IBM’s Smarter Cities Challenge Milwaukee

MilwaukeeIBM’s Smarter Cities Challenge ReportMilwaukee’s renowned food producing NPOs have beenin operation since the 1990s and have received nationalrecognition. They currently collaborate with the for-profitfood businesses in the community and are sources of valuableinformation that can be tapped to understand how similarorganizations can become profitable. If successful, Milwaukeecan be a city that feeds itself, leveraging and furthering itsstatus in the UN Global Compact Cities Programme byconnecting urban food production to water.Across the U.S. there are generally more than three timesas many supermarkets in wealthier neighborhoods than inpoorer areas. Even when supermarkets are found in lowSocio-Economic Status (SES) neighborhoods, prices tend tobe substantially higher. To compound the food desert paradox,fast food outlets are disproportionably located in low SESneighborhoods, and are 2.5 times more likely to be foundin lower income areas than higher income areas.Research has found food desert residents to be at risk froma variety of health problems. Diet has a direct link to obesity,diabetes and other chronic illnesses. In Wisconsin, Milwaukeeis ranked very high for obesity levels and diet-related disease.In its poorer sections, 34 percent of residents experienceobesity, levels much higher than the median U.S. orstate levels.C. ApproachOver the three week Smarter Cities Challenge, the IBMteam worked with and received outstanding support fromCity leaders, community organizations, local businesses, theUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, its Great Lakes WaterInstitute, and the Milwaukee Water Council. Meeting withthought leaders of these different constituents helped theteam gain a clearer understanding of the strength of resourcesin Milwaukee and the decision for these groups to worktogether to “feed” Milwaukee. The following activities havehelped the team frame the challenges facing Milwaukee: Discussions with Mayor Tom Barrett, Department ofCity Development (DCD) Commissioner Rocky Marcoux,and Senior Economic Development Specialist for theRedevelopment Authority, Dan Casanova Tours of and discussions with Sweet Water Organics,Growing Power, Walnut Way, and Natural Green Farms Interviews with City officials, department heads, schoolofficials, community leaders, non-profit organizations,representatives from Milwaukee companies, and otherleaders in the city Analysis of background materials on Milwaukee, urbanagriculture and aquaponics Review of the City’s economic development strategies,notably the Menomonee Valley and Century City in the30th Street CorridorCities can tackle the challenges of food deserts and feedthemselves by augmenting existing food distribution channelswith healthy food grown locally by both for-profit andnon-profit organizations (NPOs). Non-profit sourceshave established themselves throughout the Milwaukeemetropolitan area and offer healthy food, grown free fromchemicals/pesticides and without significant transportationcosts. They also provide related community education,skills development and social organization in economicallydeprived areas in need of revitalization.The NPOs are a vital source of hope and purpose incommunities that have seen the worst of our economicdownturn. If an organization that feeds the local communitycan become self-sustaining or even profitable, the aquaponicsindustry can be expanded, offering social and economicbenefits in the form of new jobs and related economicstimulus in those areas of cities where jobs are most needed.New jobs in the community not only provide those skillsdirectly related to providing healthy food for the community,but also new workplace skills that further enhance personaland community commitment and responsibility – successthat others can build upon.The IBM team focused on the concept of a smarter cityfeeding itself. It has looked at aquaponics in the larger contextof urban agriculture, in an attempt to highlight key initiativeswhere the City is fostering the growth of aquaponics. Theteam also identified tactical and long term recommendationsto help the City leverage its leadership in aquaponics andfresh water management.6

