Intergrading

Intergrading: Creating a Balanced Landscape, Integrating Food Production and Biodiversity in Agricultural Areas

Raap, Caspar (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)
van der Vlist, Deborah (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)
Kooiker, Jasper (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)
Julia Sumarthinningrum Dahlan, Julia (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)
Duan, Yu (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)

Balz, Verena Elisabeth (mentor)
Höller, L. (mentor)
Rocco, Roberto (mentor)
Dabrowski, M.M. (mentor)

Delft University of Technology

Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Urbanism

AR2U086 R&D Studio – Spatial Strategies for the Global Metropolis

2024-04-19

The Netherlands has created a large nitrogen pollution problem in its soils, which is harming biodiversity. By intensifying and industrialized farming, by importing animal feed for dairy production and fertilizer for crop farming, too much nitrogen has accumulated in the soil. Consequently, ecological processes are disturbed due to eutrophication (over-feeding of nutrients), from which only a few species profit, causing other species to lose the competition and cease, with detrimental effects on reliant other species.
This project explores how this intensive/industrial farming can be substituted by more sustainable alternatives in which creating and maintaining biodiversity is key. An alternative system is proposed based on the spatial intergrading between cities and protected natural areas with typologies that focus on balancing food production and biodiversity creation. This alternative system is then detailed concerning the small-scale effects it has, the necessary process of policy creation and the necessary systemic changes as preconditions for a successful execution. The transformation design is developed along a framework of values which are reflecting on current best practices in the discipline of urbanism touching on issues of planetary boundaries, justice and transitional thinking.
Our key takeaways are to keep the city and adjacent areas productive, close to where consumption of goods is high but also where functions like education and food markets can be sensibly integrated. Further from the city and closer to already biodiverse and protected areas of the Nature Network Netherlands (NNN), the gradient leans more towards focussing on the creation of biodiversity. Humans and non-human species can find their thriving space on the gradient, food production is still an integral part as well. By creating a system in which farmers are working together, and are guided to create this balance on their farms and are paid for their efforts and the services they provide to society, they can be encouraged to change their farming practices for the better.

Biodiversity Conservation
Food Production
Nitrogen Pollution
Farmers
Land Use
Land Sharing
Gradient
Peri-Urban Areas

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:7b4167ff-5015-4236-90d7-1dafbcd16281

Student theses

student report

© 2024 Caspar Raap, Deborah van der Vlist, Jasper Kooiker, Julia Julia Sumarthinningrum Dahlan, Yu Duan