Study conducted by:
Jan Hugo Senior lecturer in Sustainable and Climate Responsive Architecture, University of Pretoria
Andy van den Dobbelsteen Professor of Climate Design & Sustainability, Delft University of Technology
Chrisna du Plessis Professor and Head of Department, Architecture, University of Pretoria
URBAN agriculture as a global phenomenon is widely promoted as a sustainable land use practice. On small plots and in big projects, using sophisticated technology or simple solutions, city dwellers around the world are producing food. Growing food in a city can improve local food security and express local culture.
Little information is available, though, on what kinds of spaces and technologies urban agriculture requires. This sort of information would be useful to architects and built environment specialists when they design buildings and urban spaces that can accommodate urban agriculture.
As part of a larger research project on the climate change adaptation potential of urban agriculture, our study explored the spatial, material and technological characteristics of selected urban agriculture farms. We looked at how it’s done in dense urban settings in four countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, Singapore and South Africa.
The selection of countries aimed to present diversity of context, climatic conditions and forms of urban agriculture. Belgium, the Netherlands and Singapore are developed and high-income countries. South Africa is a developing context and therefore offers a contrasting perspective.
By defining the types and linking them with spatial, material and technology needs, we offer professionals information they can use when introducing food production into their projects.
Our overview of urban farming highlights the need to develop and use appropriate technologies in poorer and rapidly growing cities. These are the features of most sub-Saharan African cities.
Urban farms are often assumed to contribute to public spaces in cities. Some are part of large urban regeneration initiatives. But our findings prove this isn’t always the case.
Finally, we saw a range of technological applications and solutions. Many farms used highly sophisticated growing technologies. They include zero-acreage farms, which don’t use farmland or open space, but are part of buildings. Hydroponics (growing plants in nutrient-rich water) and vertical agriculture (growing plants on vertical structures) are zero-acreage methods.
Critical findings
Urban agriculture can offer cities several benefits. But certain types of urban farming, especially zero acreage farms, can potentially impede sustainable development. They may be more isolated from their surrounding context, less flexible and adaptable, and less multifunctional. Isolation, and only focusing on food production, reduces the economic potential and social impact of these farms.
The choice of urban agriculture technology is an important consideration for urban planners, architects, developers and farmers working in developing cities.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original at: https://theconversation.com/farms-in-cities-new-study-offers-planners-and-growers-food-for-thought-198166.
