Growing Food + Community: Youth Agriculture as Resilience

AUTUMN 2024 ADVANCED STUDIO

 

 

This UWLA 404 studio addressed design of urban agriculture that centers youth learning and agency to advance food justice and resilience in a changing climate. Landscape Architecture undergraduate and graduate students worked with two nonprofits that engage BIPOC youth in growing food and learning in community—Clean Greens, with their youth garden at Amy Yee Tennis Center; and iUrban Teen, with their youth garden at Rainier Community Center—both of which hold potentials to expand their gardens. The Landscape Architecture students’ diverse visions serve as catalysts for community conversations towards what may be next steps in the iUrban Teen Garden.

The studio’s iterative process included: visiting the sites and meeting with Youth Garden and UFS leaders; exploring local precedent gardens with leaders of those gardens; design charrette; design workshop with garden leaders andothers; mid-review presentations with faculty, design professionals, and site leaders; and December 4 open house/final presentations at Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands Classroom Building that engaged design professionals, gardeners, and youth with the students’ ideas.