BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Engineering, Architecture and Fine Arts

Alangilan, Batangas City

Go Green; Metropolis

A Thesis Proposal Presented to the Faculty of Architecture and Fine Arts

In partial fulfiment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts

Major in Visual Communication

TRESVALLES, KHRISTIA ANGELICA REYES

BSFA-VISCOM Student

A thesis presented to

MS. MARY GRACE GUTIERREZ

CHAPTER I
 INTRODUCTION

Urban development during the past half century has eaten away the clear green

edges of the earth. While the resulting destruction of the environment specifically

deforestation. With seven billion mouths to feed, human agriculture exerts a tremendous

toll on the planet, from water draws to pollution, and from energy use to habitat loss. But

there is also a growing set of solutions, from organic agriculture to integrated pest

management.

More people around the world are taking a look in urban farming, which offers to

make our food as "local" as possible. By growing what we need near where we live, we

decrease the "food miles" associated with long-distance transportation. We also get the

freshest vegetables as soon as it is harvested. Another benefit of urban farming is that it

can add greenery to cities, reducing harmful runoff, increasing shading, and countering

the unpleasant Greenhouse effect. Garden plots can help people reconnect with the

Earth, and gain a greater appreciation from where our food comes from. Rooftop and

patio gardens create peaceful places for relaxation or contemplation, and they can

attract tourists—consider the booming businesses that have sprung up around the cities

lush High Line Park. And urban farming can bring jobs to underserved and depressed

urban areas.

Urban agriculture or city farming is not new in our country.  Many have been

growing vegetables and fruits in their backyards many generations ago.  There are

scenarios having Kamias (Bilimbi fruit), Langka (Jack fruit) tree, andKangkong (Swamp

Cabbage) grown in the backyard.  The freshness of the kamias mixed

with kangkong brings out the natural sour taste of the soup.  Moreover, nothing

compares to the sweetness and aroma of the newly harvested Langka.  

We all agree that rural folks are healthier than urban people.  Aside from the

fresh air that they breathe (plants produce oxygen), they picked their vegetable fresh

from their backyard gardens a few minutes before cooking. You can imagine all the

nutrients that they obtain from eating fresh foods.  

It is time to invest the time and resources on learning the basic of planting.  What

a better time to get started on city farming. 

ny food we produce at our homes is food that isn't part of the agricultural

industry, which is a huge consumer of natural resources. If you have a bit of

space, urban farming is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint and your food

costs. Not only that, it's often healthier and even tastes better.

Any would-be gardener would love a sunny backyard or even better some acreage to grow

edibles, but that isn't always the case. Some of the more limited spaces would be apartment balconies,

but if they are at all facing south you'd be surprised at the yield you can get with a little ingenuity.

There are many techniques for growing food in places with  less than ideal

conditions. Here are some suggestions for maximizing your harvest in those spots.

Keep in mind this is just a few ideas to get you thinking, the possibilities are

endless when you set your mind to urban farming.

  Vertical gardens make use of limited space. This works well with shallow root

plants like greens.

 Watercress is a great ground cover, loves shade and is one of the healthiest

greens you can find.

 Instead of ornamental perennials, throw in a kale plant or a head of romaine

lettuce.

 Ferns grow well in the shade, give you an early spring crop of fiddleheads, and

the ones you don't eat can make a nice privacy shield.

 Instead of a cedar hedge, consider berries instead. A mature high bush blueberry

plant can grow six feet high and produce an easy 20 lbs of berries per season.

“GO GREEN; METROPOLIS” is an advocacy campaign that aims to help the

environment for the welfare of the future youth through urban farming. It will also teach

the people of the benefits of urban farming and how it can help the environment.

JUSTIFICATION

Why “GO; GREEN METROPOLIS”?

