Globally, increasing urbanisation has placed growing strains surrounding urban food systems. By extension, gradually decreasing and further distanced agricultural areas are transforming elements from ecosystems, farming conditions, supply chains to distribution. Consequently, accelerating environmental degradation, such as loss of biodiversity, diminishing carbon sinks, and more. A list of reciprocal effects follows, which includes social inequality.
Meanwhile, Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have emerged as an effective approach for resilient, future city planning. The popularity of the mentioned systems-based methodology addresses challenges relating to Climate, Food and Economy, in tandem. Previously isolated issues such as urban heat island effects or social isolation are now thought through and managed by designing self-reliant and sustaining holistic interconnections. For instance, food as one of the pillars of NbS, is positioned to be more than a product for sustenance and survival, but also as a universal, common language to bridge People with Planet through Produce. It is then more than needed that spaces, in general, should be leveraged as active catalysts to provide socio-ecological benefits.
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Through the lens of our well-being research, conversations surrounding urban food systems underpin its role as social cohesion opportunities – particularly in the land-scarce and multi-cultural context of Singapore. Integrated within the “Green” principle and at precinct-scale, some strategies introduce community-managed foodscapes. However, beyond actual food production, these initiatives enable equitable access to green spaces in recognition of different needs and constraints. As a key motivator, they bring diverse backgrounds together through a shared common interest in food and/or urban horticulture. Underutilised, everyday spaces in the high-density environment, such as rooftops, become functional, nurturing grounds to educate on cultivation of food plants.
Community in Bloom (CIB) is a strategy launched in 2005 by NParks to cultivate a gardening culture amongst Singaporeans in meeting the then vision of “City in a Garden”. Prior to CIB, green spaces were predominantly under the charge of authorities. Dedicated outdoor common spaces and allotment plots within public housing estates schools and urban parks become gardening hubs for people to participate in a range of horticultural activity. Autonomy was intentionally given as “room for growth”, allowing involved members of the public to manage, curate and maintain. NParks, provided the necessary “hardware” resources from allotment plots to seeds, to “software” programmes such as workshops, and setting up active lines of top-down, bottom-up engagements, for empowered participation. The small initiative has since blossomed to a network of citizen-led 2,110 community gardens across Singapore with a robust growing network of 48 000 gardening enthusiasts –consisting of CIB ambassadors that guide the nurturing of new gardeners, and “Nature Kaki” that conducts outreach, therapeutic horticulture sessions and other related capacity building efforts. Accordingly, they contributed to transformative strides from “City in a Garden” to the current vision-in-progress “City in Nature”.
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Corridor Farmers, a Singapore-based agro-consultancy and social enterprise, fosters communities by becoming an active intermediary between People and Produce. The urban farmers provide tools of the trade to kickstart edible gardens before empowering the local gardening groups,consisting of mostly seniors. Especially in countries experiencing an ageing population, the emergence of such shared spaces and hands-on activities enable the silver community to stay mentally alert by environmental stimulations, physically active through the act of urban farming, and socially engaged with conversations. Hence, enhancing the quality of the built environment and quality of lives beyond the well-being of immediate communities, but also, the people within proximity, eg. Passerbys of the urban gardening initiative. Effectively ‘watering two plants with one hose’.
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Similarly, at WY-TO, we advocate for a collective, ecosystem relationship – especially in designing for resiliency and well-being for all. Echoing the pioneering initiative of KTPH, “Good Food, Good Life” our proposed community place strategy for the Former Bukit Timah Fire Station, exemplifies that. The unbuilt proposal of the brownfield site sits in immediate proximity of Singapore’s 163ha Nature Reserve that contains the largest, surviving primary forest of the tropical island city. The green capital, along with the existing biodiversity, became integral in the conception of the narrative line. Singaporean’s love for food and hawker culture was referenced to enrich the storytelling –arriving to the “Virtuous Food Cycle” that celebrates everything local.
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The proposed design embedded circular economy principles in the approach to continue the ecological corridor from within the heritage compound. Allotment plots designed as part of the placemaking strategy aligned with policies concerning food resiliency at micro level. Complementary initiatives were defined to positively impact the entire self-reliant ecosystem connecting People, Place, and Planet. The interplay of various system was foregrounded by education of the agriculture chain on plates, outlined by a space-to-place transformative plan that roots for community engagements.
In this light, urban food systems are explored beyond their ability to fill our bellies. On one hand, these strategies are influenced by cultures, behaviours and characteristics. And on the other hand, they enable stakeholders and communities to enhance the place identity for ever-changing trends, habits and usages. Thereby contributing to resilient blueprints that yields beyond Produce, but restore ecosystems grown to last.
