LAND AS RESOURCE: New Models for Thriving with the Land
Conversation with American Roundtable editorial teams, moderated by Nicholas Anderson, Project Manager of the American Roundtable for the Architectural League of New York.
Friday, October 30, 2020 from noon-1pm
RSVP for ZOOM info
Across much of the United States, particularly outside of the booming metropolises of the “knowledge economy,” land is frequently a community’s most valuable asset. Historically, this has been thought of in terms of extraction: minerals to take; oil to pump; water to harness; soil to exploit. As economic forces reduce the viability of such models, and consciousness grows around the ecological fragility of our environments, how can communities reimagine land as a resource?
The editorial teams that will present will share case studies that propose new ways of thinking about land as a resource. This discussion grows from reports, commissioned by The Architectural League’s American Roundtable initiative, which seek to bring together on-the-ground perspectives on the condition of small to mid-size American communities and what they need to thrive going forward. Commissioned reports on these three locales, along with six others, will be published by The Architectural League in the coming weeks and months. Look for more information on the initiative, the reports, and additional programming here.
This session will look the Appalachia region of West Virginia, the Southeast Good Food Corridor in North Carolina, and the Mahoning Valley (Youngstown, Lordstown, and Warren) in Ohio.
Appalachia, West Virginia
Nina Chase, Editor, Merritt Chase
Appalachia Rising aims to build momentum toward an alternative land-based future for the state of West Virginia. West Virginia is defined by its land. The state’s hills, hollers, valleys, rivers, creeks, and forests have been deeply embedded in the culture of communities for generations. But the accumulated depletion of natural resources has perpetuated a cycle of boom and bust throughout the state’s history. This rhythm has left landscapes scarred, communities abandoned, and generations struggling to redefine the future. How can we build momentum for an alternative future that prioritizes the uniqueness and resilience of West Virginia’s people and places? What if the shared reverence for land is leveraged instead toward planning and designing new relationships with the state’s natural resources and natural beauty? West Virginia’s landscapes could again become the state’s greatest assets. Through the lens of the American Roundtable themes, five local contributors document the successes, failures, and opportunities of alternative West Virginia land-based ventures. These projects include new forms of infrastructure, recreational landscapes, reforestation initiatives, urban agriculture, and renovated public spaces. The landscapes imagined and the projects documented inspire a new narrative for West Virginia and a future that is even more wild and wonderful than it is today.
Nina Chase is a West Virginia native and Pittsburgh-based landscape architect. She is the co-founder of Merritt Chase.
Photo credit: Rebecca Kiger (Grow Ohio Valley, Wheeling, WV)
Along the Lumbee River, North Carolina
Joey Swerdlin, Editor + Contributor Davon Goodwin
In his contribution, Davon discusses his journey to owning and running a farm in rural North Carolina after growing up in Pittsburgh with little farming background. During this discussion, Davon will speak about his organizing and advocacy for young, black farmers and the differences between land ownership and land stewardship.
Joey Swerdlin is one of the report editors of Along the Lumbee River. Joey is an architectural designer. Currently he is a member of Group Project and the Community Director at Morpholio.
Davon Goodwin’s contribution to Along the Lumbee River is entitled “Can Two Black Millennials Come Out of College, Farm, and Get it Right?” Davon is the manager of the Sandhills Ag Innovation Center. Davon works to reinvigorate the local sustainable farm economy and support the next generation of farmers. He also owns and operates OTL Farms, a 42-acre sustainable farm located in Laurinburg, NC.
Mahoning Valley, Ohio (Youngstown-Warren-Lordstown)
Quilian Riano, Lead Editor + Matt Martin, TNP.
The physical and social landscapes of Youngstown, Warren, and Lordstown, Ohio are characterized both by the manufacturing and industrial prowess of the Mahoning Valley during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the steady population and job loss the region has endured since the 1970s. The report addresses the region’s changing industry, economy, and labor markets – documenting what has been lost and identifying new economic and social models that have arisen, and how these opportunities are changing the spatial and social infrastructure of the community.
Quilian Riano is Associate Director of Kent State University's Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative.
Matt Martin is the Executive Director of the Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership.
This program is free and open to the public, with support from Kent State University’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design. Certification Maintenance credits for this lecture are available, thanks to our partners at APA Ohio, Cleveland Section.
