The 6 Zones of Urban Permaculture
Traditionally, permaculture uses “zones” to organize elements of your property based on how often they are interacted with. As with the principles of permaculture and other concepts in this ideology, the details vary from source to source.
In most large-scale applications this looks something like these diagrams below.
© RedemptionPermaculture.com
© HomesteadLady.com
So, how do the permaculture zones apply to suburban properties?
Since almost nobody talks about this in the permaculture world, I wanted to share the framework we’ve been using in our client projects as well as on our own properties here in the Phoenix valley. Keep in mind that zones often overlap in some ways — these are not bright lines painted on the ground!
Zone 0 = Your House
Just like in large-scale permaculture, this is, naturally, the start of the system. It’s the inescapable center of the entire operation, and hopefully you don’t want to escape from it!
Your roof receives rainwater runoff and certain appliances/plumbing fixtures emit greywater — both of which can be recaptured in your gardens and landscape.
Zone 1 = Your Immediate Yard
Here we begin to deviate from traditional permaculture. You may not have acres and acres to work with — you may just have a few hundred square feet surrounded by block walls!
Your immediate yard is all the spaces you visit on a daily basis, or almost. These are your patios, your pool, your lawn, your garden beds, your secret zen garden, maybe your clotheslines (if you’re like me and try not to run the dryer when you can avoid it).
Zone 2 = Your Extended Yard
Any spaces beyond your immediate yard can be considered Zone 2. These are areas you don’t visit frequently — your side yards where the A/C units are, your back alley with the trash cans, any easements with usage restrictions.
These spaces have a purpose, too. They’re useful for housing rainwater tanks, tool sheds, vehicles, etc. But You can also often engage in longer-term, lower-maintenance permaculture activities here such as soil remediation and passive rainwater harvesting.
Zone 3 = Your Block
Your immediate neighbors, common areas, parks, etc. are next in line. Think of these as the places you can see with your naked eye when you’re standing on your property.
To me, Zone 4 provides perhaps the coolest opportunity in suburban permaculture. It’s your best shot at affecting change in your neighborhood — partly by showcasing what’s possible in your own yard, and also by engaging your neighbors with conversation, garden exchange stands, and even block parties/Permablitzes!
Zone 4 = Your Entire Neighborhood
Zooming out further, we now have the entire housing development to which your home belongs. This can be anywhere from a couple dozen to hundreds of houses, and may even include mixed-use retail/commercial spaces. It gets trickier to do a whole lot from here on out, but it’s not impossible.
For one, it is possible (though sometimes risky) to take individual action beyond Zone 3. If you feel so inclined, you can guerrilla-sow wildflower seeds, steward your common areas with chop-and-drop mowing and shrub trimming, and even terraform
This is where community action and neighborhood organizations really shine — for those with the meddle to take them on. The Phoenix Food Forest Initiative is a great example of a project that’s crossing the chasm from Zone 3 (Block) to Zone 4 (Entire Neighborhood). Another great one is the Dunbar/Spring neighborhood in Tucson, where regional celebrity Brad Lancaster pioneered an organized suburban rainwater harvesting and native planting movement.
Zone 5 = Everywhere Else (the “Wild”)
Beyond your neighborhood you’ve got your town or city, your county/state/province, your country, your continent, and the big wide world every human calls home.
So much can be done, from more guerrilla planting and stewardship, to extended activism and transformation.
Remember Brad Lancaster from Zone 4? Well, he and his neighborhood were technically breaking the law when they started — and with time and much effort, actually managed to get the City of Tucson to rewrite their laws allowing for this type of transformation, offer rebates, and even incorporate it into their own public works. They’ve set an incredible example that Phoenix Valley municipalities are dragging their feet on.
To their credit, various municipalities do have their own programs such as Phoenix’s G.A.I.N., and this program is a perfectly example to reinforce how these permaculture zones really do blend together.
Where exactly do you draw the line between your block and your neighborhood? Your neighborhood and your city? The rest of the world?
The point is — it doesn’t matter nearly as much as practicing permaculture principles wherever you go, and infecting everyone else with them, too.
Comment below or DM on social media if you want to chat about this further!
