Sura Faraj attaches a water hose to a fire hydrant for the community garden near E. Concordia Ave. and N. Palmer St. Faraj said it will be difficult to maintain the garden without a fire hydrant permit. Photo by Benny Sieu.

For years, Milwaukee grew its community gardens on water from fire hydrants. Soon those gardens will have to go without.

By Karen Herzog and Tom Tolan
The Journal Sentinel
July 11, 2010

Excerpt:

A fire hydrant on N. Booth St. and E. Garfield Ave. has a backyard spigot affixed to one of its nozzles.

Attached to the spigot is a garden hose that stretches along a sidewalk, and then across the grass, to a cluster of 123 raised vegetable beds – tomatoes, beets, broccoli and brussels sprouts – that make up the Community Gardens at Kilbourn Park.

On Wednesday, city officials and residents who organize and tend community gardens like this one will brainstorm what to do when the city makes hundreds of gardeners give up their connections to fire hydrants they now can tap for a fee with a permit.

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Urban Agriculture: Small, Medium, Large

By Gil Doron
Architectural Design
Volume 75 Issue 3, Pages 52 – 59
Special Issue: Food + the City
Published Online: 12 Sep 2005

Abstract:

Could urban agriculture be the next design revolution? Gil Doron explains how horticulture, a subject that has until now remained remote from the concerns of contemporary architects, is ripe with potential, bringing with it many ecological, economic and social benefits for the city dweller. He also points out that at all levels, whether at the scale of window boxes, balconies or roof gardens, or on the scale of full-blown farms, vegetation and agriculture exist in most cities in the world right underneath our noses.

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