Ann-Maree
While it may have started off as a bit of a faddish trend, the rise in the number of farmer’s markets and green innovations like Imera’s soil-less “hydromembrane” has accompanied a resurgence of interest in the potential of urban agriculture and farming.
Trying to come up with innovative ways to both promote and supply urban-dwellers with access to fresh, locally-grown foods as well as open green spaces that make the city more livable is not always easy, but urban planners, companies, communities and individuals alike are not shying away from the challenge. We’ve decided to look at 5 initiatives around Tokyo worth checking out.
1) Changing the way we buy our food: United Nations University’s Farmer’s Market + 246 Commons
The upmarket fashion districts of Aoyama and Omotesando is not where you would typically find your local farmer’s market, but the one held most weekends outside the United Nations University hosts over 40 stallholders whose products are grown by farmers in the Kanto area. The market was thought up by Roswitha Lasser and Terao Kurosaki, cultural advisors to the UNU, as an attempt to encourage consumers to buy direct from farmers.
In a similar spirit, 246 Common located a short distance away is an outdoor food court and farmer’s market community that sells a range of foods, drinks and snacks.
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