an article, Does City Living Trim Greenhouse Gas Emissions?, which compares energy consumption in urban and suburban neighborhoods. Not surprisingly, living in a smaller space, sharing construction resources, and relying on public transportation result in fewer greenhouse gas emissions per person.
While the personal benefit of planting may potentially be offset by the environmental cost of a personal vehicle, my plan is not to trade conscientious city life for an over-sized house, car, and tomato crop. It seems worth acknowledging, though, that it’s pretty easy to maintain a small carbon footprint when your shared apartment is only 600 square feet.