The researcher conducted the study to help the society be resourceful,

use and improvement of what is left in the environment. With the continued increase in

pollution rate due to our damaging life styles, the researcher has decided to encourage
and shape the young minds of today to healthy and environment friendly living with a

new and convenient way of saving the earth.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Urban farming can be a revolution in line of the frequent “save the earth”

movements. If each roof top or home in the city had space for a small farm then the

oxygen production in these areas may grow a few percent. Not only will it help clean the

air it can also provide fresh food for the homes in the city.

Local and urban agriculture can also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and

recycle nutrient-rich food scraps, plant debris and other "wastes." Because maintaining

lawns for little more than aesthetic value requires lots of water, energy for upkeep and

often pesticides and fertilizers, converting them to food gardens makes sense.

“PROJECT: GREEN METROPOLIS” aims to help the city and its concerned

citizens gain knowledge and practice in urban farming. This campaign is created to

spread the word of a new revolutionary way of saving the earth by handling events such

as seminars and many recreational activities. The target of the study is composed of

100 respondents mainly of the age 17 and above. The data gathered will be analyzed

and evaluated to come up with information that will be used to create info materials

which will provide awareness about the topic and encourage people to be part of the

advocacy.

OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK

This research focuses on using urban farming as a new way to help save the

environment, cut down on pollution and increase food security and resources for the
people from the urban areas. Our environment is suffering from a lot of damage due to

pollution and urbanization. Places for agriculture are being destroyed and made as

commercial places, establishments are built, residence areas and more cities are rising

from left to right. “Project: Green Metropolis” can be a first step to help protect the

environment.

A survey will be conducted to help the researcher fully understand and analyze

the said campaign. It will also be a source of information for different info materials and

advertisement that will be discussed and showed in upcoming events, seminars and

workshops. The survey will be a basis for the further improvement of the said campaign.

The advocacy campaign “Go; Green Metropolis” will be running for six months

prior to its release.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Urbanization is a population shift from rural to urban areas, "the gradual increase

in the proportion of people living in urban areas", and the ways in which each society

adapts to the change. It is predominantly the process by which towns and cities are

formed and become larger as more people begin living and working in central areas.

The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban

areas at the end of 2008. It is predicted that by 2050 about 64% of the developing world

and 86% of the developed world will be urbanized. That is equivalent to approximately 3

billion urbanites by 2050, much of which will occur in Africa and Asia. Notably, the

United Nations has also recently projected that nearly all global population growth from
2016 to 2030 will be absorbed by cities, about 1.1 billion new urbanites over the next 14

years.

Urbanization impacts the environment through the strain of resources, including

food, water, energy and the land itself, which increases as the population within the

urban area increases. As the resources within a particular urban area are depleted, the

area is expanded to accommodate further population growth and provide access to

greater resources, leaving the environment of the original area damaged, and putting

the strain on the new area.

Major Problem:

1. How can the advocacy campaign “Go; Green Metropolis” help save the

environment?

2. What kind strategies will help inform the people about “Go; Green

Metropolis”?

Minor Problem:

1. How can we encourage people to join the campaign and help improve the

health of the environment?

2. What are the benefits of urban farming?

 OBJECTIVE

Major Objective

1. To find ways on saving the environment with “Go; Green Metropolis”

2. Advertise our Advocacy campaign “Go; Green Metropolis” to provide

awareness to the public and encourage them to protect the environment

through urban farming with the help of informative materials and with events

like seminars and many related activities.

Minor Objective

1. To inform the public about the harmful effects of the destruction of the

environment.

2. To find out about the benefits of urban farming.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Urbanization is spreading fast, comes with this is the decreasing rate of our food

resources. There are more cities, more people, higher rate of consumption but less

resource. The researcher aims to inform and help the people from urban areas practice

urban farming through “Go; Green Metropolis”.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Urban farming/ urban agriculture - Urban agriculture, urban farming or urban

gardening is the practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around a

village, town, or city. Urban agriculture can also involve animal husbandry, aquaculture,

agro forestry, urban beekeeping, and horticulture.