3. Overall Findingsand ThemesA. IntroductionThese three themes, focusing on Industry Development,Community Transformation, and Milwaukee Identity aregraphically depicted in Figure 2 and are described in thefollowing sections. They underlie our observations of thecity and the summary recommendations in this report.The themes interweave to provide the foundation for thediscussion on how a vibrant, globally recognized Milwaukeecan help smarter cities around the world feed themselves.As the IBM team met with many stakeholders throughoutthe city and region, several themes began to emerge,revealing that common purpose closely binds the Cityand its stakeholders.The science of aquaponics, with its innovative techniquesand promise to address some of the world’s food supply issues,is compelling. Business, academic and community leadersin Milwaukee have rallied to support this nascent industry.Volunteers come from across the community, includingK-12 and university students, bringing varied skills(architecture, business, urban planning, agricultureand marketing).IndustryDevelopmentWe have noted that the compelling social value of aquaponicsand its interaction with the community inspires much passionand exuberance. This enthusiasm and community engagementis a strength of the Milwaukee aquaponics industry and shouldbe fostered and encouraged, but it must be balanced to ensurethat the goal of sustainable production is hree themes emerged during this analysis:Industry Development is important because it providesjobs and drives commerce. Businesses have to innovate to becompetitive. This innovation can be shared to help build thecommunity and add to Milwaukee’s identity.Figure 2Feeding a Smarter City: Three Major ThemesCommunity Transformation appears through neighborhoodorganizations and local non-profits as they leverage theirskills to build a stronger social fabric by developing andstrengthening areas of need and support. The communitiesinvolved in urban agriculture provide healthy food, relatededucation, leadership, hope and more.B. Industry DevelopmentMilwaukee has an entrepreneurial history of creatinghomegrown industries that have become major businessesin areas like mining and manufacturing (Rexnord, Bucyrus,P&H Mining Equipment (Harnischfeger)) and brewing(Miller-Coors, Pabst, Schlitz, Blatz). Businesses that definedindustries emerged in the city and then became the catalyststhat established and economically supported Milwaukeeneighborhoods. These industries formed Milwaukee’s earlyidentity in “feeding and supplying the world”.Milwaukee Identity extends the city’s established leadershipin water beyond its boundaries to place itself in a globalcontext. When a business in Europe or a thought leader inAsia attempts to address challenges in water and sustainablefood production, Milwaukee should come to mind as a worldleader in these areas.7

MilwaukeeIBM’s Smarter Cities Challenge ReportLastly, while Milwaukee provides an abundant source offresh water, a plentiful water source is not a prerequisite for asuccessful aquaponics system. In fact, as a closed loop system,the only water an aquaponics system needs is that required tomake up for evaporative losses. As a world example of globalfresh water, Milwaukee, in a successful association withaquaponics, can serve as the model for stewardship of limitedwater resources and for the replication of this solutionelsewhere in the United States and the world.The combination of this “Regional DNA” with a strongcommunity spirit of “working collaboratively to get thingsdone”, has contributed to Milwaukee’s successful economicdevelopment and its unique and distinctive identity.The economic downturn in the latter part of the twentiethcentury and the beginning of this century, dramaticallyaffected the landscape of Milwaukee and other Americancities, with forced company consolidations, business closures,and increased unemployment. Along with other cities acrossthe world, Milwaukee is now exploring innovative ways tocounteract these dramatic effects on quality of life, througheconomic development and workforce enablement in thecity’s neighborhoods.Urban AgricultureUrban agriculture is the production of food within theboundaries of a city. This generally refers to agriculturalactivity in small areas such as empty lots, production gardens,community gardens, and private residences. Not only arefruits and vegetables included, but Milwaukee recentlyaccommodated chickens and honey production in its cityzoning. The goal of urban agriculture is to create sustainablelocal food supplies that reduce costs between farm and fork.To achieve greater production, cities must integrate farmingpractices into urban governance, environmental, social andeconomic systems. The opportunity to extend the urbanfood supply chain to expand production, processing anddistribution can lead to job growth, as well as healthiercommunities.In this challenging environment, the City is working intandem with its business leaders, neighborhoods and academicand research communities, to utilize its core strengths.It is seeking to revitalize industry within the metropolitanregion, in order to create jobs, improve public safety, restoreneighborhoods, and advance overall quality of life. ThisSmarter Cities Challenge study is one result, focusing on aprime economic opportunity that is based on Milwaukee’sidentity around fresh water and its vital association withfood production.The Water Council is establishing the Milwaukee regionas the global water hub for freshwater research, economicdevelopment and education, working with major water-relatedcompanies and academic research institutions in the area.Aquaponics, the symbiotic combination of aquaculture andhydroponics, is a natural product of Milwaukee’s successesin urban agriculture and water.Urban agriculture has taken root not only in Milwaukee, butalso across the United States, with major initiatives in citiesincluding Cleveland, Detroit, Seattle, Madison, Minneapolis,Philadelphia, Portland, and Baltimore. Several factors havecontributed to the increasing popularity of urban agriculturein the past decade: Demand for healthy food alternatives in lower incomeneighborhoods. Under-utilized land that can be made available forurban agriculture. Increased willingness of cities to modify zoning regulations. Unintended environmental and health impacts of foodgrown thousands of miles away.Milwaukee’s strengths to support its leadership in this arealie in urban agriculture, water-related skills, its availableresources (industrial sites and buildings, workforce), anda supportive city infrastructure. These factors create anideal opportunity to evaluate and build a viable aquaponicsindustry. They are also an ideal vehicle for validating theCity model of City-supported industry that can positivelyimpact economic development and communitytransformation.8

