Urban (t)issues

40.000 bottles a day. Not a thing you do in the centre of the city thinking of all the logistics and space needed

Remember that some years ago I wrote a blog about the food industry and its relation with the city? If you need a reminder, follow this link (for English) or this one (for Italian). It is an issue which has always took my intention, since the interest for the subject was born during my studies for architecture. But at this moment  it has my particular attention since I am starting a research on it, planning to make a real Food Tour Milano.

The idea of a Food Tour isn’t mine but came from a great organization based in Amsterdam. This group started a few years ago and has always had food and its’ relation with the city as its main topic. To some extend their actions are inspired by the book Hungry city written by the British architect Carolyn Steel. In this book she explains ‘how food shapes our cities’ thereby influenced by certain external factors like the Industrial Revolution (trains allowing to transport over longer distances) and the after WWII economic boom which allowed everyone to have a freezer and thus store over longer periods (and go for weekly shopping in the big supermarkets in the outskirts of town). When you want to know more about it, read the book.

My task is now to do this research for a big North Italian city. The research still needs to start (funding is really welcome) but a first investigation helped me already to get an idea of where I need to look for. And the enthusiasm for the first results made me really curious. So last Sunday I headed of to the western parts of the town to visit the famous Fernet-Branca factories.

Fernet-Branca is a liquor which originally was created as a medicine for people suffering from cholera. Some of the visitors told us that – when they were younger - their mom gave them some of the drink when they had problems with their intestines or stomach. It helps you to digest and that is how it finally got popular all over the world.

The tour yesterday directed us from the invention of the drink in the mid eighteen hundreds to todays’ production process. In 1845 Bernardino Branca set-up the first branch near Porta Nuova, one of the cities entrances. At that time the location was strategic in the sense that is used to be well connected to other parts of the country thanks to the closeness of the Navigli Martesana (Martesana canal) and the city’s first railway station going from Milano to Monza. (info found here)

In 1910 - the drink had still mainly a medicinal function - the company moved its production process further out of town. I haven’t found out yet why they decided to move (one of the jobs to be done later) but I guess it had something to do with the size of the factory needed in relation with the sizes of the plots available, its price and the security requirements.

Slowly bits and pieces of the influence of food in the development of the city are found. Fernet-Branca’s story is just one of many. In a few months I hope to have the puzzle completed and to be able to tell you a consistent story. Stay in touch by following this blog and the facebook page to find the first tour dates!

Thanks to this photographer for the cover foto. More pictures can be found here. 

It’s still summer

A good breakfast with fresh orange juice, figs, french toast (!) and coffee!

When I tell people that my blog is called Food in the Streets, people usually think that I write about street food. It is true that there is an match in the words but actually street food is not a topic that is mentioned a lot. Food in the Streets is about the relation between people, food and cities and therefore talks about many different subjects. It allow myself to write about it as long as they are related to the above named themes. See this weeks' blog for an example.

Off course we all hope that autumn leaves us alone for a while. However, we can’t ignore some of its first signs: days are getting shorter, nights are cooler and some trees already started to change their leaves into the typical autumns colors. Therefore it is now the time to enjoy the last rays of warm sun. Three suggestions follow here.

Wake up early and take a breakfast on your balcony (or a caffé’s terrace) before you start a day in the office. The sun now rises halfway the city’s skyline at the moment the average office worker is having his first cup of coffee. Enjoy the combination of a fresh morning, the rising sun and a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee. Your day at office can’t go wrong anymore.

Something what tastes good all year round is even better when the sun makes you feel like it’s springs. Even though the atmosphere is different – it is more humid, and temperatures are usually higher – the September sun can make you feel like you are in this season. Enjoy it when you can because this feeling might not come back for the coming months. And when you are doing this, you should treat yourself with a delicious ice-cream. Why not flirting with both seasons and combine fresh peach flavor with the more heavy cinnamon one?

If you are as lucky that even during the weekend the sun is with you, than profit from it. For the last time this year you should gather your picnic set and head of to a nice park. Don’t forget to fill up your basket with all the fresh fruit and veggies this season has to offer: plums, melons, newly harvested apples, salads and the last tomatoes. The combination of the colors is definitely going to make you feel like you’re in a summer party. Invite your friends and have fun!

For me this weekend is about to be a combination of all the suggestions. There’s definitely going to be a good breakfast, but on my dining table, with the windows open, bringing in the fresh air. For one of the afternoons a bike ride to this gelateria is planned. They have the craziest flavors and I want to try some of them. The picnic is probably going to be a barbecue. Nothing wrong with that either, ain’t it?

