REVIVING THE PAST
Currently, Stretford has 6 allotments and they are situated in Chadwick Rd, Church St, Gorse Hill, Humphrey Park, Lesley Rd and Seymour Grove. When I asked the Stretford's locals on what do they like to do during their free time, most of them said they like getting involved in planting and many of them have already volunteered helping out in some of these allotments. This clearly shows that there is a demand in gardening activities and I hope to introduce more of these into Stretford. Therefore, the building I am proposing will be a restaurant that allows people to grow their own fruits and vegetables which exposes people more to the whole process of food making from production to consumption while providing them food that are much fresher and healthier.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS ?
STRETFORD
The modernization of cities have also affected Stretford as well. However, in the past, Stretford was known as the "Garden of Lancashire". This is due to the growth of Manchester during the 19th century that influenced the expansion of market gardening in Stretford. During 1845, over 508 tons of vegetable were being produced each week for Manchester market, particularly rhubarb, which was once known as Stretford beef. Back then, Stretford was huge in agriculture but this phenomenon has disappeared over the years. However, there are still some allotments around Stretford but not as extensive as it used to be and the amount of of it the least among all the towns in Trafford.
Stretford
1863
Number of allotments in Trafford
FOOD IN THE PAST
Back then, farming and domestic food production was part of most people's lives. Generally, people were much closer to their food and they often have their own enclosed garden or known as hortus conclusus to grow herbs, vegetables and fruits. Therefore, the city was filled with many vegetation and people knew their food much more than we do right now.
MODERNIZATION OF CITIES
However, after the industrial revolution, food begin to shift away from our lives as less people were needed to grow their own since technology in farming were more advanced. Also, after the two world wars, the act of food production dropped even more after the introduction of Modernist zoning in cities; a post-war urban redevelopment to make cities more organize and clean. This is because the production of food is deemed agricultural; agricultural is assumed to happen in rural areas and hence becomes a matter of rural policy, distinct and treated independently from urban policy and from urban problems. Besides that, farmers markets were also classified as messy and rural, causing the rise in supermarkets in cities. As a result, people begin to not see the need to grow their own food and this has caused a new kind a barrier and uncertainty between people and the food they eat.
FOOD AND THE CITY
WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS ?
