Rooted Innovation

Arizona's 5 C's, Reimagined

Building Circular Food Systems for Community, Care & Continuity

10 Acres

Site Scale

1-2 Mile

Service Radius

Circular

Design Model

The Challenge

Designing circular neighborhood-scale food hubs for Phoenix

Challenge Statement

Create blueprints for circular neighborhood-scale food hubs that provide healthy, affordable, culturally relevant food while building local wealth and education—all within a 10-acre site serving a 1-2 mile radius.

The challenge isn't just food access — it's resilience, equity, and continuity at the neighborhood scale.

🌱 Health

Healthy, fresh food access
Culturally relevant options
Active community spaces

💰 Wealth

Local entrepreneur support
Skills development
Money circulating locally

📚 Education

Food systems learning
Cultural knowledge transfer
Youth engagement

Arizona Has Always Been Innovative

From ancient canals to modern tech hubs — innovation is in our DNA

🏛️ Indigenous Innovation

Hohokam canal systems — 500+ miles of engineered waterways
Floodplain farming techniques perfected over 1,500+ years
Sustainable desert agriculture that fed thousands
Water management systems still studied by engineers today

🚀 Modern Innovation

Route 66 trade corridor connecting cultures
Phoenix tech & logistics growth
Sustainable building innovations
Renewable energy leadership

From canals to highways to code. Arizona has always been innovative — we're just applying new tools to proven principles.

The Two 5 C's Framework

Honoring Arizona's history while reimagining for the future

📜 Arizona's Historic 5 C's

Copper — The mineral that built our economy
Climate — The sunshine that draws millions
Cattle — Ranching heritage and land stewardship
Cotton — Agricultural innovation and trade
Citrus — Orchards that shaped the Valley

These industries shaped Arizona's identity and prosperity for over a century.

🌿 Modern Community 5 C's

Community — People-centered design and gathering
Care — Health, wellness, and mutual support
Continuity — Resilience through connected systems
Climate — Sustainable, desert-adapted solutions
Culture — Honoring diverse food traditions

The new pillars for sustainable neighborhood food systems.

Our Vision

We honor Arizona's history while reimagining the 5 C's through modern community systems.

The Big Idea

A circular community food commons

A 10-acre circular community food commons
where food is grown, prepared, shared, and taught — serving a walkable 1-2 mile radius.

This isn't a food court. It's food infrastructure.

10

Acres

1-2

Mile Radius

360°

Circular Design

∞

Sustainability Loop

Site Layout Blueprint

Circular by design — physically and operationally

🚲 Bike-Bench Ring

🌽🫘🎃 Three Sisters
Garden +
Water Feature

Food
Vendors

Cultural
Kitchen

Community
Pantry

Learning
Center

Fresh
Market

Tortilleria
& Café

🌱 Site Layers (Outside → In)

Outer Ring: Bike Access — Innovative bike-bench hybrids with bag hooks & pet leash latches
Vendor Ring: Food Entrepreneurs — Airstreams, stalls, commercial kitchens around perimeter
Seating Ring: Community Gathering — Shaded tables, benches surrounding garden
Center: Three Sisters Garden — Corn, beans, squash + Hohokam water feature

💧 Hohokam Water Feature

Self-sustaining irrigation inspired by ancient canal engineering. Educational signage honors the indigenous innovation that made desert agriculture possible.

Circular Food System

Food doesn't just get sold here — it circulates

1

Three Sisters
Garden Grows

→

2

Vendors Use
Garden Produce

→

3

Surplus →
Community Pantry

→

4

Food Waste
→ Compost

→

5

Compost
→ Garden

♻️ Closed Loop Benefits

Zero waste to landfill goal
Reduced transportation costs
Soil health improvement
Educational demonstration

💧 Hohokam Water Wisdom

Self-sustaining irrigation channels
Gravity-fed water distribution
Rainwater harvesting integration
Living history demonstration

Community Food Pantry

Zero waste. Zero hunger. Neighbors helping neighbors.

🏪 The Hub Pantry

A dignified food pantry where surplus food is redistributed to community members through grants, memberships, and volunteer programs — ensuring no food goes to waste and no neighbor goes hungry.

🎁 Donation Sources

Vendor surplus at day's end
Garden harvest overflow
Community food drives
Restaurant rescue programs
Grocery store partnerships

🤝 Access Models

Community Grant — Free access
Sliding Scale — Pay what you can
Volunteer Hours — Earn shares
Senior Program — Priority 65+

🚗 Delivery & Pickup

Home delivery for elderly
Mobility assistance
Neighbor-to-neighbor drivers
Flexible pickup windows

When we share abundance, we build resilience. The pantry transforms "extra" into "enough for everyone."

