This article is from the NY Times. If you haven't signed up, you can't access the articles, so I will post it here entirely (unless this thing forces me to break it into two posts!). I thought many of you would find it interesting and appealing.

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December 21, 2002

Growing New Life at Ground Zero

By MICHAEL ABLEMAN

OLETA, Calif. Proposals for rebuilding the World Trade Center site were unveiled this week — a collective vision of towering skyscrapers, amphitheaters and broad avenues. Almost completely missing from the plans, though, was an essential element — a sense of the earth.

And so I'd like to add something to the mix: an urban farm to be built on a portion of the trade center site.

Two to three acres could feed hundreds of people, provide employment for many and connect New Yorkers to the source of their food. As a generator of jobs and food, a downtown farm would demonstrate that a successful economy can have local roots — that it need not only be global.

As with all agriculture, the foundation of the project would be soil and seeds. Communities across America could send handfuls of earth, thereby building the farm from the soil of the entire nation. Seeds could come from various parts of the world and grow into a living example of our cultural diversity.

Imagine an orchard with hundreds of varieties of apples, where people could stroll down the alleys of the trees — enjoying the shade and witnessing the gradual cycle from flower to fruit. Consider what it would be like to walk in the middle of winter through beautifully designed glass houses filled with the earthy smells and brilliant colors of an array of fresh food and flowers. Picture outdoor gardens winding through and around the new buildings — gardens overflowing with herbs and berries and spring, summer and fall vegetables.

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2003

Answers

A market could be built, so people working in the new buildings and living in the neighborhood could buy fresh vegetables. They could also take part — during their breaks or at the end of the day — in tending the soil and producing something real for themselves and their community.

There could be classes and workshops on cooking and gardening, as well as celebratory public meals, to make use of the farm's yield. Joined to other proposals for rebuilding the site, the farm would provide New Yorkers with a new version of the town square, one that balances the hardscape of buildings and pavement with fertile soil, lush plantings and fresh foods.

The farm could be installed at street level — or, to conserve valuable real estate, it could be placed atop buildings, where it would benefit from better sun exposure and air quality. As part of this sky-high farm, greenhouses could be warmed by the spent energy from the buildings beneath them and gray-water recycled for irrigation, creating a world-class model and laboratory for rooftop food production and energy conservation.

A World Trade Center farm could become a gathering place, a sanctuary, a cultural and social center as important for the health of Manhattan's civic life as its art museums, concert halls, theaters and restaurants. The gardens would be a symbol not just to Americans but to people all over the world. They would show that we know how to bring forth life and nourishment from the rubble of hate and destruction.

I do not believe that it is enough to consecrate the site with steel and concrete and extraordinary architecture. We must also honor lives lost with living seeds planted in their memories — seeds that would grow and prosper for years to come.

Michael Ableman, author of "On Good Land: The Autobiography of an Urban Farm," is founder of the Center for Urban Agriculture.

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2003

Many of the plans so far presented include extensive greenbelt incorporation while preserving the towering format and optimally utilizing the valuable real estate available.

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2003

They'll probably put up a HUGE fast food building just to show that asshole Bin Laden he can't disrupt our consumer lifestyles!!!!!!By God the stock market went down but we can still stroll over and get a big mac at the MACTWIN TOWERS...Kirk

-- Anonymous, January 05, 2003

Hey Joy, Have you ever been to NYC? Living across the river, I think I have some experience here.

People don't stroll. Many windows have grate covers. Vandalizim would be rampant (even taxis don't go into Central Park at night) And unless they sell coffee, most people wouldn't be interested.

It would be nice though.

-- Anonymous, January 05, 2003

No, Dee, never been there. Never wanted to go there either. However, I have seen articles on successful urban gardens. So, it is possible. Would it work there? I don't know. But I liked the idea! :-)

-- Anonymous, January 05, 2003

I realize you live around there, Dee, but I am really surprised to hear you say that people don't stroll. I was there 20 yrs ago and the streets were filled with people long into the evening. My daughter and partner were just there for Thanksgiving and they said the same thing. They did lots of walking at night, and they were among crowds wherever they went. They certainly didnt go into Central Park at night, but they walked all over Times Square, the Village, the theatre district, etc.

-- Anonymous, January 05, 2003

Ah Em, everyone walks, quickly, but usually only sightseerers stroll.

It's funny to see women in dresses with sneakers, carrying their shoes.

I have a friend who, gee, she has to be in her late 50's and she rides her bike everywhere she has to go. She would chain it in a Burger King parking lot, then take a bus to NJ to ride her horse. She would have to walk through a not particularly nice neighborhood (actually a few of miles) to get to the stable. I would lock my car doors driving her through this neighborhood when I would give her a lift to the bus, and it wouldn't faze her.

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2003