Central Farm
What if the Central Park is the new community farm for New York City residents? What kind of food can the space supply for the public? How much labor will be involved to maintain the farm? What will be the organizational structure and policy for this to make sense? I’d like to know 1. How much food NYC consumes on daily/ monthly/ and yearly basis. How has that changed over past few decades? 2. How much food does NYC purchase from outside and how much of food is local? 3. How is the Central park utilized and owned as of now? what purpose is it used for, outside of recreational public space?
To research about this idea within a narrative context, I’d like to imagine a permanent blackout in New York City after 2003 blackout in Eastern Part of the United Sates. All modes of transportation in and out of the island has been doomed. The ones with the means and resource to move away from the city have decided to escape. The ones without the means of getting out of the city and the ones who decided to move in have cooperated to feed the remaining population. There is no way of bringing food into the city. When the stocked and preserved food got depleted, people learned that the food they consume in the city came from all parts of the world. Currency lost its value and credit system collapsed. Everyone has to work for their food. People begin to depend on the generous nature to survive.
0. Data and field research
1. Visualization of narrative
2. Participatory experience- video/models
Research resources: the Horticulture Society of New York , GROWNYC, Green Thumb, Bed Stuy Against Hunger, Red Hook’s Added Value, Brooklyn’s rooftop garden, Guerilla farming, Fritz Haeg’s Edible estate, http://www.hsny.org/garden_buildagarden.html / http://www.eastnewyorkfarms.org/
Much of the artist led projects about urban farming have focused on specific sites, architectural solutions that are sometimes sustainable, sometimes not, because it is difficult to handle all the necessary aspects of the farm.
Community gardens in East Village have proven that urban farm can function in a small scale according to local situations and context. This project takes the learning from previous studies, the questions they raised and propose the bold question of a city in a size of NYC can self sustain itself. The ‘Central Farm’ project is a conceptual tool to imagine and prepare if the urban farming can function in a large context in the largest public space in order to feed the whole city’s residents.