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--- research_report_sanjeev-shankar [2008-05-17 10:35] – sanjeev
+++ research_report_sanjeev-shankar [2008-05-17 17:01] – Links to method changed to sanjeev-research-methodology nik
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 === Introduction ===
-{{:perma61.jpg|}}
 Plants are the centre of the web of life. The growth of urban centres around the globe has had a critical impact on ecology. Some of the questions at the core of this research are:
   * Is there an ecological limit to economic growth?
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   * Can we afford to place nature as an object, which is //manipulated, commodified and sold//?
   * How can we imagine a fertile future for our cities?
-This project explores aspects of human environment, its relation with ecology and our attempt for sustainable growth. The relevant fields of inquiry are urban ecology, sustainability, human plant interaction and biomorphism. It documents the global status of urban permaculture and explores ways in which we can transform our cities into productive, healthy, edible and playful green visions. In recent years there has been a growing public movement to bring ecology out of the bush and into the urban environments where most people spend their time. While, this is important, people are still grappling with the problem of a balance between 'growth' and conservation. And this is not limited to emerging cities. The thrust of this research and thereby this project is to explore methods to initiate collective public action to bridge this gap.
+This project explores aspects of human environment, its relation with ecology and our attempt for sustainable growth. The relevant fields of inquiry are urban ecology, sustainability, human plant interaction and biomorphism. It explores ways in which we can transform our cities into productive, healthy, edible and playful green visions. In recent years there has been a growing public movement to bring ecology out of the bush and into the urban environments where most people spend their time. While, this is important, people are still grappling with the problem of a balance between 'growth' and conservation and this is not limited to emerging cities in the developing world. The thrust of this research and thereby this project is to explore methods to initiate collective public action in this direction.
-The objectives of Phase 1 are given below:
+Some of the reasons for this project are as follows:
+  * Uncontrolled growth of cities has had a devastating impact on ecology.
+  * By the end of 2008, half the world's population will be living in cities for the first time in history.(according to a UN report)
+  * Cities are becoming increasingly polluted, unhealthy and disconnected with other life forms.
+  * Urban problems include acute hunger, unemployment, inflation, urban sprawl, rising poverty, expensive health care and sharp increase in cars.
+  * Food crisis is futher compounded by increased use of pesticides, herbicides, biocides and rapidly deteriorating soil quality.
+  * There has been an acute drop in forest cover and a sharp increase in desert area.
+  * Natural and traditional systems are a crucial resource and can offer us remedies. Problems can be seen as opportunities.
+The objectives of this phase are given below:
   * On-line and literature survey of state of the art in urban gardening and permaculture (global perspective)
   * On-site research and comparison of urban gardening in the Benelux and India
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   * A written report in the prescribed format
-The findings of this research would find use in regions, which have a strong tradition of agriculture: China, Japan, India, Guatemala, Costarica and Peru, to name a few. And, through a comparative analysis of the urban character, gardening trends and culture of Europe and India, this research aims to bring out aspects which can inform a sustainable growth pattern in these regions. Further, the section on urban permaculture kits, explores a series of design experiments which could act as catalysts for product solutions and initiatives for a sustainble city.
+For details on the methodology of this project please click on [[sanjeev-research-methodology]].
-Some of the reasons for this project are as follows:
-  * Uncontrolled growth of cities has had a devastating impact on ecology.
-  * By the end of 2008, half the world's population will be living in cities for the first time in history.(according to a UN report)
-  * Cities are becoming increasingly polluted, unhealthy and disconnected with other life forms.
-  * Urban problems include acute hunger, unemployment, inflation, urban sprawl, rising poverty, expensive health care and sharp increase in cars.
-  * Food crisis is futher compounded by increased use of pesticides, herbicides, biocides and rapidly deteriorating soil quality.
-  * There has been an acute drop in forest cover and a sharp increase in desert area.
-  * Natural and traditional systems are a crucial resource and can offer us remedies. Problems can be seen as opportunities.
-For details on the methodology of this project please click on [[method]].
+The findings of this research would be relevant in regions having a strong tradition of agriculture: China, Japan, India, Guatemala, Costarica and Peru, to name a few. And, through a comparative analysis of the urban character, gardening trends and culture of Europe and India, this research aims to bring out aspects which can inform a sustainable growth pattern in these regions.
 === Permaculture ===
-Permaculture is an integrated, evolving, multidimensional and creative design response to a world of declining energy and resource availability with emphasis on design processes drawn from nature. It is about holistic values, design and systems of management. It also reflects the ongoing evolution of our knowledge systems and can be applied to other areas requiring holistic thinking, for example: human settlements, business enterprises, political and economic systems, learning environments, health field and child rearing.
+Permaculture is an integrated, evolving, multidimensional and creative design response to a world of declining energy and resource availability with emphasis on design processes drawn from nature. While reflecting the ongoing evolution of our knowledge systems, it incorporates holistic thinking and systems of management. It is also applicable to other aspects of human settlements, business enterprises, political and economic systems, learning environments, health and child rearing. For more on this topic please see [[history of permaculture]]
-For more on this topic please see [[history of permaculture]]
 ==Urban Permaculture==
-In urban situations, space is limited, there may be little or no access to land, and various regulatory restrictions exist when it comes to gardening or having backyard animals.((http://www.permaculture.org/nm/index.php/site/Urban/)) Some of the concepts that people have used in urban settings are discussed below. These are a mix of approaches, ranging from gardening to co-parenting, going across different aspects of sustainability. Further the character of cities in the western world is extremely different from the eastern world. These differences work at social, political and physical level and have shaped these cities. The examples discussed here are therefore quiet diverse, but the vision of "no loss" and a practical aspect of "community" links them all.
+In urban situations, space is limited and various regulatory restrictions exist when it comes to gardening or having backyard animals.((http://www.permaculture.org/nm/index.php/site/Urban/)) Some of the concepts that people have used in urban settings are discussed below. These are a mix of approaches, ranging from gardening to co-ownership. Further, cities in the west are governed by different social, political and physical qualities than those in the east. Despite this, the examples discussed here share a common vision of "no loss" and an aspect of "community".
 For more on this topic please see [[urban permaculture concepts]].
-=== Regional Cultural peculiarities ===
+=== Cultural peculiarities ===
 see [[cultural peculiarities]]