Farming on the Fringe : Peri-Urban Agriculture, Cultural Diversity and Sustainability in Sydney

This volume offers a new perspective to debates on local food and urban sustainability presenting the long silenced voices of the small-scale farmers from the productive green fringe of Sydneyℓ́ℓs sprawling urban jungle. Providing fresh food for the city and local employment, these culturally and linguistically diverse farmers contribute not only to Sydneyℓ́ℓs globalizing demographic and cultural fabric, but also play a critical role in the cityℓ́ℓs environmental sustainability. In the battle for urban space housing development threatens to turn these farmlands into sprawling suburbia. In thinking from and with the urban ℓ́ℓfringeℓ́ℓ, this book moves beyond the housing versus farming debate to present a vision for urban growth that is dynamic and alive to the needs of the 21st century city. In a unique bringing together of the twin forces shaping contemporary urbanism - environmental change and global population flows - the voices from the fringe demand to be heard in the debate on future urban food sustainability Acknowledgments 6 Contents 8 Abbreviations 12 Chapter 1: Sydney’s ‘Invisible’ Farmers 13 1.1 Sydney’s Market Gardens: A Cultural Economy of Farming on the Fringe 17 1.2 Protecting Sydney’s Market Gardens 19 1.2.1 The History of CALD Market Gardeners in Sydney 23 1.3 Re-Visioning the City from the Edge: Cultural Complexity and Urban Agriculture 26 1.3.1 Speaking from the Fringe 28 1.3.2 Recognition: Determining the Efficacy and Relevance of Prevailing Preservation Discourses 30 1.4 Into the Field ... 32 1.5 Chapter Outlines 33 References 35 Chapter 2: Growing Sydney 38 2.1 A Vision for a Global City 40 2.2 Growth as Development 43 2.2.1 Agriculture and Cultural Complexity 44 2.2.2 From Colonial to Global City 48 2.2.3 Environmental and Cultural Limits to Growth 49 2.2.4 Sprawl: The Messiness of the West 51 2.3 History of ‘Growth’ in Sydney’s Plans 53 2.3.1 The 2005 Metropolitan Strategy 60 2.3.2 Responses to the 2005 Strategy 62 2.3.3 Green Zones 64 2.3.4 A Plan for Growing Sydney (2015) 67 2.4 Conclusion 67 References 70 Chapter 3: Local Food, Urban Sustainability and Cultural Diversity 73 3.1 Vortex Cities 75 3.1.1 The Turn to Local Food 77 3.1.2 Planning for PUA 78 3.2 Protecting Peri-Urban Agriculture 80 3.2.1 Farmland Preservation 81 3.2.2 Countryside Preservation 83 3.2.3 Voices from the Field: The View of the Grower 85 3.3 Urban Agriculture and Cultural Diversity 86 3.3.1 Sydney’s CALD Growers 88 3.4 Conclusion 90 References 90 Chapter 4: Diversity-Blind Planning 96 4.1 Diversity and Planning 97 4.1.1 Participation in Decision-Making 98 4.2 Consultation for the 2005 Metropolitan Strategy 99 4.2.1 Public Consultations 99 4.2.2 Perspectives of CALD Growers 101 4.2.3 Perspective of Government Planners 104 4.3 Towards an Intercultural Perspective 105 4.4 Conclusion 106 References 107 Chapter 5: The Things We Want to Keep: Migrant Market Gardens as Sydney’s History and Heritage 109 5.1 Protecting Farms as Heritage? 110 5.1.1 A Historic Farming Landscape 111 5.1.2 Bringelly Exhibition 112 5.1.3 Other Exhibitions on Sydney’s Agriculture Heritage 113 5.2 Migrant Heritage in Australia 115 5.2.1 Migrant Gardens as Heritage 119 5.2.2 Heritage Listed Market Gardens in Sydney 120 5.2.3 Comparison to Other Heritages 124 5.3 Growers’ Perspectives 125 5.4 A Translocated Tradition 126 5.4.1 A Practice to Protect? 127 5.4.2 Type of Crops Grown 129 5.4.3 Family Tradition 131 5.4.4 Connection to Land 132 5.4.5 Knowledge 132 5.5 Migration and Settlement 134 5.5.1 Farming as Migrant Employment 137 5.5.2 Providing for the Next Generation 139 5.5.3 A Means of Support 143 5.6 A Question of Value 143 5.7 Migrant Market Gardens as Heritage? 145 5.8 Conclusion 147 References 148 Chapter 6: Sustaining Sydney 152 6.1 Can We Feed Sydney? 154 6.1.1 Sustainability in Sydney Metropolitan Planning 157 6.2 Sydney’s Forgotten Farmers 159 6.3 Valuing Sydney’s Agriculture: Environmentally, Socially and Economically 160 6.4 Moving Out 163 6.4.1 Owners and Lessees 165 6.4.2 Communities 168 6.5 Part of a Sustainable Sydney 170 6.6 The Future of Sydney Farming 171 6.6.1 Rooftop and Vertical Farming: Alternative and High-­Tech Options for Production 171 6.6.2 Green Zones or Green Belts 173 6.6.3 Purchase or Transfer of Development Rights 175 6.6.4 Agri-Business Park 176 6.6.5 Economic Viability: A Whole of Food System Perspective 178 6.6.6 Help Wanted 180 6.7 Conclusion 181 References 183 Chapter 7: Multiple Urbanisms 189 7.1 Growth as Development 190 7.2 Land as Livelihood 191 7.3 Heritage and Sustainability 192 7.4 Productive Diversity 194 7.5 Key Findings of the Book 195 7.6 Final Word ... 198 References 199 Index 201 This volume offers a new perspective to debates on local food and urban sustainability presenting the long silenced voices of the small-scale farmers from the productive green fringe of Sydneyĺls sprawling urban jungle. Providing fresh food for the city and local employment, these culturally and linguistically diverse farmers contribute not only to Sydneyĺls globalizing demographic and cultural fabric, but also play a critical role in the cityĺls environmental sustainability. In the battle for urban space housing development threatens to turn these farmlands into sprawling suburbia. In thinking from and with the urban ĺlfringeĺl, this book moves beyond the housing versus farming debate to present a vision for urban growth that is dynamic and alive to the needs of the 21st century city. In a unique bringing together of the twin forces shaping contemporary urbanism - environmental change and global population flows - the voices from the fringe demand to be heard in the debate on future urban food sustainability Front Matter....Pages i-xi Sydney’s ‘Invisible’ Farmers....Pages 1-25 Growing Sydney....Pages 27-61 Local Food, Urban Sustainability and Cultural Diversity....Pages 63-85 Diversity-Blind Planning....Pages 87-99 The Things We Want to Keep: Migrant Market Gardens as Sydney’s History and Heritage....Pages 101-143 Sustaining Sydney....Pages 145-181 Multiple Urbanisms....Pages 183-194 Back Matter....Pages 195-197