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Name of the submitted project or idea (in English or both English and your language)
Foodscaping in an Industrial City: Re-imagining Urban Greenery
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URL of a video introducing the work（under 5 minutes）
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Detailed explanation of the submitted project or idea (in English or both English and your language)
The project was born through the direct approach to the music hall owners (Horipro Inc.). We proposed a Foodscape that would bring value to the local community, environment, and elevate the brand of Horirpo Inc., in replacement of their original greening plan. The exterior was initially planned to have installed the kind of trees commonly seen in new urban structures, something that was costly but not necessarily a value add beyond complying with regulations. After numerous presentations to help the client understand what a Foodscape is and its benefits in the long-run, they decided to bring us onboard as a partner to develop their greenery and help better position themselves in the city.
With Foodscaping being a new concept they did not know what to expect, but now they are fully championing the idea and trying to involve the local government in promoting this space as a public good as well. They are extremely happy with the spacial design and the story that the place tells, and have included the Foodscape as part of the tours they give to officials and VIPs when introducing the music hall. We have so far run two community engagement workshops in the space focused on human connection and physical/mental wellbeing, and plan on doing more in collaboration with local organizations in the upcoming months.
The functional elements of the space is closely aligned with the concept of Green Infrastructure. Green Infrastructure refers to a network of green spaces that delivers a range of benefits that help improve the quality of the environment, as well as people’s health and well being. The premises of Green Infrastructure is based on natural solutions with multi functional properties, as opposed to Grey Infrastructure that refers to the human engineered built-in structures
As a city with a notorious image associated with pollution, we see the Foodscape as a space to help Kawasaki re-create its brand and showcase a different side of the city. We hope to continue to evolve the space as a model case on how urban green spaces are crucial to the future livability of the city.
The exact site of the location is SUPERNOVA Kawasaki (https://maps.app.goo.gl/E8ZfdT3YiAGBx3ZY7) -
How does your work address the 3 P’s (for Planet, for People, for Profit) for Sustainability?
Planet: The Foodscape helps combat the heat island effect as well as manage storm water run off. This year especially, with record breaking average temperatures in the summer, the space which is open to the public can serve as a respite from the heat as well as help reduce temperatures in the concrete jungle. The green space will also serve a vital role in retaining water from torrential rain in the future, preventing flooding that our current sewage infrastructure may not be able to. The oasis of lush greenery in the city helps sequestrate CO2 and contribute to maintaining air quality, which is especially important as it is located right next to the train tracks. We also see the green space as an opportunity to restore and preserve biodiversity, acting as a habitat for various living species.
People: The space serves as a place for people to connect and build community. Since it's opening in October, we have conducted a seasonal flower planting session where young working professionals from different backgrounds came together to contribute to the space and get to know one another. We also ran a yoga class for the local families, where children were able to pick fruits and mimic poses from their harvest. Aside from the yearning for human interaction due to restriction from covid over these past couple of years, we see that it is vital to create a strong local network especially in the city areas where people tend to be more isolated.
Profit: For the musical hall owners, it is a way to connect with further potential customers. By opening up an interactive space and funding various community engagement activities, they are creating positive touch points, increasing their reach and elevating their brand. Their original rooftop plan was to incorporate ordinary trees and maintain them for the sake of regulations. From a ROI perspective, by building a Foodscape, they are investing in continued value creation for the people and planet. -
Where (country, region, etc.) have you primarily carried out your project?
Kawasaki City, Japan
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What is the timeline your project has taken place over?
2023 June - Present
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Keywords
#Foodscaping #GreenInfrastructure #Biodiversity
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If you have a website for your submitted project or idea, please provide the URL
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/re-imaging-urban-greenery-green-infrastructure-local-shinozaki-kfmec
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If you have a social media account for your submitted project or idea, please provide the URL
https://www.instagram.com/greenneighbors.co/
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Special Prize Question 1: Is there a mechanism in place to inherit culture and industry as assets for people living in that area 100 or even 1000 years from now?
Yes, our Foodscape is rooted in the agricultural history of Kawasaki. We highlight how there was a rich fruit production culture especially around the Tamagawa river area. Although Kawasaki is currently more known as an industrial hub, there are farmers and agricultural production in the suburban areas. We have incorporated some of these fruiting trees, as well as plan to introduce some native crops such as a local leafy vegetable called “norabouna” or an indigenous carrot called “manpukuji-ninjin”. They are not well known even to people residing in Kawasaki, however there have been movements among the older local farmers to prevent them from becoming extinct. As a prelude to this project, we did a couple of Foodscaping initiatives at an open space in Kawasaki using this “norabouna” and “manpukuji-ninjin”. We planted them with local school children, and supplied some of the harvest to the local bakery. We plan to run a similar initiative on this site as well, creating linkages with local businesses to ensure continuity and creating market demand as opposed to just preservation through funding.