Cultivating - to prepare and use (soil) for growing plants

Locavores - a person whose diet consists only or principally of locally grown or

produced food.

Foodies - a person with a particular interest in food; a gourmet.

Food security - the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of

affordable, nutritious food.

Albedo - the proportion of the incident light or radiation that is reflected by a

surface, typically that of a planet or moon.

Rural - in, relating to, or characteristic of the countryside rather than the town.

Urban - in, relating to, or characteristic of a city or town.

Urbanization -  is a word for becoming more like a city. When populations of

people grow, the population of a place may spill over from city to nearby areas. This is

called urbanization. Maybe tall apartment buildings spring up on what had been the

outskirts of town, bringing more people there to live and work .

 Heat islands - is a city or metropolitan area that is significantly warmer than its

surrounding rural areas due to human activities. The phenomenon was first investigated

and described by Luke Howard in the 1810s, although he was not the one to name the

phenomenon.

Greenhouse effect - the trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower

atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from

the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface.
HYPOTHESIS

Based on the researchers observation, the issue of pollution and over

urbanization is still an ongoing process, many solutions and preventions have been

made but the people have not been properly informed of these solutions. Through urban

farming the researcher believes that it will not only help the environment but also the

health of every individual residing in the urban areas. The environment is an essential

aspect in all of our lives. Protecting it is our job for the future generations to see and

experience.
 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Urbanization is a population shift from rural to urban areas, "the gradual increase

in the proportion of people living in urban areas", and the ways in which each society

adapts to the change. It is predominantly the process by which towns and cities are

formed and become larger as more people begin living and working in central areas.

Urbanization is not merely a modern phenomenon, but a rapid and historic

transformation of human social roots on a global scale, whereby predominantly rural

culture is being rapidly replaced by predominantly urban culture. The first major change

in settlement patterns was the accumulation of hunter-gatherers into villages many

thousand years ago. Village culture is characterized by common bloodlines, intimate

relationships, and communal behavior whereas urban culture is characterized by distant

bloodlines, unfamiliar relations, and competitive behavior. This unprecedented

movement of people is forecast to continue and intensify during the next few decades,

mushrooming cities to sizes unthinkable. (Wikipedia, Dec. 2016)

People who live in urban areas have very different consumption patterns than

residents in rural areas. For example, urban populations consume much more food,

energy, and durable goods than rural populations. With economic development, the

difference in consumption declined as the rural populations ate better diets. But even a

decade later, urban populations had 60 percent more pork in their diets than rural

populations. The increasing consumption of meat is a sign of growing affluence in

Beijing; in India where many urban residents are vegetarians, greater prosperity is seen

in higher consumption of milk.

Urban populations not only consume more food, but they also consume more

durable goods. In the early 1990s, Chinese households in urban areas were two times

more likely to have a TV, eight times more likely to have a washing machine, and 25

times more likely to have a refrigerator than rural households. This increased

consumption is a function of urban labor markets, wages, and household structure.

Energy consumption for electricity, transportation, cooking, and heating is much

higher in urban areas than in rural villages. For example, urban populations have many

more cars than rural populations per capita. Almost all of the cars in the world in the

1930s were in the United States. Today we have a car for every two people in the

United States. If that became the norm, in 2050 there would be 5.3 billion cars in the

world, all using energy.

Urban consumption of energy helps create heat islands that can change local

weather patterns and weather downwind from the heat islands. The heat island

phenomenon is created because cities radiate heat back into the atmosphere at rate 15

percent to 30 percent less than rural areas. The combination of the increased energy

consumption and difference in albedo (radiation) means that cities are warmer than

rural areas (0.6 to 1.3 C).And these heat islands become traps for atmospheric

pollutants. Cloudiness and fog occur with greater frequency. Precipitation is 5 percent to

10 percent higher in cities; thunderstorms and hailstorms are much more frequent, but

snow days in cities are less common.

