Fruitful trees in Paris
Michelle and I worked together and designed a system for urban farming in Paris. After researching on different associations that already exist in Paris, we took the advantages and disadvantages and tried to build out of these a creative urban farming project that could be possible to realize in the city of Paris.
When trying to determine if urban agriculture may contribute to a sustainable future, the primary question to ask is: Will this agriculture be at the service of the inhabitants? Its success depends on its objectives, its forms, and its local ownership by the people concerned.
Taking the accomplishments and challenges of others different farming projects in Paris into consideration, we founded our idea: Fruits Frais de Paris. We are a non-profit organization that seeks to provide produce to the citizens of the Belle Ville de Paris. We realized that Paris has various natural parks with plenty of trees but not a single one provides any nutrients to its citizens. Therefore, we seek to replant these green areas with fruitful trees which will provide produce for the citizens of Paris. These include avocado, banana, mango, apple pomegranates, olives and more.
Taking into consideration the context of modern-day Paris and the growing environmental and social concern regarding immigrants in the city, we wanted to provide a change which would benefit all. That is why we would employ immigrants which otherwise be unemployed and begging in the streets. These workers would be the maintenance team for these fruitful trees as they require a substantial amount of cleaning, trimming and overall upkeep. We understand the regulations of the city of Paris in order to maintain its aesthetic and will work alongside these expectations to upkeep our trees.
Advantages: The advantages of this simple yet effective concept would be to provide fresh produce at a larger scale in the city of Paris. In addition, by using the already planted green spaces we would maximise the efficiency of the land provided. Last but not least, we hope that by initiating a small change which would benefit a large population it will inspire others to do the same. This project does not appeal to one audience in general, our target is everyone and anyone in the city of Paris. In addition to providing produce for the citizens, we will be minimising the amount of energy, and gas mileage used to transport foods and thus use a simple strategy to combat larger issues such as food waste, climate change and the industrial food transport industry.
Opportunities: We will provide our products to local supermarkets and therefore benefit local economies. Also, the products will be cheaper and available for everyone since the transportation issue won’t be a problem anymore. We will be employing immigrants, the percentage of unemployment in France will decrease.
Limitations: We also understand the possible limitations and problems which could arise from this ambition. The environmental concerns would be the rodding fruits that could attract different kinds of insects to the city but also birds. For fruits to grow and be healthy to consume, the
environment should be well maintained. Therefore, the less pollution in the air, the better. The pollution of the city coming from the cars could affect the fruits we are selling. We aim, in an ideal future, that Paris’s cars will all be electric. Another issue we understand is money. We will have to promote this concept to the government of Paris and ask if part of the taxes we pay could go the plantation of these trees. We understand that such a desire to replant the already existing trees into fruitful ones poses a major economic concern but we truly believe the result will surpass this. It will be a major investment, however, in the long run, it will be returned due to the lower food transportation costs.
Some photoshop sketches:
