Suburbia: The Farmers' Worst Nightmare
Open Access
- Author:
- Femiano, Justin James
- Area of Honors:
- Architecture
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Architecture
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Juan Ruescas Baztán, Thesis Supervisor
Christine Lee Gorby, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Architecture
Suburbia
infrastructure
farm
rural - Abstract:
- As the nation s population expands out into suburban communities, so too does the supermarket model of food distribution. With residential tracts replacing fertile farmland, people are now disconnected from any means of farming or food production. An over-reliance on the supermarket to provide suburbia with economical food has resulted in an extremely efficient supply infrastructure that keeps food on the shelves. Suburbia requires numerous supporting infrastructures to maintain a comfortable quality of life. Warehouses, food processors, and the storefronts themselves are intricately connected with a successful logistical system able to transport food from anywhere in the country to bring consumers the best deals. While this is very beneficial to consumers and the supermarket owners, it comes at great expense to the farmers. Without access to the supermarket model s infrastructure, farmers remain at mercy of big business trying to increase profit margins through mass production of singular cash crops. Farmers require their own infrastructure system that exists independently from the supermarkets and allowing them to have a place they can collectively call their own. This new system would allow farmers to have a space that functionally services the local, diversified farmer while simultaneously benefiting themselves by breaking the economic grip imposed by supermarkets.