 Urbanization also affects the broader regional environments. Regions downwind

from large industrial complexes also see increases in the amount of precipitation, air

pollution, and the number of days with thunderstorms. Urban areas affect not only the

weather patterns, but also the runoff patterns for water. Urban areas generally generate

more rain, but they reduce the infiltration of water and lower the water tables. This

means that runoff occurs more rapidly with greater peak flows. Flood volumes increase,

as do floods and water pollution downstream.

Many of the effects of urban areas on the environment are not necessarily linear.

Bigger urban areas do not always create more environmental problems. And small

urban areas can cause large problems. Much of what determines the extent of the

environmental impacts is how the urban populations behave — their consumption and

living patterns — not just how large they are. (Barbara Boyle Torrey)

Urban agriculture, urban farming or urban gardening is the practice of cultivating,

processing, and distributing food in or around a village, town, or city. Urban agriculture

can also involve animal husbandry, aquaculture, agro forestry, urban beekeeping, and

horticulture. These activities occur in peri-urban areas as well, and peri-urban

agriculture may have different characteristics.

Urban agriculture can reflect varying levels of economic and social development.

In the global north, it often takes the form of a social movement for sustainable

communities, where organic growers, ‘foodies,’ and ‘locavores’ form social networks

founded on a shared ethos of nature and community holism. These networks can

evolve when receiving formal institutional support, becoming integrated into local town
planning as a ‘transition town’ movement for sustainable urban development. In the

developing south, food security, nutrition, and income generation are key motivations for

the practice. In either case, more direct access to fresh vegetables, fruits, and meat

products through urban agriculture can improve food security and food safety.

(Wikipedia, Nov. 2016)

Along with concerns about climate change and the distances much of our food

travels from farm to plate, that's spurred a renewed interest in producing food where

people live. Urban agriculture won't resolve all food production and distribution

problems, but it could help take pressure off rural land while providing other

advantages. From balcony, backyard, rooftop, indoor and community gardens to city

beehives and chicken coops to larger urban farms and farmers markets, growing and

distributing local food in or near cities is a healthy way to help the environment. Food

that’s grown and consumed in cities has other advantages: During times of abundance,

it may cost less than supermarket fare that’s come long distances and during times of

emergency— when transportation and distribution channels break down — it can fill a

vegetable void.

Urban agriculture isn't new. During the First and Second World Wars, Canada,

the U.S., the U.K., Australia and Germany encouraged "victory gardens" to aid the war

effort by reducing pressure on food systems and farms. Gardens and chicken coops

appeared in yards, parks, school fields, golf courses, railway edges and vacant lots.

Sheep grazed on sports fields and kept grass in check. Peter Ladner notes that, during

the Second World War, the U.K. had 1.5 million allotment plots producing 10 percent of

the country's food, including half its fruit and vegetables; and by war's end, more than
20 million home gardens supplied 40 percent of U.S. domestically consumed produce.

(David Suzuki, August 2016)

Benefits of Urban Farming

Urban farming, also known as urban agriculture, essentially refers to growing

plants and keeping animals that produce food within a city. It may also encompass

processing and then distributing that food throughout the city. There are numerous

benefits of urban farming, and here are some of the most valuable.

1. Increases Food Security

Good-for-you organic produce at your grocer’s is not cheap; in fact, many

families can’t afford. In other words, they lack food security.

Food security is having access to and being able to afford nutritious, safe food—

and enough of it. This is a major concern for many families all over the world.

Fortunately, urban farming contributes to greater food security.

Producing food on one’s own, undeveloped land is one way for the urban poor to

earn or supplement their income. Some urban farmers sell or trade their harvest, and

others keep it for themselves and their families. Either way, it’s beneficial. It’s affordable,

healthy produce and/or a form of income.

2. Creates a Sense of Belonging

 Living in the city, it’s not uncommon that we don’t know our neighbors’ names.

