Ecological Farming Landscape

Ecological Farming Landscape: A spatial solution for agricultural sustainability in the polders around Zoetermeer

Galjaard, Joline (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment; TU Delft Urbanism)

Verschuure, G.A (mentor)
Hackauf, U.D. (mentor)
de Ridder, A.C. (graduation committee)

Delft University of Technology

Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Landscape Architecture

2018-07-03

A large part of the Dutch landscape is used by agriculture, and the two are strongly related. However, the current agricultural system has problems with sustainability, leading for example to the loss of biodiversity, soil degradation, water pollution and high emissions of greenhouse gases. Besides ecological issues, economic and social problems are present as well. The current way of farming has turned the landscape in an industrial, monotone area, losing characteristic landscape elements.

The project explores in what way agroecology and ecological principles can provide a sustainable solution to agriculture on the landscape level. The polders around Zoetermeer serve as a case study, showing how the existing landscape can be used as a starting point for the spatial implementation of sustainable farming solutions. Linking ecological principles, problems of sustainability and different areas together, a toolbox for the design of the area is formed. The end result offers a perspective on the functioning and appearance of an ecological farming landscape, using the concept of diversity, connectivity and circularity.

Ecological landscape design
Sustainable agriculture
Agroecology
Agricultural landscape

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:c33111ca-3dcb-4d6a-bee1-85e58485f6ae

52.052801, 4.554947

Student theses

master thesis

© 2018 Joline Galjaard