New Ruralism in Spokane?

[Photo courtesy Austinspace]

Question:  Any idea where the closest agricultural land is in relation to downtown Spokane (answer at the end of the post)?

There's a good chance you're familiar with New Urbanism as a concept (if not check out New Urbanism here).  A new movement hoping to strengthen the ties between cities and farms is called New Ruralism.  The concept is to blend sustainable agriculture with smart growth policies and it's something that is catching on all over the country.  In some places, people are paying dearly for homes in new ruralism-type developments.

As people become more conscious of eating better, benefits of buying local (including produce), and the increasing fuel costs associated with shipping food long distances, an idea like new ruralism gains traction.  It's a way to possibly reconnect people with the land that was the basis of many of our communities out here.  We like to think that given the choice at the check-out stand or at the voting booth, most Spokane residents would buy local even if the cost was incrementally larger.  In California's Sonoma County, a county with a long agricultural tradition it seems to be the preference.  The community has funded for 20 years a quarter-cent sales tax that buys up land for conservation.  It ensures land can be used for agriculture in perpetuity.

The statistic that is often thrown around is that every minute of every year we lose two acres of farmland.  Back in 2005 the Spokesman Review editorial board said as much when they published their swan song for the Rathdrum Prairie:  Rest in peace, Rathdrum Prairie.  Spokane and the Inland Northwest has a long established agricultural tradition.  Not ten years ago the drive from Spokane to Coeur d'Alene was dotted with development; now it's pretty much a constant repetition of homes and strip malls.  Consider if we took the same approach as Sonoma County and put edible green space in as buffers between cities (Maybe it's something our local Land's Council is already doing?).  We think it would only enhance our tagline of "Near nature.  Near perfect."

(Answer:  Vinegar Flats - Latah Creek Neighborhood)

Comments

[Paul]

FYI to your readers who think Spokane is comparable to Sonoma CA:

Sonoma County Residential Real Estate Prices:

2006 Single Family Home
Average Price: $673,785
Median Price: $580,000

In comparison:

Spokane Market:
2006 Single Family
Average: $193,707
Median: $173,500

[MK]

In spite of your statistics I believe Spokane is much more expensive than Sonoma County and particularly the city of San Fransisco. I believe, in fact that Spokane is the most expensive city in the world.

[Sally Sahnemacher]

Great post Metro Spokane! It's time for new and old Spokanites to stop thinking about great real estate deals and start thinking about what will happen when agricultural land in the region grows scarce. The few stands at the Spokane Farmer's Market demonstrate a lack of emphasis of local food sources.

Add to our reading list:

-Animal, vegetable, miracle : a year of food life by Barbara Kingsolver

-Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally by Alisa Smith & J.B. Mackinnon

and finally, for all those Spokanites who love to keep their lawns golf-course green all summer long:

-Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard into a Garden And Your Neighborhood into a Community by Heather C. Flores

[Smart Communities]

Great post -- please keep it going, we need people like you posting about smart solutions to development.

I've added the URL to our own blog, Smart Communities, that covers some of the same topics but (hopefully) not the same ground.