Draft Land Plan (click to enlarge)
Tryon Life Community Farm: Strategic Planning for a new Urban Ecology
Draft Overview for Iterative Public Review. Ver. 1.0, August 2006
Draft Land Plan (click to enlarge)
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0. Introduction
TLC Farm exists because of the commitment and energy of Portland's broad network of organizations, movements, and citizens committed to a transformation of our urban ecology. It is already living proof of the potential we hold when we work together. Now, we have an opportunity to actualize that potential, to use this place and project as a catalyst for the emergence of deeper and more collaborative relations among varied communities with a common goal for sustainable urban density to become more than a slogan: a living ecosystem of change.
In our six-month strategic planning process – of which we near the mid-point – we have repeatedly used the symbol of a forest. Forests are chaotic, decentralized, unplanned – and yet also deeply peaceful, efficient, and resilient; the complex interweaving of mutually interdependant relations makes them beautiful. Unlike monoculture crops, forests require little or no energetic inputs other than the sun's light, and produce no waste products other than air and water. And especially during the mid-successional phase characterizing moments of change, they are among the most bio-productive ecosystems on the planet.
Portland once was a forest, and in more ways than one, it can be so again.
On the one hand, this means developing experience laying the groundwork for urban ecosystems that support habitat for all our relations: native species, food and fiber sources, ourselves. It means learning how to invite the wild back into our neighborhoods, our daily lives, our self-identity. It means inhabiting a living forest of trees and shrubs and roots, of birds and voles and salamanders – at urban densities.
But it also describes a network of social relationships,
a way of understanding the economy of our movement as complex and
interwoven, yet evolving agilely and coherently. This is the
grassroots momentum that saved this land when it seemed impossible.
And it is this work that we are continuing with our strategic
planning process: non-linear, iterative, and as broadly-based as
possible, designed to invite and support cooperation in imagining and
accomplishing the impossible.
So far, our first two large monthly meetings have 1) brainstormed and fleshed out a wide variety of programs and functions that are desired by stakeholders in the broader community, and 2) identified specific implications of these functions, in terms of land use. Our smaller working groups have organized and summarized this information, and have created this document and a schematic draft land plan to summarize the largely unsifted amalgamation of these ideas.
Now, our work is to return to the larger question: how can this place best be used to catalyze the growth of our movements? What is missing from our plans so far? What in the plans is unnecessary, a distraction, or a misuse of this opportunity? What potential conflicts may emerge?
The following five categories describe this initial long-term (ca. 15 year) plan for uses of the land; they are described in the future present tense.
1. Education
Education is oriented towards providing direct experience in the skills and attitudes of a new relation between human and natural ecologies. It comes in four main forms: community workshop series, field trips for youth and school groups, a hands-on learning childcare center, and extensive long-term partnerships with local and international organizations such as Lewis & Clark, PSU, PCC, Gaia University, Cascadia Wild!, Urban Trackers NW, Native American Youth and Family Association, etc.
This educational mission is supported with low-impact but adequate physical infrastructure:
Outdoor classrooms: at least three 300+ sq ft “living rooms” (D.2) grown with trees and shrubs, potentially including transparent roofing and low-impact furniture. Additionally, one multipurpose covered platform (B.6) would be available for class groups.
Indoor classrooms: a large multipurpose structure (B.7) includes a 1000+ sq ft open space, which could be partitioned into up to three smaller classrooms using dividers.
Childcare facilities: a specially-designed 1000 sq ft childcare center (B.3) provides facilities for up to 20 children at a time.
Sustainability library and data center: Provides public research resources including data terminals, digital and print archives, and research tools (B.7).
2. Forum
This land is a place in which many organizations and communities come together to fulfill their own goals in a context that grows physical and social ecologies. Besides a beautiful and evocative environment that stimulates increased respect for “all our relations”, this affords an opportunity to develop organic, informal, personal relationships between regular users of the land, a key element of social ecological design.
This function is supported by:
Village green: A half-acre open field for gatherings, recreation, picnics, performances, etc.
Conference center: a large multipurpose structure (B.7) includes a 1000+ sq ft open space, which could be partitioned into up to three smaller “breakout rooms” using dividers.
Performance spaces: a multi-use covered platform (B.6) next to the village green can be used as a stage. Additionally, the childcare facility (B.3) is rapidly re-purposed for music, poetry, dramatic performances and recording purposes in the evenings; it includes space for storage of instruments, supplies, etc..
3. Demonstration & ecological design
This place is a premier site for providing direct experience with cutting-edge modes of ecological design that re-integrate human habitat into sustainable, complex ecologies. Paying attention to the comprehensive footprint of the system of relationships occupying the land, including cradle-to-cradle assessments, the place provides a vision of a transformed urban and peri-urban environment and the practices that can get us there.
Water:
Keyline design: off-contour swales (C.2) direct stormwater across the landscape to maximize infiltration into the soil, supporting groundwater recharge, reducing irrigation needs, and reducing erosion.
Dams/ponds: three large ponds (C.1) along the existing subwatershed centerline store and bioremediate stormwater, cleaning and slowing the runoff before it exits into the Park and detaining water for irrigation in the dry months. Water catchment at the top of the cliff (C.4) provides additional storage both for irrigation and nano-hydroelectric generation. Total storage capacity of 0.5 acre-feet would cover 4000 sq ft at average 5 ft depth, and would provide more than a quarter of an inch per week for four dry months over one acre, adequate for careful drip-line irrigation.
