In the July to September 2020 edition of Planning in London Gary Young describes the Market Garden City concept created by Gary Young and Hannah Smart demonstrating how a community could work together to provide plant based food for self sufficiency and security, essential to healthy living and achieving the fundamental goal of reducing carbon emmissions. The concept can be scaled where an individual, starting by providing a small percentage of their own food, could with a local self sufficient community, create collective food security.. In parallel the concept would provide carbon emission reduction, energy & water supply security, protection of the natural environment and biodiversity gain, employment skills and training, education and caring.
The flexible urban design concept would integrate rural areas and urban streets and green spaces to provide a diverse mix of cultural public and functional spaces. The spatial plan identities the amount of land required for a community to safeguard food production based on the calories required and provided by predominantly vegetarian locally grown food. Climate and soil quality will determine the food grown creating diversity. Distribution will be through a hub which could be based on the traditional market hall a covered and daylit extension of the surrounding streets, modular or existing building adaptable to locations. The hub will provide collection, distribution, organised volunteering and food share linked by electric vehicle and cycle hubs.
A new form of urban place “The Green Ecumenopolis”, literally a city without boundaries, could be created with productive landscape used for local food integral to the living place. The Market Garden City becomes a focus for local initiatives, sourcing and sharing staple foods and specialties, creating public realm, supporting locally diverse cultures, lifestyles, health and wellbeing.
The Market Garden City concept is referenced into Gary Young’s Greater London Plan 2020 to demonstrate that a city of London’s scale could become self sufficient in food production with predominantly plant based horticulture.