MilwaukeeIBM’s Smarter Cities Challenge ReportHealthThe benefits of urban agriculture can be seen throughmultiple lenses: Direct access to nutritious food for urban populations.Greater availability of fresh, perishable food.Safety Consumers depend on a global web of growers, fisheries,packers, shippers, manufacturers, retailers as well asgovernment and industry bodies. However, many countrieshave inconsistent standards for quality, process andaccountability. In the U.S. alone, 76 million cases of foodborne illnesses occur each year. Imports account for nearly60 percent of the fruits and vegetables we consume, and75 percent of the seafood. Yet only one percent of thesefoods are inspected before they enter the U.S.Consumers are hungrier than ever for information abouttheir food. They are better informed about nutrition andmore aware of the environmental and societal impacts ofeverything they buy. According to an IBM Institute forBusiness Value survey, two out of every five U.S. and U.K.consumers say safety concerns dictate what food they willor will not purchase.Sustainability Economics Waste 30 percent of the food purchased in developed nations endsup going to waste.Supply chain inefficiencies lose consumer product firms andretailers 40 billion annually, or 3.5 percent of their sales.Environment Reintroduction of green space.Greater proximity to services, including waste-treatmentfacilities.Waste-recycling and re-use possibilities.Water runoff reduction and sewage treatment.Sixty years ago, we could create a calorie of food with lessthan half a calorie of fossil fuel. Today, 10 calories of fossilfuel are needed to produce a single calorie of modernsupermarket food.Rising fuel costs are making it increasingly difficult toget enough food to populations now dependent ondistant producers.Produce grown closer to home racks up fewer petroleumbased transport miles than foods trucked cross country toyour table.The average distance traveled for food in the U.S. isestimated at 1,500 miles.Less need for packaging, protection and storage of food.9Increased jobs and incomes related to agricultural output.Non-market access to food for poor consumers. The WorldFood Summit of 1966 defined food security: “When allpeople at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritiousfood to maintain a healthy and active life.” In Wisconsin,about 8.9 percent of households are “food insecure” and2.7 percent have “very low” food security.Expansion of the city’s economic base through production,processing, packaging and marketing.

MilwaukeeIBM’s Smarter Cities Challenge ReportAquaponicsBenefits of aquaponic systems in urban agriculture: Produce higher crop yields more quickly than traditionalagriculture, through the constant flow of nutrients to plantsand intensive plant spacing. Extremely water-efficient through continuous water reuseand recycling. Achievable within relative small spaces like warehouses andcommunity gardens.Aquaponics is a sustainable form of closed-loop agriculturethat combines two techniques: hydroponics and aquaculture.Hydroponics is a water-based growing method to raise plantswithout soil. Plants are cultivated instead with their rootsdirectly in contact with water, allowing them to absorbpH-balanced nutrients in a more efficient manner to achievefaster, better growth. Aquaculture is the breeding, raisingand harvesting of fish and other water-based life in waterenvironments, often closely controlled.Challenges in AquaponicsAquaponic systems, while in their infancy, have thousandsof variations on their basic formula, with many potentialdrawbacks. Mechanical and water quality failure can severelyimpair a system’s ability to produce crops. Systems are subjectto dozens of technical breakdowns whether electrical,bacterial, or biological throughout the structure. A pumpor electrical source may fail with the loss of the entire cropof fish overnight, and the collapse of the whole system.A closed loop aquaponics system is based on multiple tanksand pumps circulating to form a nutrient cycle. By-productsgenerated by the fish become a highly effective fertilizer;“Beneficial Bacteria” convert the ammonia from fish wasteinto nitrates that nutrify crops through waterborne roots. Inthe final part of the closed loop cycle, plant roots purify thewater, which is then aerated and returned to the fish tanks.A sustanable agricultureAquaponics, an inventive form of closed-system agriculture, combineshydroponics and aquaculture – water-based gardening and fish cultivation.1. Water, mixed with waste froma fish tank, fills the flood tank,a container that functions muchlike a toilet.Flood tank2. When the tank empties, nutrient-rich water flowsinto a gravel-filled bag, feeding the plants that growthere. The plants help the clean water.3. Aerated, clean overflowwater returns to the fish tank.Grow bedFishtankFish tank4. Water and fish waste are pumped from the fish tankback to the flood tank and the cycle repeats.Figure 3Aquaponics: a sustainable agricultureSource: Travis W. Hughey, New York Times10

