The presence of cubanelle peppers, originally developed in Italy, in a tree pit and a half at 164th and broadway, reveals that there are issues around food security and sovereignty, and green space access; as well as a desire to remedy these maladies created through exclusionary design. In a 1mi radius from the pepper plants there are only 2 places to buy fresh produce. Just outside this radius are a community garden and an additional grocery store. Compounded on this lack of access is the lack of financial resources and the overall lack of access to culturally relevant foods at a financially sustainable rate becomes nearly impossible. The initial intervention raises concern about soil pollution specifically heavy metal contamination and adsorption of pollutants by edible crops. Heavy metal contamination is overlaid on this map. This project serves as a toolkit (kit of parts) that reclaims space for recentralized community gardens and expands access to urban agriculture through different nodes. The largest tool is a stacked community garden that serves up to 6 blocks with a greenhouse and community seating, next are stackable planters that fit on a fire-escape. There are peripheral pieces such as seed drying racks, compost bins, food preservation spaces, and a seed library. This project is envisioned to be led by both the community and the city. The stacked community garden would require the expansion of the median, and therefore residents would to band together to have this built, otherwise, they could request any part of this kit to be installed in their neighborhood or delivered to their building.

Developed for Core 1 Studio at Columbia's GSAPP