Cisterns: A minimum of 50,000 rainwater-caught gallons (C.3) divided along two or three north-facing walls (with footprint of 225 – 350 sq ft and 10 ft high) provide adequate drinkable water usage during 4 dry months, with reasonable conservation. (Approx. 10 gal per person per day, for 50 people).
Greywater systems: prefilter household water from showers, sinks, laundry, and other non-pathogen-bearing uses. Staged settling and phytoremediation ponds absorb nutrients and clean water.
Food:
Food forest research center: 2+ dense acres (D.1) with many additional pockets planted in food forests with multiple, controlled design parameters, intended to research multi-story perennial production rates on the model of a mid-successional forest, using native and nonnative species in various proportions to assess relative human-use productivity and native habitat function. Goal is to assess how urban environments in Portland could be retrofitted as multi-purpose habitat corridors, human-productive agriculture, and human-useful recreational, educational, and spiritual places.
CSA: about 1 acre of land in annual production (D.6), using guilded polycultures and partially interplanted with perennials. Demonstrate a variety of permaculture, biodynamic, and organic farming techniques. Provide up to 100 shares (assuming 300 sq ft per share + pathways) for neighborhood, encouraging direct participation in food cycle and greater exposure to ecology.
Greenhouse: up to 1000 sq ft (B.7) for propagation, extended growing seasons, increased productivity, and cultivation of heat-adapted species.
Habitat:
Perimeter of the land is mostly planted in native species only with improved habitat functionality in mind.
Boundaries between forest and meadow are widened and folded to increase habitat diversity.
Corridors crisscross land with native and partially native habitat to increase boundary areas and overall habitat functionality.
>50% habitat functionality averaged over entire property.
Building:
New construction: entirely using natural/green techniques that improve integration of human and natural spaces
Natural building center: Capacity to support year-round natural building projects and workshops.
Workshop/tools: Located in current barn (A.3), provides resources for volunteers, community, and neighborhood.
Energy:
Passive solar design for new structures
Green retrofitting for existing structures
Solar electric generation: 2000 sq ft of paneling in high solar-yield area will produce about 20 kW, adequate on average with effective conservation: panels will cover south-facing shed roof of multipurpose education/conference building (B.7).
Micro-hydroelectric generation down cliff (C.4).
Potential for wind generation
Green office spaces for administration: 500 sq ft of space in the multipurpose building (B.7) will support five work areas, with additional storage so that more than five people can effectively use the offices on a scheduled basis.
Transportation:
No additional parking on-site
No burden on neighborhood or Park
Maximum of 15 residential vehicles on land – 3:1 resident to vehicle ratio.
“The place you can't drive to”: local shuttle to Barbur Transit Center when 38 isn't running; veggie-oil shuttle bus for events
Campaign to increase bus service to neighborhood
Campaign for bike lane on Boones Ferry
4. Holistic care for body and soul
Transformation of human ecologies must consider the entire person and our capacity for healthy relations, human and otherwise. By creating healing resources by which body and soul can relax into a wiser appreciation of the many relations that make the world, we provide the basis for a social economy in which cooperation and respect create deeper forms of wealth. Our work is informed by emerging wisdom in ecotherapy and alternative healing traditions. Training and reflection on practice will dovetail with provision of healing experiences.
These will include the following:
Healing arts spaces: A mini-healing center on the perimeter of the village green provides a medium sized room (250 sq ft) for group sessions and three small attached chambers (50 sq ft) for individual massage, reiki, vibrational therapy, and other modalities (B.5).
Sacred areas: Along the southern portion of the cliffs, pathways, benches, shrines, altars, and perches (B.9) provide a wealth of opportunities for individual and small-group meditation, stillness, and worship surrounded by the forest. Additionally, several parts of the land including much of the area surrounding the wetlands is left maximally untouched by people, so that human spirit can fold into the wild.
Food celebrations: Once or twice a week, neighbors and friends make the land a destination for festive themed meals of locally-grown foods to nourish the entire being. A commercial kitchen housed in the residential portion of the land (B.1) will legitimate the endeavor, but it'll all be in the style of an underground café!
Cottage industries: Demonstrate ecologically sound methods of producing income, including value-added food production, plant nurseries, blackberry-eating goat brigades, etc.
5. Community
This place provides a profound opportunity to experience urban density as ecologically healing and community-building. Its relevance for city-wide planning is established: overall, the land exceeds the anticipated population density of the 23-unit development planned previously; the 1-2 acre portion of the land primarily used by residents matches or exceeds the 20-35 people per acre in Portland's densest census tracts. At the same time, the use of the land will demonstrate how deeply interwoven human habitat can be with wild ecologies and food production, as well as other social uses such as education, recreation, healing, and small-scale industry.
The facilities for residential use are positively constrained by the 75% cap placed by the ground lease on additional housing footprint or height:
New multipurpose infill structure: This structure is not used for housing, but will provide cooking, dining, gathering, laundry, library, art and music studio, and other public and community uses (B.1). It is located between the pre-existing two houses, minimizing the impact on the land.
New intergenerational housing structure: A new three-story structure (B.2) will provide 3000 sq ft of interior space, of which a full 2700 sq ft will be for living areas. This is detached from the other residential areas, and is designed to provide space for elders and those with special needs, integrated with other members of the community with a desire for more quiet.
Additional small residential yurts: Three to five or so small yurt-domes (B.10) tucked into the forested area of the land will create more private quarters, including guest quarters for those that wish to spend time in this unique environment. This additional 500 sq ft of living quarters will provide a total of 3200 more square feet of private space in addition to the 4500 sq ft of existing space. Residents will occupy between 100 and 200 sq ft of private space per person, for a total number of about 50 residents.