Like the facebook page to be noticed when the foto's of my weekend are published.

Step one in the green dream

Interesting products to make food grow close to your kitchen

Some time ago I told you about me having a dream. More importantly that if you have one, the only way to realize it, is to wake up and work on it. For some weeks, that’s what I’m doing now.

Part of the process is doing things which maybe are not something you really like to do or which are not your best characteristics. These are things you need to step over or you won’t get there anyways. So last Friday I woke-up early and headed over to a town two hours away to visit a fair. A fair on flowers, plants and everything you need to grow and maintain them. Did you know something like that exists?

The fair wasn’t the reason to head south, but was an interesting side-effect. By signing me up to the conference on ‘technical green’ I was allowed to enter the fairground and to see what’s going on in the business, talk to some people and distribute my business cards. What I hate about this, is that people are not interested in you, but only in the money they might make out of the conversation.

So far so good. I concentrated on the lectures which were meant to share information on what green can do for the urban environment: why we enjoy parks, what are the advantages of green office courtyards and which profits there are when installing a green rooftop. Sounds all super interesting when you try to create a real relation between food, people and the cities.

Unfortunately the program was so full of interesting lecturers and so much time got lost by saying ‘please hurry up’ and ‘I’ll try to be short’ that the presentations couldn’t really get much further than showing beautiful pictures of architectures and landscapes. That wasn’t where we came for.

For me technical green does not only mean that flowers and plants make a place look nice, but that people really enjoy it. It should be explained why: temperatures are better, cars are far away, you can hear the birds, see the seasons, smell the flowers. And thereby you should not forget to think about other functionalities you can get from so called technical green. For example the food it can provide.

I learned a lot that day. I am still not a big fan of fairs but who knows what come out of the business cards swops I did? More over I also learned that my dream has not been realized in the country I live in now. So I’ll stay awake and continue the work.

An urban farm tour – Day II

Real food is growing in the Nutstuin

After speed-visits in the Dutch cities of Eindhoven en Utrecht, I took some more time to visit the wide diversity of urban farming projects in The Hague. Don't forget to check out (and share) the pics here. 

From a city known as De Hofstad (the courts’ city) you don’t expect people to be rebellions. But this is anything but the truth. All ‘farms’ I visited here where initiated by the locals themselves. Only one of them is institutional, but open to the public during working hours. I will explain more about it when we arrive at the place. By the way. An overview of the pictures can be found here. 

The first green I bumped is was almost right after I left the train. The organization Lusthof has the (ambitious) idea of creating a more pleasant city, full of respect and green. Why not try it? The first attempts can be found in a lively area between one of the main train stations and the old center. An interesting locations since it is on the crossing of a characteristic canal, with all the typical Dutch details you can imagine, and a busy streets crossing a zone with dominated by North Africans and the cities China Town.

Small plots created by Lusthof are spread out around the bridge and some of the surrounding streets. It is a funny thing to see corn growing on the sides of a city street and to be able to pick fresh zucchini after you had a drink on one of the nearby terraces. And it is interesting to see how much this green is appreciated and respected. Luckily so far only one ‘accident’ was reported. Not bad, for that neighborhood!

An installation of the artist Annechien Meier was the next stop. In 2010 she started  - together with her fellow inhabitants of the Panderplein houses – this interactive garden. On a (hidden) public courtyard, not far from the center, she and here neighbors transformed a grey square into a green Eden which can be enjoyed by anyone who likes it. At the time we visited it, they where preparing it for the yearly Pander festival with the fitting name ‘Safari in Pander’. Hope they didn’t get lost in the overwhelming green areas.

The only institutional project I visited was subject of one of my earlier blogs. This green pearl was opened to the public over 2 years ago. After being used as a parking lot for years, the users of surrounding buildings decided for it to have more potential. And they were right! The garden now is enjoyed by office workers having their lunch break and in summer there is an outdoor film program. The garden is such a success that an adjacent parking flat decided to join-in and made its face green as well! Another hurray for this initiative!

Before heading back home I quickly passed by the New Babylon tower, and more specifically their restaurant. The tower is still under construction, but the Mediterranean oriented restaurant is already welcoming their guests. The young host kindly showed me around and explained us all about the spices in the garden bordering their terrace. Every day the chef goes into the garden and decides what he will use for that days menu. As soon as the offices and houses are inhabited as well he might get some help -  and competition – from them. An interesting project where commercial and private use should come together in one garden. Hope they succeed to make it a success.

