In 1989 Cuba’s aid and trade were drastically cut by the Soviets – this lead to a food scarcity problem that concerned both the government and the people. In 1991 Cuba’s government began promoting the idea of urban food production in hopes that Cuba would be able to become more independent in terms of providing food for their people. Little by little urban farming was woven into the fabric of Cuba’s cities, such as Havana. It began with private and communal vegetable growing in cities and later on they began developing new growing systems. They inserted market gardens into industrial, residential and empty land, and because of this, Cuba fed its people. 
In less than 10 years, the production of vegetables that Cuba, specifically Havana, produced on its own went from 21,000 tonnes to 272,000 tonnes. There are over 26,000 self provision gardens (gardens cultivated on private land or land of the state which gardeners are able to use for free) which help those who either don’t own enough land to farm on or can’t afford to farm. Many people however, have plots adjacent to their homes or have smaller plots in their home if they own a larger plot further away; this brings together the idea of shelter and food. Bringing food production close to one’s home makes it easier for people to take initiative into farming instead of making the trek to a further away plot. It is because of this that Cuba has become a flagship for similar projects to be undertaken worldwide.
Projects such as Carrot City, from students and faculty at Ryerson University, are heavily influenced by Cuba’s urban agriculture. The proposed ideas in Carrot City’s exhibition touch on new technologies such as water management which is crucial in maintaining agriculture. Water needs to be sustainably used in order to allow for the idea of an agricultural city to flourish. Green roofs employ great water sustainability techniques; see Jessie's post on "Metropolitan Farmville" to learn more about green roofs. Food production is also seen as an integral part of alternative housing. Agriculture in urban spaces allows the designers to re-imagine the buildings and spaces within the city enticing them to create exciting and new proposals. Brain's post "Vertical Farming" explores ways to bridge the gap between shelter and agriculture.
Underused spaces such as high-rise towers, public parks, schoolyards, and even laneways can become locations where food is locally produced. Architects will be important in the future of urban agriculture. It is their duties to ensure that they research possible techniques and encorporate them into their designs. Urban cities operate on a continuous delivery of food supplies. What would happen if this transportation infrastructure were to shut down? It is important for urban cities to begin implementing urban agricultrual programs into their city planning, architecture and landscape design so that over a period of time urban cities can become largely self-sufficient aiding in the rising population of the city.
Tegan Maccari
References:
-"Carrot City; A recent exhibition at Toronto's Design Exchange presented a cross-section of current ideas associated with urban agriculture." Canadian Architect, 2009.
-Koot, Sinan. "The Urban Agriculture of Havana." Monthly Review, 2009.
Ryerson University. Carrot City: designing for urban agriculture. 2008. http://www.ryerson.ca/carrotcity/ (accessed Oct 27, 2009).
-Whitfield, John. "Seeds of an edible city architecture." Nature, 2009.
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