Category: Arch 698b: The Other California

The project examines cotton’s material properties as a key non-food crop in the Central Valley, with a historical significance in the Tulare Lake bed’s agriculture. It addresses the environmental impacts of traditional farming and water management, focusing on water dynamics in Tulare Lake during fluctuations and unpredictable rainfall. The research explores sustainable methods to rehabilitate the lake, endorsing a “material ecology” perspective. By studying cotton secondary cellulose as a biocomposite filler, it suggests a novel approach that reevaluates cotton cultivation and water infrastructure in an ecological context. This approach aims to shorten the material supply chain and underscore the viability of sustainable land management. By leveraging the principles of regenerative agriculture and technologies embracing a holistic view of biomaterials and fiber futures, the project articulates a comprehensive strategy for environmental stewardship at landscape and material levels.

The Allensworth Agricultural Experiment Station is a 4,000 square foot site in Allensworth, CA that will test out different types of soil revitalization techniques and agroecological planting configurations that can increase soil fertility, create habitat, engage the local community. Built in collaboration with the non-profit Allensworth Progressive Association (APA), the project aims to determine the most effective methods for remediating and cultivating the severely degraded soil with the goal of employing the same methods on a larger parcel of land in the future for the APA’s aspirational agroecological, educational community farm. Upon its founding in 1908, Allensworth was the first town in California to be founded and governed by Black Americans and was intended to be a “Tuskegee of the West”, inspired by the university in Alabama established by Booker T. Washington, which provided vocational training for Black students with an emphasis on agriculture. The AAES is inspired by the Tuskegee Agricultural Experiment Station, a 10-acre farm run by George Washington Carver at the university from 1897-1943, which experimented with different organic farming processes and provided education on cost-effective and sustainable methods of food production for Black farmers. This project also aims to go beyond the scientific and ecological aspects of soil rehabilitation for food production and engages in a larger conversation about BIPOC liberation on the land. Large-scale agricultural production in the US has its origins in the plantation economy and the forced labor of enslaved Africans and is sustained by the continued exploitation of Latinx farmworkers and other communities of color. AAES will create a space to execute agricultural practices that feed soil using organic materials, have closed-loop systems for waste, encourage ecological diversity, are able to produce food in extreme arid climates, and honor the culturally-significant and place-based land stewardship practices of the Allensworth community. In a time of increasing climate uncertainty exacerbated by industrial farming, this project can hopefully contribute to an alternative framework for food cultivation and soil regeneration in the Central Valley that highlight the contributions BIPOC communities have made to agriculture, and honor the liberatory vision of Allensworth.

My research will focus on carceral landscapes in the Tulare Basin. I will study and catalog their socio-spatial conditions, the landscape-based systems they participate in, and their potential for liberatory futures. My research begins with the existing conditions of the prison industrial complex in the Tulare Basin and their impact on prisoners cycling through the carceral system. I hope to create a clear analysis of the specific siting of prisons in the Tulare Basin and the unique implications of California’s central valley landscape on a socioeconomic, racial, and spatial level. My research will span the arenas of labor, migration, criminal justice, rural economies, punitive architecture, climate resilience, and abolitionist futures. I will also collect extensive existing precedents for the removal of prisons, the repurposing of former prison sites for future public good, and exploratory innovations in restorative and transformative justice. I will aim to answer these two questions: 1) How do prisons shape the landscape of the Tulare Basin, and vice versa? And 2), how can we design liberatory futures in a landscape of mass incarceration?

The thesis aims to mitigate the adverse effects of large-scale fallowing of agricultural lands in California in response to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act’s (SGMA) regulations on groundwater pumping. This situation threatens job loss and food security and exacerbates issues in the Central Valley, such as landfallowing, desertification, dust storms, and health hazards.

The project introduces a comprehensive strategy and system that identifies stressed landscapes and facilitates farmers’ transition towards sustainable practices. It addresses multiple challenges simultaneously, including industrial and agricultural activities’ impact on biodiversity and air quality, as well as problems that plague the valley, such as land subsidence, Infrastructure damages, flooding, soil salinity, groundwater depletion, and pollution. The system ensures a holistic approach to sustainability.

