Edible Landscapes

The study explores the application of edible plants in modern cities, in order to help understand today’s trends shaping the urban environment. Edible Landscaping is referred to as the practice of incorporating food – producing plants in the landscape. Fruit and nut trees, vegetables, herbs, edible flowers and shrubs with berries can be combined to create an attractive design that produces fruits and vegetables for home consumption. It is an approach to food production where exotic ornamentals are replaced with edible or productive plants.
Through analysing the developments of urban farming, community gardening and the like, a set of example projects were selected in order to help understand the impact they have for the landscape architecture and planning practice. In the process, many solutions for the use of edible plants were revealed, showing the importance they have in communities around the world. Edible landscaping could be the answer to solving issues of food supply, safety and production for the near future. As demographic growth proves to force agricultural expansion with its constant demand for food, how could urban planning professionals address this constant need for productive landscapes?
This thesis offers a design concept that combines public open space with the emerging horticultural trends of urban food production, placing a strong emphasis on education in an attempt to match the needs of local food production and the shortage of land. Edible Landscapes gives practical guidelines aimed at both professionals and people with lay knowledge, for the implementation of edible plants in urban environment.
Several requirements were defined for the Edible Landscapes project, in order to find a balance point that would preserve open public space functionality combining it with the productive functions of vegetable and fruit growing. It has to be publicly accessible, give opportunities for commerce, be educating and entertaining, and to give an identity to a community.
A basic prototype was developed that consists of 5 modules that define the plant groups that will be used. An important function of the prototype and its modules is to be applicable in different places. For that reason the modules can be reshaped and resized like a jigsaw puzzle to fit wherever necessary, attached differently or disassembled from the whole. In order to show the practical application of the concept, it was used for a site in the 23rd District of Vienna – Liesing.

  • English Title : Edible Landscapes - Redefining Urbanity through Horticulture (Master Thesis)
  • University : Nürtingen-Geislingen University, DE
  • Project was done for Course Unit : Landschaftsplanung ( Landscape Planning )
  • Coordinates - Longitude: : 16.000000000000000000
  • Coordinates - Latitude: : 48.000000000000000000
  • Academic Year : 2012 / 13
  • City : Vienna
  • Project Language : German
  • Supervisor : Prof. Dr. Roman Lenz
  • Location of project : Austria
  • Image Title : Edible Landscapes
  • Image Desc : Orchard view by Milkana Mladenova