It's all about relationships

"That I can walk across the street and choose among a seemingly endless variety of cheeses, beers, waters, teas and coffees places me in a new relationship with the world: I can consume a bit of Sumatra, Darjeeling, France, and Mexico in my own home, perhaps at the same meal."
-from The Cultural Politics of Food and Eating, p.137-138

The more I think about, and talk to others about, food and why we have reached a critical point always seems to boil down to relationships... the relationship (or lack of relationship) of the consumer to the producer, the producer to the product, the consumer to the product, the product to the greater food system, etc.

So far the most compelling argument is found in the shortest relationship chain.

Social Context

I am currently working my way through a series of essays in The Cultural Politics of Food and Eating. The one I am reading now is entitled Of Hamburgers and Social Space: Consuming McDonalds in Beijing, and I just wanted to share an interesting section that I came across regarding restaurants and the social context behind eating.

"... the context of food consumption (the participants and the social settings of eating) is as important as the text (the foods that are consumed). Restaurants thus should be regarded as a system of social codes; as institutionalized and commercialized venues, restaurants also provide a valuable window through which to explore the social meanings of food consumption." p.81.

Am I too late?

It is pretty remarkable to see the growing phenomenon surrounding the food industry right now. Everywhere you go people are thinking and eating differently, buying their food from different sources or growing it themselves, or they are at least talking about it. In magazines I read about slave labour tomatoes. On television I see shows advocating local celebrity-chefs. The Obama’s turned the historic White House rose garden into a vegetable patch! And now I read that the librarians at the UWSA Musagetes library have started a summer challenge to eat locally. Incredible.

It seems like now that I am aware of the REAL PROBLEM, it’s everywhere. I could not get away from it even if I tried. That is really a good thing, but it’s gotten me thinking… am I too late or am I just in time?

On one hand it would seem that the world is revolutionizing itself already. What does it need someone like me for? They are changing by themselves! On the other, obesity is still up. Fast food is still a more popular choice than the farmers market. So… maybe my help is needed after all. I would like to think so, and for the sake of this thesis, I am going to assume so. In fact I am getting excited about the possibilities!

Stay tuned for ideas to come.

The Abstract

In my previous term, I looked at the role of the community garden as a catalyst for social interaction and community remediation within the city, with particular emphasis on the Cityplace neighbourhood in downtown Toronto.

Here is the last iteration of my thesis abstract:

The new Cityplace neighbourhood in downtown Toronto is a revealing example of the challenges facing modern urban development. Situated between the CN Railway and Gardiner Expressway, the land became vacant and trapped at the city’s centre when railway transport reduced in scale and moved out of the city . The rapid development of the area, dominated by the residential high-rise condominium typology and a lack of integrated social fabric, has isolated the neighbourhood’s residents and created a void in socially programmed space. The result is a deficiency of collective engagement and social identity among residents. When finished, the 44-acre development will house close to 7500 people.

An ideal location for those wanting to live in the downtown core of the city, the neighbourhood of Cityplace is conveniently located within walking distance of the business and entertainment districts. Yet, the neighbourhood itself is an urban bedroom community devoid of socially programmed space. Disconnected from the public realm and from each other, inhabitants seek social engagement elsewhere in the city.

At the same time, Western society is experiencing an unprecedented food revolution. A heightened awareness of globalized food production, local sustainability and loss of arable land to urban centers has become the catalyst to transform the current way of thinking. Currently, more than 50% of the food consumed in the city of Toronto is imported from Florida, California and Mexico, and travels an average of 1300 km . At the neighbourhood level, the emergence of farmers markets and community shared agriculture programs, as well as the voices of local celebrity chefs intoning the importance of local food sources are creating greater awareness of what we eat and where our food comes from.

This thesis strives to reconnect the inhabitants of Cityplace with the public realm and one another to engage the residents in community development and provide an opportunity for them to connect with the land

In an effort to read without preconceived ideas or opinions, for now I will assume that I do not know what my thesis aims to achieve, nor do I have a specific site in mind. At this point I am fully concerned with studying the impact and relationship of food production, consumption and distribution as it relates to urbanism, or the way of life for city dwellers.

The Meeting that Set the Tone

Yesterday I had a meeting with my supervisor to go over the terms of my reading elective. We have decided on eight mini synopses/reactions/responses to the books that I am reading, and then a final essay of 5000-8000 words bringing it all together. It is my (and her) hope that the writing I do now can become a first draft of my actual thesis… brilliant.

And now for the BIG NEWS… My goal for thesis completion is the end of December! Yes, that’s right. Six months from now. Crazy, I know. Still, I think that it could actually happen. Granted, I should probably move back to Cambridge in September to hunker down, but if it means that I am out of here by my birthday it was completely worth the craziness.

A thesis, in my mind, is really the beginning of a study, not the culmination of years worth of research. It’s a starting off point from which other interests can emerge in your professional career. Because of this viewpoint, I think that a six-month deadline is actually attainable. It’s really exciting!

Now I need to get to work.

The Summer Reading Elective

I decided to do a reading elective this term to get the bulk of my research reading (and consequential thinking) done over the summer... plus, who doesn't love to sit on a patio all afternoon, book in hand?

Here's my list which has been broken down, more or less, into three categories:

Urban Agriculture
The No-Nonsense Guide to World Food -Wayne Roberts
Cities Farming for the Future: Urban Agriculture for Green and Productive Cities -Edited by Rene van Veenhuizen
MetroFarm : the guide to growing for big profit on a small parcel of land -Michael Olson

Current Trends in Food

In Defense of Food -Michael Pollan
The 100 Mile Diet -Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon

Food Industry Politics

Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition, and Health -Marion Nestle

The Cultural Politics of Food and Eating - James L. Watson, Melissa L. Caldwell

The Global Food Economy: The Battle for the Future of Farming - Tony Weis

What do you think?

Let's begin at the beginning...

This blog has been a long time in the making. I've been wanting to start for a long time, and now I've finally run out of excuses. This is it.

In January I started a new chapter in my life as a Masters of Architecture student and this blog is supposed to help me through it. It is my forum for inspiration, ideas and intermittent ramblings. Let's get into some of the background. The thesis, at my school, is a big deal and I have been hearing about it for a long time. I started at this particular school in 2002 as a undergraduate, and since then I have heard a lot about theses, seen the struggle of many upper-year students, and finally watched them leave the school and move on to bigger and brighter things in their lives. A stigmatized culmination of years worth of research, hopes, dreams and fears, the thesis is a rite of passage for everyone who sets foot in the school with the aspirations of becoming an architect.

One day I hope that this blog can be more about my trials and tribulations in the kitchen as a wanna-be (and gluten-free) chef, but for now it's all about making sense of food and architecture, and how together they are going to help me earn another degree!