The project seeks to minimize land fallowing while maintaining job security and food production through proactive measures, policy recommendations, incentives, and zoning. Ultimately, it envisions a greener future for the Central Valley, where ecological needs are met alongside economic sustainability.

The agriculture in Tulare Basin heavily relies on groundwater irrigation, constituting 97% of water usage. Over the past few decades, excessive overpumping has caused severe land subsidence and nitrate contamination, compounded by fertilizer application and septic systems. Corcoran Clay, known for its nitrate-filtering properties and low infiltration rate, poses both challenges and opportunities. Similarly, paleo valleys, with their high permeability, offer potential for artificial recharge and underground water storage. My strategies include redirecting contaminated water to clay-rich zones by terrain design; utilizing dried wells and change existing crop plant strategies; utilizing phytoremediation and sequential wetlands for nitrate absorption then linking paleo valleys to store excess water and recharge aquifers. These strategies aim to address groundwater pollution, water distribution issues, while maximizing recharge efficiency and increase land productivity

The return of Tulare Lake has prompted us to rethink our relationship with nature. My research proposes living in harmony with the lake, recognizing its re-emergence as a revival of cultural and ecological values, rather than controlling it. Inspired by the way indigenous people adapted to the lake, I proposed a dynamic national park that could adapt to fluctuations in the water, with boundaries defined by the water level. This approach promotes coexistence with the natural cycle of the lake and co- management with the tribe, enriching cultural and economic values. This initiative aims not only to restore Lake Tulare naturally, but also to highlight its cultural and ecological significance and encourage a deeper understanding of its history and future potential.

In this project, I develop a new Utopian design theory for the Central Valley, comprising seven principles for rural town development. Inspired by historical utopian concepts, I analyze the components needed for a utopia, including design, governance, resource access, and more. Acknowledging the unattainable nature of a true utopia, I focus on crafting a modern utopia in the San Joaquin Valley, addressing essential resource provision and community cohesion. Tailoring design principles to each community’s needs, I consider challenges such as climate change and propose replicable block strategies. Specifically, I’m designing for Alpaugh, a small rural town with unique challenges, serving as a model for Utopian design implementation.

Located an hour south of Fresno, Huron is a small agricultural town with approximately 6,240 residents. Among these, 95.7% are Latino or Hispanic, and 32.1% live below the poverty line. Towns like Huron play a critical role in supporting the labor force for the agricultural industry in the region. However, these rural communities often suffer from inadequate public services, housing, and environmental inequalities.This project aims to strategically navigate the constraints imposed by the current economic, environmental, and social landscape, establishing a roadmap for agricultural towns in the central valley. Through diversifying their economies, creating resilient environmental infrastructure, and providing adequate housing for both permanent and temporary residents, Huron and its residents may be better adapted to the new parameters set forth by SGMA.

Between the vast oilfields of western Kern County and the voluptuous slopes of the Tremblor Range lie a string of small towns, founded with the discovery of oil in the early 1900s. Ranging in size from 50 to 9,000 souls, these towns endure environmental degradation, progressive erasure, and, according to locals, a distinct lack of things to do. I attempt to address these three issues by integrating outdoor recreation, habitat restoration, and land art into the Tremblor Range National Monument.

The industrial-scale dairy farming pursuit of producing high-yield products and has neglected cows basic rights, which also caused a lot of carbon footprint (especially methane) to the environment. The Central Valley is a region faces severe water shortage challenges, however, the advocacy nonprofit Food and Water Watch estimates that it takes 142 million gallons of water a day to maintain the dairy cows in California. On the other hand, the public may not be aware of the amount of dairy farms and the living conditions of cows, because most of them are surrounded by fields of feed crops – the fact that cows living quality is bad and the dairy industry uses millions of gallons of water a day is not being awareness enough. For the future of dairy industry, we should stop the expansion of existing industrial- scale dairy farms, find a more sustainable dairy design strategy not only limits the water use or carbon footprint, but also improve cows’ living quality. The design starts with the protection of cows welfare and aims to prioritize cows’ physical health and emotional pleasure, finally there would be a Cowtopia for cows to live their happy lives.