Why are modern American cities fundamentally dependant on outsourced resources and dirty power? Why can't modern cities support themselves and their inhabitants without relying on resources from half way across the world? Even within the city itself, community neighborhoods are disconnected and bisected by massive expanses of life endangering highways. Why can't we wake up and open our eyes to the urban reality we are creating for future generations. Future cities must look past immediate gain and focus on long term sustainability rather than compiling L.E.E.D. points or making a selfish profit. Sustainable Infrastructure is the first step towards freeing the city from its dependant clutches on foreign resources. Transportation of people, power, water, and communications must be steadfast and sustainable if the community is to be the same. Infrastructure as stated here, however is not limited to roads and power plants but consists of ecological functions, communal functions, and individual building supply systems as well. Self sustaining eco-villages are a feasible alternative to uncontrolled sprawl because they cap growth, nurture community, and deal with utilities and waste responsibly. Power, water, waste, and food must be generated responsibly and sustained as much as possible by the community itself and give back to the system what it can to further future growth responsibly. The public right of way of the I-4 corridor will be utilized for housing a self sustaining transport system for people and utilities that can reconnect cities and help supply their individual systems while taking advantage of cities strengths and weaknesses through possible utility sharing. The I-4 corridor runs East-West across the state of Florida and connects both coastlines through Tampa, Orlando, and Daytona. Orlampa lies in the near center of Tampa and Orlando and has solar, agricultural, and ground water harvesting potentials that make it the ideal site for new self sustaining communities and a central station providing responsible access for the proposed U.S.F. polytechnic campus. These self sustaining eco-villages will sprout off the high speed rail line without interrupting direct major city transport. A variety of themed sub cities connected via sustainable transit that are capped at responsible horizontal sprawl and grown vertically will be possible while allowing for ecological corridors and public park spaces between and linking developments.

Unincorporated areas within a regional planning context are often of an essential ‘in-between’ nature — facing unique community-specific and site-specific challenges. These challenges include: identifying appropriate growth management strategies, examining how growth containment is best effected, and determining how this is best integrated in the unincorporated rural area context — especially where these areas are adjacent to rapidly growing incorporated urban-region centres. There are also considerations around how concepts, such as Complete Communities and Agricultural Urbanism, can be applied to such contexts — and how such concepts may facilitate a tighter, and more seamless, relationship between the typically polar opposite interventions under the banners of regional planning and community design. This practicum examines how the concepts of Complete Communities and Agricultural Urbanism are and/or could be applied to unincorporated rural areas as part of an approach to a combination of planning and design — as placemaking. The Regional District of Nanaimo’s Rural Village Centre (RDN RVC) strategy provides the main case study context, along with several other ostensibly comparable BC regional district settings as potentially informative precedents. It was discovered that there are increasing linkages between regional planning and community design that may be further advanced via a placemaking perspective. Of special note are the opportunities associated with adaptations of the concepts of Complete Communities and Agricultural Urbanism in the unincorporated rural context; referencing these concepts can enhance the linkages between the ‘unincorporated rural settings’ and their ‘incorporated’ municipal neighbours. The research has helped to identify where there may be room for improvement around RDN RVC strategies, and how they may be better applied in the future.

Unincorporated areas within a regional planning context are often of an essential ‘in-between’ nature — facing unique community-specific and site-specific challenges. These challenges include: identifying appropriate growth management strategies, examining how growth containment is best effected, and determining how this is best integrated in the unincorporated rural area context — especially where these areas are adjacent to rapidly growing incorporated urban-region centres. There are also considerations around how concepts, such as Complete Communities and Agricultural Urbanism, can be applied to such contexts — and how such concepts may facilitate a tighter, and more seamless, relationship between the typically polar opposite interventions under the banners of regional planning and community design. This practicum examines how the concepts of Complete Communities and Agricultural Urbanism are and/or could be applied to unincorporated rural areas as part of an approach to a combination of planning and design — as placemaking. The Regional District of Nanaimo’s Rural Village Centre (RDN RVC) strategy provides the main case study context, along with several other ostensibly comparable BC regional district settings as potentially informative precedents. It was discovered that there are increasing linkages between regional planning and community design that may be further advanced via a placemaking perspective. Of special note are the opportunities associated with adaptations of the concepts of Complete Communities and Agricultural Urbanism in the unincorporated rural context; referencing these concepts can enhance the linkages between the ‘unincorporated rural settings’ and their ‘incorporated’ municipal neighbours. The research has helped to identify where there may be room for improvement around RDN RVC strategies, and how they may be better applied in the future.

Despite the overwhelming role food plays in our everyday lives, the both new and old phenomenon of incorporating food systems into master planned communities has largely been overlooked. The in-progress community of Serenbe located just outside of Atlanta, Georgia is breaking this trend. The mixed use 1,000 acre community has already included many food and agriculture elements such as an organic farm, farmers’ market, grocery store, farm-to-table restaurants and edible landscaping - making it an exemplar case of an emerging planning strategy called Agricultural Urbanism. While many are heralding Serenbe for its strides as a community that incorporates agriculture into its design, the problem is that the full impact of this project remains unknown. In utilizing the case study method for landscape architecture developed by Francis (2001), this thesis examines the process, current state and projected outcomes of including Agricultural Urbanism into the Serenbe Community.

This practicum analyzes the leadership, management practices, and organizational structure of five university gardening organizations, to determine if they have had an impact on the spaces of agricultural production in the cities in which they exist. The research concludes that if university gardens/farms are to become successful demonstration projects within their cities they must: 1) have strong, collaborative, and flexible leadership structures; 2) effectively communicate with stakeholders; 3) generate consistent funding; 4) demonstrate their success on campus and within their communities; 5) create linkages with academic and community organizations; 6) create goals and objectives that overlap with university and municipal strategic plans. Furthermore, this study illustrates that university gardens/farms are important to planners as ‘living laboratories’ of urban food production; as well as educational tools that build the capacity of residents to grow local food, and understand the importance of agricultural urbanism (AU) for city planning and design.

This practicum analyzes the leadership, management practices, and organizational structure of five university gardening organizations, to determine if they have had an impact on the spaces of agricultural production in the cities in which they exist. The research concludes that if university gardens/farms are to become successful demonstration projects within their cities they must: 1) have strong, collaborative, and flexible leadership structures; 2) effectively communicate with stakeholders; 3) generate consistent funding; 4) demonstrate their success on campus and within their communities; 5) create linkages with academic and community organizations; 6) create goals and objectives that overlap with university and municipal strategic plans. Furthermore, this study illustrates that university gardens/farms are important to planners as ‘living laboratories’ of urban food production; as well as educational tools that build the capacity of residents to grow local food, and understand the importance of agricultural urbanism (AU) for city planning and design.