Presenters:

Dr. Dickson Despommier, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus, Columbia University

Jill Lightner, Editor, Edible Seattle Magazine

Peter Platt, Founder, Andina Restaurant

Brandon Born,Urban Design and Planning, College of Built Environments, University of Washington

Andrea Petzel, Senior Land Use Planner, City of Seattle Department of Planning and Development

Dan Albert, Landscape Designer, Weber Thompson

 

Moderator:

Peter David Greaves, Design Principal, Weber Thompson

Increased food needs for the projected world population, coupled with unsustainable farming practices, is a recipe for crisis. Urban agriculture addresses this impending crisis by bringing food production into city centers while restoring ecosystems displaced by conventional farming and laying the groundwork for healthier food, hunger alleviation, and emergency preparedness. The implementation of urban agriculture comes in many varieties, from guerrilla gardens in public right-of-ways to towers for food production. One form of urban agriculture, Vertical Farming, has particular implications for the built environment. We have assembled a diverse, talented panel representing key perspectives on urban agriculture including public health, the vertical farm vision, landscape and building design, the restaurant industry, community organization, and city planning and policy. The outcome will be a candid conversation around one of the biggest sustainability questions of our time: “in the future, how will we feed ourselves?”


Session Format:  BREAKOUT SESSION

Presenter Bios

Dr. Dickson Despommier

Dickson is the world's leading advocate of Vertical Farming technologies and the former head of Columbia University's Environmental Health Sciences department (retired in 2008). In 2008 the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry honored him as one of the World's Top 10 Innovators for his work in alternative agricultural systems. His work has been covered by news sources from Mother Jones to Time, from the Discovery Channel to The Tonight Show.

Jill Lightner

Jill leads the primary local food publication in the Puget Sound region. Connecting consumers with the stories of their farmers, fishers, vintners and food-focused nonprofits, the magazine works to promote all aspects of a local food system. Edible Seattle wants farmers to be as famous as rock stars. After 12 years as a Seattle-based food writer, Jill is equally passionate about locally-sourced ingredients and the abundance of imported cultures that make this region so tasty.

Peter Platt, Founder, Andina Restaurant

Peter founded the award-winning modern Peruvian eatery in the Pearl District. Prior to Andina, Peter worked at the Institute for Engineering and Public Policy and Mercy Corps International. Peter's current projects span a wide range of entrepreneurial interests, from a university system urban farming initiative, to a student-led community kitchen, to food product development, to the production of a new documentary on the promise (and challenges) of vertical farming.

Brandon Born

Dr. Born primary interests are in planning process and policy/decision making, land use, and social justice. He has examined the Growth Management Act and its effects on urban density, and studies food systems in an applied and theoretical manner. He is particularly interested by the political realities that make or break projects. His publications include “Avoiding the Local Trap: Scale and Food Systems in Planning Research” in The Journal of Planning Education and Research.

Andrea Petzel

Andrea Petzel is a Senior Urban Planner with the city of Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development.  As LEED AP and Certified Sustainable Building Advisor, Andrea works on policies that promote sustainability and green building including, backyard cottages, developing mitigation measures for greenhouse gas emissions, and removing code barriers to alternative energy sources. She is currently working on urban agriculture legislation that will help develop a more secure and sustainable food system in Seattle.

Dan Albert

Dan Albert, a landscape designer at Weber Thompson, sustainability expert, progressive urban agriculturalist, and a member of the team that developed the conceptual vertical farm project Eco-laboratory, which won first place in the USGBC 2008 Natural Talent Design Competition. As a part of his graduate research he developed an educational resource designed to positively shape the way people develop, understand, and interact with the built environment. This resource became the foundation for a runner up prize in Metropolis Magazine’s Next Generation Design Competition.

Peter David Greaves

Peter was a designer on the LEED Gold-certified building occupied by Weber Thompson, The Terry Thomas, and was the lead designer for the firm’s LEED Platinum certified offices. Peter has practiced architecture in Seattle for over 30 years and served as President of AIA Seattle and President of AIA Washington Council. He is currently leading a design team working on an urban building prototype with commercial growing space.