FEEDING THE CITY

Abstract

Food plays a key role in our daily life. It has a powerful influence on regional and cultural development patterns. The urban-rural relationship is intrinsic to cultural development. The city relies on the countryside to produce food and sustain the urban infrastructure. Historically, rural and agricultural areas, have played a major role in feeding cities. The City is continually expanding and has become our main habitat. This is primarily due to the impacts of intensified globalization. Approximately half of the worlds population resides in cities. Urbanization has rapidly changed the face of the earth and the state of human life. By 2050, its estimated that the urban population will double. This will create an exponential increase in the amount of food consumption. Seoul is a prime example of globalization. After the 1960s there was a drastic increase in Seouls population. This was a result of changes made in the existing economic and social infrastructures. However, the rural areas in Korea did not develop at the same rate. There is a large gap between the supply and demand of food production and consumption. Rapid industrialization and urbanization patterns have strained arable land and as a result the farming population is in decline. The self-sufficiency rate of grain is now approximately 20 percent. Consequently, South Korea has become more sensitive to the world food market due to its increasing dependence on imported foods. It is impossible to maintain self-sufficiency, in relation to food production and consumption patterns. At this rate, food security will become unstable and will have an increasing effect on life, both physically and mentally. This thesis aims to propose an architectural design solution that will address the disconnection between food and urban development patterns. This proposal does not focus on economic, social, or political processes, but attempts to make a contribution in preparation for feeding the city of Seoul in a sustainable manner. Recently, some alternatives are being considered for stable food supply. These proposals deal with conserving and promoting agriculture policy, overseas agricultural base development, R&D, urban farming, etc. One of these alternatives, urban farming, was considered as a way to supply food to the city, introducing agriculture into urban areas in a sustainable way under the scope of architectural design. Garak Market was considered as an experimental design facility for urban farming. It is a primary source for residents to access food in the city, however, most of the food is produced in rural areas or is imported from abroad. Garak Market is the biggest wholesale market in Seoul, and is the epicenter of food distribution. This design experiment, proposes adding an urban farming function to the existing market. It will allow the market to function as a food production facility as well as a food distribution facility. Furthermore, this proposal will serve as a starting point in solving the decline in self-sufficiency, more particularly food security and reconnecting urban life to food in South Korea.