Farms in cities: new study offers planners and growers food for thought
The choice of urban agriculture technology is an important consideration for urban planners, architects, developers and farmers working in developing cities.
By Jan Hugo; Chrisna du Plessis; Andy van den Dobbelsteen
The Conversation
March 14, 2023
From: Zero-Acreage Farming Driving Sustainable Urban Development: A Spatial And Technological Comparison Of Urban Agriculture Farms
Journal of Green Building (2022) 17 (3): 161–186.
Excerpt:
The eight farm types emerged from the way they use space (planted in soil or on/in buildings), the level of control over growing conditions (like ambient temperature, light, nutrients, water and air flow), and the use of other resources. The latter may be waste sources (such as waste water, bio-matter or waste heat), internet and connectivity networks, and human labour (such as the immediate community).
The 8 farm types we identified were as follows:
community or allotment farms that are farmed for personal or community use
community or commercial soil-based farms that use growing tunnels
farms integrated with the built environment, and presenting aesthetic or cultural functions with less focus on produce output (for example demonstration kitchens, or restaurants that promote ethical, sustainable consumption)
productive commercial farms that are integrated within the built environment (for example hydroponic farms, greenhouses and rooftop greenhouses)
farms that are part of buildings, circulating resources within the building (like integrated rooftop greenhouses)
farms integrated into buildings or urban spaces which share resources with a wider neighbourhood
indoor farms with artificially controlled conditions (like indoor commercial hydroponic farms)
completely automated commercial farms that control the planting process, nutrient management and indoor growing environment.
Read the complete article here.
ABSTRACT
Zero-Acreage Farming (ZAF) recently developed as a novel land-use form and is aimed at addressing food security and sustainable urban development. While it is often lauded as a sustainable land-use form with potential to improve resource consumption and urban sustainability, little research into the spatial and technological requirements of this land-use form is available. This study undertakes a comparative analysis of ZAF and ground-based urban agriculture (UA) farms in diverse countries to differentiate their technical and spatial implementation parameters and uncover ZAF-specific characteristics and their implementation feasibility in rapidly developing cities. This qualitative study uses semi-structured interviews, triangulated with observational studies, to document ZAF and UA farms in South Africa, Belgium, the Netherlands and Singapore. The findings reveal UA as highly flexible, modular landuse forms while, contrastingly, the technological focus of ZAF farms often results in monofunctional and inflexible once implemented, isolated, and non-contextual solutions. While ZAF farms are appropriate to improve livelihoods and food security in dense urban contexts, the study highlights trends that must be addressed to promote the implementation of ZAF in poorer rapidly developing cities.
