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Global Trends and Current Status of Commercial Urban Rooftop Farming

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  • Devi Buehler

    (Synergy Village, Oberschirmensee 16, 8714 Feldbach, Switzerland)

  • Ranka Junge

    (Institute of Natural Resource Sciences, ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, 8820 Waedenswil, Switzerland)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze current practices in commercial urban rooftop farming (URF). In recent years, URF has been experiencing increasing popularity. It is a practice that is well-suited to enhancing food security in cities and reducing the environmental impact that results from long transportation distances that are common in conventional agriculture. To date, most URF initiatives have been motivated by social and educational factors rather than the aim of creating large sustainable food production systems in cities. The commercial operation of urban rooftop farms, should they become profitable, is likely to attract notable private investment, allowing a significant level of high quality urban food production to be achieved. There is a reasonable amount of literature available on urban farming that deals with its potential, and its limitations. However, it does not focus on commercial operations. In contrast to other surveys and theoretical papers, this study of URF focuses on large and commercial operations. The analysis showed that commercial URFs can be grouped into two main types: Firstly, hydroponic systems in greenhouses where mostly leafy greens, tomatoes, and herbs are grown; secondly, soil-based open-air farms that grow a large variety of vegetables. Hydroponics is frequently seen as the key technology for commercial urban food production. While the technology is not in and of itself sustainable, hydroponic farms often make an effort to implement environmentally friendly technologies and methods. However, there is still untapped potential to systemically integrate farms into buildings. The findings of this study identified where future research is needed in order to make URF a widespread sustainable solution.

Suggested Citation

  • Devi Buehler & Ranka Junge, 2016. "Global Trends and Current Status of Commercial Urban Rooftop Farming," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-16, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:11:p:1108-:d:81692
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    2. repec:mth:jas888:v:6:y:2018:i:2:p:17-34 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Ina Säumel & Suhana E. Reddy & Thomas Wachtel, 2019. "Edible City Solutions—One Step Further to Foster Social Resilience through Enhanced Socio-Cultural Ecosystem Services in Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, February.
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    6. Roberto S. Velazquez-Gonzalez & Adrian L. Garcia-Garcia & Elsa Ventura-Zapata & Jose Dolores Oscar Barceinas-Sanchez & Julio C. Sosa-Savedra, 2022. "A Review on Hydroponics and the Technologies Associated for Medium- and Small-Scale Operations," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-21, April.
    7. Mark Uchanski & Thomas Hickey & Jennifer Bousselot & Kurt L. Barth, 2023. "Characterization of Agrivoltaic Crop Environment Conditions Using Opaque and Thin-Film Semi-Transparent Modules," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-11, March.
    8. Marilyne Chicoine & Francine Rodier & Fabien Durif, 2023. "The bright and the dark side of commercial urban agriculture labeling," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(3), pages 1153-1170, September.
    9. Deepak Marasini & Nirmal Basnet & Prakash Bahadur Chand & Dipendra Aidi & Dashrath Saud & Manoj Bahadur Khati, 2022. "Present Status And Prospects Of Rooftop Farming In Kathmandu City," Engineering Heritage Journal (GWK), Zibeline International Publishing, vol. 6(2), pages 34-41, April.
    10. Donald Coon & Lauren Lindow & Ziynet Boz & Ana Martin-Ryals & Ying Zhang & Melanie Correll, 2024. "Reporting and practices of sustainability in controlled environment agriculture: a scoping review," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 301-326, June.
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