Urban farming is one way to bring urban dwellers together—to establish a sense of

community among people otherwise independent and, in some cases, isolated.

For instance, a community garden has neighboring men, women and children

work together to keep the plants alive and well in the city. Family, friends,

acquaintances and even strangers come together and work toward greater food

security, something positive the entire community will benefit from. From this, a sense of

togetherness develops.

3. Produces Healthy Food

The more urban farming and eating locally there is, the fewer miles food must

travel before it’s on your plate. You get fresher, healthier food—herbs, vegetables and

fruits—and are more likely to eat what’s in season, when you eat what’s produced on an

urban farm.

Besides munching on produce packed with disease-fighting vitamins, it’s no

secret that when you grow your ingredients and prepare your meals, you gain respect

for your food. Respecting your food makes it easier to eat mindfully and maintain not

only your weight but your relationship with food.

4. Provides a Learning Opportunity

Urban farms give city dwellers a chance to produce their own food, and learn in

the process. They learn about various gardening techniques, the best nutrient solutions,

required sunlight, and controlling temperature, among other things.

 Because urban farming requires hands-on maintenance, it’s easy to pick up tips

and tricks and truly exercise your green thumb. This is not something many people in

the city have the opportunity to do, given the lack of green space and room for a

traditional garden.

5. Makes Efficient Use of Land

A growing population alongside diminishing arable land is a definite concern.

Urban farming is a great way to efficiently use the land we do have to feed the people.

Consider rooftop gardens: they take up minimal space but produce tons of fresh,

healthy produce. What’s more, this is space that would otherwise go unused.

(3Dponics, Oct. 2014)

More benefits:

Socially

1. Helps bring families and communities together by working toward a common goal

that will be beneficial for all

2. Gives direct links to food production

3. Creates better living environment by greening up the city and making it more

productive

4. Makes people stronger by putting their food security into their own hands, making

them more  independent and empowered

5. Teaches people life skills such as how to be more self sufficient

6. Creates jobs, income, and food

7. Helps combat hunger

8. Educate people, who have been increasingly removed from food production, to

participate in, and respect, its generation.

Environmentally

1. Greens up the city

2. Can help to clean air and rain water

3. Helps to stop erosion and topsoil removal

4. increases the amount of food grown and bought locally, decreasing carbon

footprint

5. Facilitates  reuse of wastes for food production

6. Has direct impacts on urban ecology

Economically

1. Creates jobs and income from otherwise completely unproductive space

2. Can be beneficial to people of any income

3. Creates a better local economy that does not rely on food from far away

4. Makes use of valuable resources, such as compost, that would otherwise go to

waste in a city
 REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9003

“AN ACT PROVIDING FOR AN ECOLOGICAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

PROGRAM, CREATING THE NECESSARY INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS AND

INCENTIVES, DECLARING CERTAIN ACTS PROHIBITED AND PROVIDING

PENALTIES, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER

PURPOSES.”

“REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9003” shows that Urban Farming is very much

encouraged by the government. David Balilla from Barangay Holy Spirit’s “Gulayan at

Bulaklakan” produces their own vegetables using recyclable materials as pots or garden

beds and their own compost made from biodegradable waste collected from the

barangay. David Balilla is an agriculturist that manages this project. He said that the

project started on the year 1998. “Bulaklan at Gulayan” is an urban garden in Metro

Manila that uses modern ways of farming. He said that the basis of this project is the

“REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9003” it is the ecological solid waste management act. They

also made programs regarding segregating waste and from there they create fertilizer

for the plants.

“Bulaklakan at Gulayan” aims to;

1. Help solve the hunger of the Filipino people.

2. Reduce poverty

3. Solve malnutrition problems

4. Find a solution to the growing sanitation and pollution problems of their city.

5. Reduce the waste that causes Climate Change.

 CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY

Primary Data

The data gathered from the survey serves as the primary tool for the campaign to

improve its strategies and gain more knowledge on how to attract people to join the

advocacy campaign. The questionnaires were distributed online via google docs and

answered by respondents from metro manila and other cities. The questionnaires were

collected and analyzed to analyze the results to be used as data in strengthening and

improving the campaign.

