Living in the Agroecological Landscape: Urdorf and UitikonYifeng Xie

This project explores the potential of transforming the open space of the Reppisch Valley into an agroecological landscape. The valley is highly urbanised due to the expansion of Zurich city and its open fields are now under development pressure and are being surrounded by infrastructure and urban or industrial development. A similar tendency can be observed throughout the canton of Zurich, hence this type of urban enclosure of agricultural land produces what has been defined here as an “agricultural courtyard”. The first section documents site visits and interviews with local farms to give an in-depth understanding of the Reppisch Valley from the farmer’s perspective; the second section reviews the historical development of the Reppisch Valley and defines the “agricultural courtyard”; section three looks into the potential of transforming the agricultural courtyard into an Agroecological Oasis, strengthened through socio-ecological infrastructure.