These two days of visiting green projects in the Netherlands was great, but by far not enough to visit them all. As I said before, the country is full of cool initiatives, which can inspire many others. Don’t hesitate to let this happen to you and create you own ‘urban farm’. 

An urban farm tour – Day I

The Tuinfabriek at Utrecht Central Station

It was the best time of the year to do it. Harvest is ready to be picked while outside temperatures are still pleasant. I took some days off, bought all-day train tickets and traveled through the Dutch Randstad to see some of the many urban farming projects realized. Here a report, on facebook the photos. Like them, if you do……

The first stop was unexpected but therefore not less welcome. While transporting myself towards the Eindhoven train station I passed by this greenbusstop. As I’d never heard of it, I thought it was quite new. Further research showed me that the stop was already designed in 2009. No vegies or spices are growing here (yet) but I guess there is a good opportunity to create a network of green abri, offering users of the public transport a wide range of flavors while moving from one place to another.

The official tour was about to start on the first European urban farm in Rotterdam. The project called Uit je Eigen Stad (From Your Own City) took a long time to get started as it wasn’t easy to get the right permissions. Which is not very strange, as you know that this farm is situated on a former harbor site. Unfortunately an unexpected delay made me skip this stop. Next time I am inn as friends told me lunch and location were great!

Next stop was at Utrecht Central Station, or more specifically the Hoog Catharijne shopping centre which connects the station with the old city center. A weird place and nominated several times as the most ugly place in the country. Also the owner has realized this and decided to initiate a summer full of cultural events. These days cultural events in the Netherlands can’t succeed without some innovative food projects. In this case an urban farm on top of the mall. Not just an urban farm. No, one created by an artist and maintained by the inhabitants from neighboring apartment buildings. Now they both profit; the artist has her caretakers, while the inhabitants can look to and live on a beautiful designed and green (!!) rooftop.

Besides tomatoes, pumpkins, potatoes, zucchini and the like, this garden also left room for The Chickenclub (yes, some two legged ladies walking around in their cage here) and to composing machines. With this making it a more realistic copy of an average daily diet, traditionally composed out of vegetables, grains or potatoes and fish or meat.

During my visit, the garden work had just finished and the neighbors enjoyed a drink, some snacks and a barbecue. It is interesting to see that, while people one floor below hurry to catch trains or get their children from daycare, on this rooftop people relax, enjoy the late summer evenings and where able to create something beautiful out of a space which was ignored for years. Well, done!  

Day two was reserved for The Hague. The city housing the government seems to become overgrown by different scales and forms of urban farming. Check it out soon!

An empty city

Three out of the four shops are closed. One of them usually sells food

When last week I left my apartment, I felt a kind of a positive buzz in the streets. After weeks of no traffic, relatively clean air and quiet streets. Holidays are over, the city comes to live again. 

An empty city has many advantages. Cars find parking space anywhere, riding a bike becomes more fun and traffic lights can be ignored safely. But the silence of an August in Milan also has its backdrops: there is no way you can find fresh food.

Summer started early in Italy. As soon as the kids are ready with another year of school, you can slowly see the streets becoming more tranquil. The real low-season in Milan is in the month of August, with a peak around the ferragosto week. In that week almost everyone is away and I’am not exaggerating when I tell you that 75% of the shops was closed!

This year in the middle of August I spent some days in Milan. And it wasn’t easy. Usually I can reach four bakery shops within 10 minute reach of my house. On the walk I did in that week I couldn’t find any of them open and was forced to enter a supermarket. Not that I try to avoid supermarkets, but the bread department usually is not in my route.

Having a cold beer in the middle of the hot summer seemed to be as difficult as meeting a penguin in the center of the city. Hardly any bar was open and when you finally found one, it wasn’t the kind of fun you usually can expect in a bar. In unlucky cases it was just you and the barman around.

But even after ferragosto the city stayed in a kind of deep sleep. A market I visited in the second half of the month was only filled with half the stalls I would usually find. And especially the food stalls where badly represented. A temporary food desert it was.

Now September is about the start and the kids need to go back to school again, the city starts to breath again. Instead of passing by the grey protective doors, I look into colorful fruit shops, smell the perfume of fresh espresso and see people going for a drink by the end of the afternoon.

Food in the Streets loves it!