Food, Culture & Commerce

Culture drives participation. Participation drives local wealth.

🌽 Native Food Traditions

Three Sisters gardens (corn, beans, squash)
Traditional crops: tepary beans, amaranth
Indigenous chef partnerships
Seed preservation programs

🌮 Latino Food Culture

Family recipes honored
Fresh tortilleria space
Traditional cooking methods
Cross-cultural fusion

🚐 Route 66 Spirit

Vintage Airstream vendors
Road culture aesthetic
Low-barrier entry for entrepreneurs
Rotating pop-up opportunities

Local Wealth Creation

Low-barrier entry for local entrepreneurs means more dollars stay in the neighborhood. Shared commercial kitchen, flexible vendor terms, and mentorship create pathways to ownership.

Kids & Family Learning Zone

We're not just feeding people today — we're educating tomorrow's stewards.

📚 Learning Stations

Hohokam Water Engineering — Interactive canal demonstrations
Three Sisters Planting — Hands-on companion gardening
Interactive 5 C's Stations — History meets hands-on
Junior Chef Programs — Cooking from garden to table

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family-Centered Design

Safe, enclosed play areas
Shaded learning pavilions
Multi-generational programming
Accessible for all abilities

Knowledge passed from elders to youth keeps traditions alive while building skills for the future.

Art, Play & Community Life

This is where community gathers, not just eats.

🎨 Cultural Art

Rotating installations
Local artist showcases
Indigenous art features
Community murals

🎮 Play & Games

Native + modern games
Intergenerational activities
Shaded recreation areas
Water play features

🎤 Gathering Space

Community stage
Farmers market days
Cultural celebrations
Flexible event lawn

24/7

Public Access

100+

Annual Events

All

Ages Welcome

Access & Inclusion

If you can bike here, you can belong here.

🚲 Innovative Bike-Bench Design

Hybrid bike rack + park bench — Sit while your bike is secured beside you
Integrated bag hooks — Secure latches for groceries, backpacks, shopping
Pet leash latches — Safe tie-off points for furry companions
Shaded seating areas — Rest before/after your ride

♿ Universal Access

ADA-compliant throughout
Family & senior friendly — Seating, shade, rest areas
Multilingual signage
Economic accessibility — Sliding scale programs

🚲 The Bike-Bench: A Rooted Innovation

Park-style benches with integrated bike locks, bag hooks, and pet leash latches — so families can secure their bikes, bags, and pets all in one spot while enjoying the hub.

Design Principle

Every design decision asks: "Does this serve our most vulnerable community members?"

Health, Wealth & Continuity Impact

Measuring what matters for community resilience

🏥 Health Outcomes

Fresh food access within 1 mile
Active community spaces
Mental well-being through connection
Nutrition education programs
Reduced food insecurity

💵 Wealth Building

Local vendor opportunities
Skills training & certification
Money circulates locally
Pathway to business ownership
Youth employment programs

🔄 Continuity & Resilience

Short, resilient supply chains
Shared infrastructure reduces risk
Education enables replication
Climate-adapted growing
Community knowledge preservation

Market Opportunity

This starts local — but it's designed to scale responsibly

TAM

$12.5B - $50B

SAM

$1.5B - $6B

SOM

$2.5M - $20M

Total Addressable Market ~25,000 U.S. neighborhoods facing food access challenges

Serviceable Available Market Sunbelt cities (AZ, CA, TX, NM) — ~3,000 target neighborhoods

Serviceable Obtainable Market 5-10 pilot hubs in 5-7 years

Why This Works

Proven principles, modern execution

✓ Proven Models

Hohokam canals worked for 1,500 years
Three Sisters sustained nations
Community gardens thrive
Food hubs growing nationally

✓ Modern Tools

Efficient water systems
Solar power integration
Digital coordination
Data-driven optimization

✓ Right Design

Community ownership model
Modular & scalable
Culturally grounded
Climate appropriate

We're not inventing something new. We're remembering what worked and applying it with modern tools.

What We're Building

A pilot blueprint. A community model. A replicable framework.

Community

People at the center

Care

Health & mutual support

Continuity

Resilient systems

Climate

Desert-adapted

Culture

Food traditions

Ready to build Phoenix's food future together.

"Rooted in history. Designed for continuity."