growforgold.org : a design proposal for creating productive green space in cities

Abstract: The aim of our master thesis is first and foremost to win the competition One Prize - mowing to Growing: Reinventing the American Lawn, announced in USA by the organization Terreform 1, the first of December 2009. Apart from winning the competition we have also tried to reach a deeper understanding of food production today and its future possibilities. Our ambition to present a winning design proposal has to a large extent decided the structure of the entire thesis. Our completed and submitted design proposal - growforgold.org - is a way of addressing urban food production in a creative way, keeping the sovereignty of the individual in mind. Instead of presenting a place-specific design solution our proposal aims to create incentives and possibilities for urban farming to take place anywhere and anytime. Our submission to the competition represents both a tool and a platform which, put in practice, could make landscape architecture happen through the hands of the individual. It sounds complicated, but is actually quite easy. Our design proposal could also be seen as a contribution to the debate about future food production and food security. From that point of view the entire thesis is meant to start a discussion about possible new way of producing food. To be able to present a winning design proposal we have conducted studies of four subjects: 1. The American lawn, 2. Conventional global food production, 3. The American suburb and 4. Contemporary urban food production. In this way our master thesis presents a brief introduction to the background information we considered crucial for us to obtain in order to better understand the complexity of urban farming. In addition to the large part of our thesis concerning the competition One Prize, we have also devoted a chapter to study and reflection on our collaborative process. Our reflection describes pros and cons that can occur when two people who have never before worked together are put in a situation that requires collaboration.