We will also be continuously co-creating this space with local individuals and organizations (more details in Q3), in form of events and workshops. This would naturally incorporate the culture and industry of Kawasaki, developing and enhancing what is important to the local community. By facilitating various collaborations, we intend for this green space to be a place to learn and connect with local culture and practices. -
Special Prize Question 2: What is the positive impact on biodiversity? Is the project creating a cycle not just from a human-centered perspective but for the entire ecosystem?
A large part of our focus with the Foodscape is to conserve and restore biodiversity in the city through creating a habitat for living species. In a highly densely populated area right next to the station, there has been little consideration on preservation of ecology. We hope to bring back urban biodiversity, creating an oasis for birds and pollinators such as bees and butterflies. The Foodscape has various fruiting trees and flowers that these species can feast on, as well as nooks for insects to hideout. The design of the place is such that there are various plant species that reinforce a positive relationship with one another, thus strengthening the ecosystem and attracting various living species. We take inspiration from the forest, designing the Foodscape in layers mimicking the forests. The tall trees act as a shade for smaller bushes to flourish, and the cover crops keeps the soil cool and damp for living things to thrive.
In the future we hope to incorporate structures such as bird houses that can help local birds build nests. We plan on monitoring this, considering approaches such as acoustic to capture the sounds of the bird. Part of our endeavors going forward is exploring how we can make monitor biodiversity to understand its impacts further. -
Special Prize Question 3: Are you enabling new forms of collaboration with others? New forms of collaboration might include cross-industry cooperation, co-creation with consumers, or role transformations within the supply chain.
Our work is all based on collaboration with local partners. The plants and fruit trees that have been incorporated come from a Kawasaki producer that has extensive knowledge on native species. By working with local producers, we are highlighting some of the indigenous species that are shrinking in market production. By using them on the site and conducting workshops, we hope it can contribute to galvanizing the industry and production of some of these plants that have been treasured in agriculture history (like the native persimmons). Working with local producers also mean that we are limiting our environmental footprint through shorter transportation.
On community engagement, we are also conscious about working with various individuals and organizations. We see this as an opportunity to engage with a broader range of audiences, expanding our outreach and impact. For example, we just collaborated with a local yoga teacher that focuses on children and parents. It helped us understand the significance of a green space and childhood development, and convey its benefits to the local government. By providing a stage like this, our intent is also to support the local small businesses. In the coming months we are also planning to run gamified environmental education sessions, such as a Climate Fresk or Biodiversity Collage. These sessions are usually conducted within confined meeting rooms, but by doing this in the Foodscape, we wish to evoke a more powerful sensation of why we need to protect our planet. By bringing in these cross industry collaborative partners, we hope to really champion the importance of having an accessible green space and make this an integral part of urban living.
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Foodscaping in an Industrial City: Re-imagining Urban Greenery
Others
We are Green Neighbors, the first Foodscaping Venture in Japan established in 2022. Green Neighbors aims to re-imagine urban greenery through Foodscaping, transforming landscapes into edible interactive green spaces. We design and build Foodscapes, offering an approach to Green Infrastructure development that enriches the local community and environment.
Green Neighbors built a Foodscape on the exterior of a new live music hall that opened mid October right next to the Kawasaki station, which is the second largest city in Kanagawa Prefecture.
In Japan, it is mandatory to green buildings of certain sizes based on a set of local regulatory requirements. We made it our mission to achieve Foodscaping abiding by these very regulations through incorporating fruit trees such as persimmons, figs, biwa, kumquats and other plants that tells a unique story.
Kawasaki is widely known as an industrial hub, but is actually a city rich in agricultural history. For example it is a lesser know fact that Kawasaki was where the first sweet persimmon called the Zenjimaru-Gaki was discovered, or that it was the biggest pear production area in the Kanto-region in the early 1930s. Adding these into the Foodscape allows people to learn about the history and culture of the area, as well as a rare opportunity for people to connect with nature in the city.
Our proposition with the Foodscape is to transform the space to serve as a Green Infrastructure, contributing to the local community and the environment. We pushed the boundaries of urban greening through physical design - incorporating the unique aesthetic of edible plants, as well as experiential design - facilitating collaborative events/workshops in the space.
Green Neighbors built a Foodscape on the exterior of a new live music hall that opened mid October right next to the Kawasaki station, which is the second largest city in Kanagawa Prefecture.
In Japan, it is mandatory to green buildings of certain sizes based on a set of local regulatory requirements. We made it our mission to achieve Foodscaping abiding by these very regulations through incorporating fruit trees such as persimmons, figs, biwa, kumquats and other plants that tells a unique story.
Kawasaki is widely known as an industrial hub, but is actually a city rich in agricultural history. For example it is a lesser know fact that Kawasaki was where the first sweet persimmon called the Zenjimaru-Gaki was discovered, or that it was the biggest pear production area in the Kanto-region in the early 1930s. Adding these into the Foodscape allows people to learn about the history and culture of the area, as well as a rare opportunity for people to connect with nature in the city.
Our proposition with the Foodscape is to transform the space to serve as a Green Infrastructure, contributing to the local community and the environment. We pushed the boundaries of urban greening through physical design - incorporating the unique aesthetic of edible plants, as well as experiential design - facilitating collaborative events/workshops in the space.
