AgroCity - the city for Africa
AgroCity - the city for Africa. Sketches for a New Urbanity is a book by Al Imfeld published in 2016 . The topic is the city of the future , characterized by comprehensive sustainability .
Imfeld analyzes various exploding (mega) cities in several countries south of the Sahara. These cities mainly have an administrative and commercial center surrounded by - often many - slums. Its residents have left their farmland and hope for a better life in the city. On the basis of Imfeld's considerations and numerous in-depth debates and interdisciplinary discussions, an AgroCity concept was created that will continue to develop in practice.
introduction
In order to counter the catastrophic ghettoization, Imfeld proposes new forms of cities that guarantee a better life for their residents - characterized by a mixture of agriculture and city amenities such as employment opportunities, land ownership as a cooperative member, schools, neighborhoods, health care, markets, theaters , Sports, tourism and public transport.
AgroCities emerge as cooperatives, they overcome traditional divisions such as ethnicity and religion. In AgroCity there are only vehicles without fossil fuels. Two thirds of the food comes from horizontal and vertical agriculture of AgroCity, and there are self-sufficiency and supply contracts within a radius of about 25 km. Further income is generated from trading in products from workshops, services and natural resources.
Basics of an AgroCity
- Cooperative that builds itself (including building with recycled material)
- Joint responsibility for nutrition from the day of arrival
- Primary education by neighbors; Barter trade - deepened by the support of various specialists
- Basic medical care
- Markets, sports, culture, social and religious life
- Cooperative network
Elements of AgroCity
- Cooperative as a basic structure
- all tasks performed by residents
- 5,000 to a maximum of 10,000 inhabitants
- Ideal size: at least 4 km² urban area
- Vertical & Horizontal Urban Agriculture
- depending on local conditions such as geographical location etc.
Ideal future AgroCity house
- Single-family house with a 700 m² area
- Progressive building
- 2–3 generations living together
- Bed & Breakfast for students, tourists, friends
- Space for 5–10 people
- At least 8 bedrooms
- At least 2 bathrooms
- Workshop
- Greenhouses
- Small animals
Rules of the AgroCitizens
- Peaceful cooperation, cultural mix
- Joint responsibility with cooperative self-administration
- Productive urban farmers from day one
- Build your own houses
- Education and training for children and adults
- Active in the design of tools, products for building and trading / services
AgroCity plan
- 5000 to a maximum of 10,000 residents
- No more than 1000 houses
- At least 4 km² urban area
- Public administration
- Registration of land and residents
- Public notary office of the cooperative
- Urban agriculture
- Urban infrastructure
- Streets, intersections, squares, meeting places
- Sports facilities
- Hospital, fire brigade, police, court, prison
- graveyards
- Solar power, solar cookers and heaters
- Drinking and wastewater with recycling in small cycles (approx. 4 families)
- Local waste recycling and disposal
AgroCity drivers
- Newcomers receive a free land title as members of the cooperative; likewise microcredits for start-up assistance
- Security, tolerance, mutual acceptance, multicultural, social and economic mix; Training and arbitration boards of the cooperative
- Build your own house and business within a year
- New start if members of the cooperative do not meet building / trade conditions or move away
- Building with the support of the neighbors and permanent local building trade fairs
- Ongoing technical support through permanent construction trade fair
- Land purchase for the cooperative through licensing, sponsors, refugee return nations
- Tempting for sponsors, scientists, tourists, friends and families
AgroCity, economic
- Produce your own food according to the seasons and local possibilities.
- Be innovative, try new possibilities and methods.
- Make money from excess production, services, and trade.
- Provide services (B&B, tour guides, safaris, performances, shows, festivals, crafts, massages, food, etc.).
AgroCity, Budget & Financing
- Support: AgroCity Association (ACA), association under Swiss law, for coaching, certification.
- Land purchase with license income, government and private funding
- Financing health care, specialist support through telemedicine
- State urban infrastructure for education, health, fire departments, police and ambulances
- Continuous monitoring / evaluation, controlling and financial transparency
- Local, national and international sponsorship
AgroCity offer
- Continuous urban agriculture - green agricultural belt within 15-25 km
- Local, national and international trade
- Services, culture, sports
- Science and private tourism
- Water management, erosion control, reforestation
- Drinking and service water, recycling in small groups
- Clean air, calm, containment of wind erosion
- Local building materials and construction from recycling
- Culturally compatible agricultural products (such as fruits, vegetables, small animals, hydroponics, mushrooms, sprouts, worms), artisanal products.
- Harvesting, processing and preserving food
- Think tanks, experiments, research, competitions, inventions, international exchange of results
- Reforestation with tree nurseries, seeding in plots with protective fences against hoof erosion and animal bite; Fruit trees, mixed cultures, symbioses
swell
- Al Imfeld : AgroCity - The city for Africa. Rotpunktverlag.ch
- www.agrocity.org
Individual evidence
- ↑ Al Imfeld, Lotta Suter: AgroCity - the city for Africa , rotpunktverlag.ch, accessed on July 28, 2019