Name:_________________________________ Age:_____
Adress:________________________________

i. Please choose the letter that best corresponds to your answer

1. Do you know what urbanization is?
A.) YES B.) NO
2. Are you well informed of the pollution problem we have in this generation?
A.) YES B.) NO
3. Do you know that urbanization can someday consume the possible food
resources we have left?
A.) YES B.) NO
4. Do you know that urbanization is also a factor that worsens global warming?
A.) YES B.) NO
5. Are you interested in participating on related activities to save the earth?
A.) YES B.) NO
6. Do you know what urban farming is?
A.) YES B.) NO
7. Do you know the effects of urban farming?
A.) YES B.) NO
8. Do you think that urban farming can help reduce pollution?
A.) YES B.) NO
9. Do you think that urban farming can help the citizens from the urban areas gain a
better life style?
A.) YES B.) NO
10. Do you think urban farming can help save the environment?
A.) YES B.) NO
DATA ANALYSIS

In the graph above, 82% of the respondents are aware of urbanization and 32%

of the respondents are not aware of urbanization.

 The result shows 90% of the respondents are well informed of the pollution

problem we have in this generation, while 10% are not well informed.
 In the graph above, 55% of the respondents are not aware that urbanization can

someday consume the possible food resources we have left, 45% are not aware of the

subject matter.
 The result shows 38% of the respondents know that urbanization is also a factor

that worsens global warming, while 62% of the respondents do not know that

urbanization is also a factor that worsens global warming.

 In the graph above, 95% of the respondents are interested in participating on

related activities to save the earth, while 5% of the respondents are not interested in

participating on related activities to save the earth.

 The result shows 95% of the respondents don’t know what urban farming is,
while 5% of the respondents are aware of urban farming.
 In the graph above, 3% of the respondents are aware of the effects of urban
farming, 97% of the respondents are not aware of the effects of urban farming.
 The result shows 3% of the respondents think that urban farming can help
reduce pollution, 27% are not sure while 70% don’t think that urban farming can help
reduce pollution.
 The result shows 3% think that urban farming can help the citizens from the
urban areas gain a better life style, 47% are no sure while 50% don’t.
 In the graph above, 3% of the respondents think that urban farming can help
save the environment, 27% are not sure while 70% don’t think that urban farming can
help save the environment.
 CHAPTER V
SUMMARY

Urbanization is growing and more of our forest, farms and food resources are

being destroyed in exchange for more commercial places. A day may come that good

food will be scarce and we are stuck with eating machine processed food. Urban

farming can help bring good food to our home. There are many ways to urban farming

like, vertical gardens, modular aquaponics system and making recyclable materials into

pots for planting. Space is not an issue one can always make a way to planting. If many

homes, barangays or condo rooftops practice urban farming it will only not reduce

pollution it can also give you fresh and safe food. “Go Green; Metropolis will have

seminars conducted to barangays and provide materials for starting a small urban farm.

There will also be fund raising activities sponsored by different companies like fun runs,

barangay planting and clean ups. Based on the research conducted not many people

are aware of urbanization.

CONCLUSION

The major objective of this research is to advertise the Advocacy campaign “Go

Green; Metropolis” to provide awareness to the public and encourage them to protect

the environment through urban farming with the help of informative materials and with

events like seminars and many related activities.

NOTE: ADD ANOTHER CONCLUSION.

RECOMMENDATION

After thorough research, analysis and conclusion, the researcher encourages in

investing on the proposed advocacy campaign as presented on the study. This

campaign will help spread awareness and start a practice of urban farming. Thus, if the

advocacy campaign will be successful in providing knowledge about urban farming the

urban areas will be a health and eco-friendly environment.