MilwaukeeIBM’s Smarter Cities Challenge ReportC. Community TransformationWill Allen is an example of the power of public recognitionthat he and others are bringing to Milwaukee. As the founderof Growing Power, he has been recognized by the McArthurFoundation and Time Magazine, with continued pressmention for his associations with the Clintons, MichelleObama, and Oprah Winfrey. This recognition can beleveraged by the City to focus attention on the importanceof urban agriculture and aquaponics.A prominent theme in the team’s meetings and discussionshas been the transformative effect that urban agriculture,and more specifically aquaponics, can have on a community.Each community organization has spoken with passion ofthe benefits they have seen first hand from the work beingperformed in their respective areas. Indeed, stories of thebeneficial effects on schools and students, neighborhoods,families, health, and the potential for job creation wererelated with exuberance and dominated most conversations.As a “gathering place near the water”, Milwaukee exemplifiesthe willingness of its community organizations to “gather”and assemble to share information and help one another. Thisspirit of cooperation enables “cross-pollination” of ideas andexperiences; Walnut Way helped forge the Food Council, andSweet Water Organics was inspired by its involvement withGrowing Power. This organic information-sharing is a clearstrength of the city.Aquaponics and urban agriculture can clearly play a rolein addressing the challenging issues of food deserts andthe availability of healthier food choices within a city.The problems faced by Milwaukee and other cities can beaddressed by the right infrastructure (distribution, retaillocations and so forth) to support the industry. Scale ofoverall production, whether in one location or many, iskey, as is the development of a consistent and reliable supplychain to function in this urban model. The team observeda wide range of urban agricultural models, including homegardening, neighborhood gardens, larger non-profit urbanfarms and burgeoning aquaponics efforts, both non-profitand commercial.Urban agriculture is acknowledged as a force for renewal inneighborhoods and an indicator of community “resilience”(“Farming Inside Cities: Entrepreneurial Urban Agriculturein the United States”, Jerry Kaufman and Martin Bailkey,2000, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy). While many citiesand communities are already embracing urban agriculture asa mechanism to “feed themselves” and enable urban renewal,Milwaukee is fortunate to have committed and establishedorganizations, whose founders have vision and eminence.They are true leaders in the sector. The good work beingdone by these visionaries, and the national and internationalrecognition they have garnered for their organizations is astrength for Milwaukee, significantly furthering the City’sidentity as a sustainability champion.Source: Sweet Water oundationCity support is a key enabler for the development ofaquaponics as a successful and replicable model. Fortunately,the support from both the people and the City of Milwaukeeis strong. In all of their interviews, it has been clear thatCity leadership and staff have embraced urban agricultureand specifically aquaponics as a potential contributor tothe community’s revitalization. In difficult economic times,cities must make difficult choices with the limited resourcesavailable. Recent funding of urban agricultural projectswithin the city visibly demonstrates their support.11

MilwaukeeIBM’s Smarter Cities Challenge ReportA Leader in SustainabilityAquaponics as a new approach in urban agriculture is clearlycompelling to those who are exposed to it, particularly toyouth. Aquaponics provides an opportunity to teach science,technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in a realworld application. Students who are involved with aquaponicsorganizations such as Sweet Water Organics develop anenhanced sense of purpose and connection, with resultingbenefi

With this in mind, IBM Corporate Citizenship has launched the Smarter Cities Challenge to help 100 cities around the world over a three-year period become smarter through grants of IBM talent. The City of Milwaukee was selected through a competitive process as one of 24 cities to be awarded a Smarter Cities Challenge grant in 2011.