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Airport Community Farms

Slide Descriptions

Project Description:
Community Farms of James Burnett

A.Landscape Architect's role in developing/implementing the project.

The landscape archtiect created this project without a client to address the opportunities available in excess airport property. After a short investigation it wag clear that this project has serious viability. The study then became more in depth through the research of six airports and the data and drawings were compiled to support the theory.

B. Successful resolution of the project's program (requirements, limitations, scope, intent, planning/design philosophy.

The Airport Community Farms is an unbuilt project based on the promise that excess land around airports could be of better use. This open, maintained land is typically well drained mid easily accessible. The Airport Community Farm concept generates jobs during planting and harvest for a great number of people and provides community service through the giving of food (30% of gross yield was estimated) to those homeless in shelters. One urban garden of note is the Smithsonian vegetable garden near the Air and Space Museum that was developed to feed the homeless. This demonstration project tells us farmable land is precious and that excess airport lands should be closely evaluated for farming opportunities.

Airport Community Farms takes a valuable resource and offers the tremendous opportunity lbr connecting travelers to a region. The gardens would be designed in bands of color to project a graphic statement from above. The vegetables would be harvested and graded on site and distributed in the airport as a revenue generating venture to support the effort.

C. Potential impact and significance of the project on the local community or surroundings.

The Airport Community Farm concept takes excess, vacant Imld and puts it to usc as agricultural land, but the potential impact goes beyond the mere production of vegetables and fruit.
The Airport Community Farm project generates jobs during planting and harvest for a great number of people.
It provides community service through the giving of food (30% of gross yield was estimated) to those homeless in shelters.
It takes a valuable resource and offers the tremendous opportunity for connecting travelers to a region visually on landing and take-off. One can imagine people talking enthusiastically about the beautiful fields of cauliflower at DFW or the expansive fields of berries in Atlanta at Hartsfield.

Fresh vegetables or fresh fruit could be sold in the terminals taking advantage of the the fact that travelers commonly purchase regional specialties in airports.

Research for the project evaluated six major airports for fanmng opportunities and found that these airports could offer food for 76,000 people
while providing a large number of jobs for the unemployed during peak planting and harvesting. Houston Intercontinental Airport, based on the
Texas Department of Agriculture statistics, can yield approximately 50,000 tons of vegetables (tomatoes, potatoes, onions, carrots, broccoli,
cauliflower, and sweet potatoes) per year based on farming approximately 6,100 acres. This would provide local shelters with vegetables to feed
20,470 people 4 pounds per day.

Farming, unlike building, is an annual operation that can be abandoned with virtually no cost if the airport needs to expand or wants to change
the farming zones. Discussions with the EPA revealed that a large jet plane has jet fuel emissions approximately equivalent to 50 highway
vehicles. This emission is a concern and suggests we farm outside the runway approaches. Positive attributes are not discounted, as there are
many successful urban gardens and freeway side farming operations experiencing this minimal level of toxicity.
 

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