Environmental analysis of the logistics of agricultural products from roof top greenhouses in Mediterranean urban areas

Sanyé‐Mengual, Esther; Cerón-Palma, Ileana; Oliver-Solà, Jordi; Montero, J.I.; Rieradevall, Joan

doi:10.1002/jsfa.5736

Cited by 92 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Most agreed that urban agriculture can have positive effects in the following areas: environmental improvement, education, job creation, leisure activity option diversification, community building, and societal views of agriculture. Although these effects have not yet been studied in Berlin, perceptions of positive impacts are reported in other studies that describe similar urban agriculture impacts elsewhere (Anthopoulou et al 2013;Caplow 2009;Eigenbrod and Gruda 2014;Pourias et al 2015;Sanyé-Mengual et al 2013;Specht et al 2014). It is likely that urban agriculture can similarly offer social and environmental benefits in Berlin.…”

Section: Perceptions Of Urban Agriculture Impactsmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…According to Lohrberg and Timpe (2012), the definitions and aims of urban agriculture are multiple and diverse. Beyond food production, urban agriculture provides environmental and social services and supports local economies by a significant direct urban market orientation (Sanyé-Mengual 2015). In the past, urban agriculture has often been discussed as a solution to the global challenges posed by urban population growth and climate change (Despommier 2010;De Zeeuw et al 2011;FAO 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Others estimate the general potentials and problems associated with urban horticulture (Eigenbrod and Gruda 2014), the urban agriculture effects on the environment (Sanyé-Mengual et al 2013, and the effect of urban agriculture on specific issues, including health issues (Säumel et al 2012;Antisari et al 2015). Particularly for northern Europe, urban agriculture has largely been investigated in relation to its social functions, and it has been proposed that urban agriculture as a "hobby" boosts quality of life, leisure, and community building.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Socially acceptable urban agriculture businesses

Specht

Weith

Swoboda

et al. 2016

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

120

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The rise of successful entrepreneurs in urban agriculture has attracted global interest. Here, we hypothesized that societal preferences and the acceptability of urban agriculture projects and products are ruling the success or failure of urban agriculture businesses. We surveyed 386 urban participants in Berlin, Germany, to identify general preferences for the productive use of urban space, the acceptance of different urban agriculture forms, and demands and expectations regarding urban agriculture products. The results show first that more than 80 % of the respondents preferred having accessible systems such as public green spaces, intercultural gardens, and rooftop gardens. Indeed, land uses that do not provide accessibility such as meadows, aquaponic farms, or intensive agricultural and horticultural landscapes showed lower acceptance, of less than 40 %. Second, 60 % of participants expressed acceptance of rooftop farming, agriculture in the urban fringe, or in inner-city brownfields, whereas 65 % rejected to have agriculture in multi-story buildings, agroparks, or aquaponic farms. Third, more than 50 % are willing to buy horticultural products, but they reject products from intensive production systems and animal-farming mechanisms, with more than 70 % rejection for animal products. Overall, this is the first study to investigate entrepreneurial urban agriculture possibilities from the perspective of potential consumers. The main insight is that the highest degree of acceptance is reached for multifunctional urban agriculture that combines commercial with ecological and social goals.As a consequence, projects that are purely production-driven or technologically intensive are more likely to be rejected.

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Section: Perceptions Of Urban Agriculture Impactsmentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Socially acceptable urban agriculture businesses

Specht

Weith

Swoboda

et al. 2016

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

120

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“…Cerón-Palma et al [15] investigate the barriers and opportunities that technical focus groups (e.g., architects, engineers) associate with implementing Rooftop Greenhouses in the Mediterranean region. Previous studies of large European cities have investigated the potential for rooftop greenhouses in Barcelona (Spain) [15,[30][31][32], rooftop farming in London (UK) [33], and large-scale urban agriculture in the Netherlands [34,35]. To date, no previous studies have focused on Germany, and no previous studies have reported on the introduction and innovation process of ZFarming from a stakeholder perspective.…”

Section: Zero-acreage Farmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Zero-Acreage Farming in the City of Berlin: An Aggregated Stakeholder Perspective on Potential Benefits and Challenges

et al. 2015

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How can buildings be combined with agricultural production and what are the major potential benefits and challenges for the introduction of zero-acreage farming (ZFarming) in Berlin from the relevant stakeholders' perspectives? These questions were explored through a series of interviews and stakeholder workshops held between 2011 and 2013. The aim was to identify the most suitable building-integrated farming model for the Berlin metropolitan area and to develop guidelines for the model's successful and sustainable implementation through a stakeholder-driven approach. This paper provides an aggregated synthesis of the outcomes derived from the qualitative interviews and stakeholder workshops. As the results reveal, the stakeholders perceive potential benefits and challenges related to the issue of ZFarming in all dimensions (economic, social, environmental and political). OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 4512They largely agreed on the importance of focusing on local resources, using energy-efficient production-including social and educational aspects-and developing new market structures when introducing ZFarming to the city of Berlin. The stakeholders identified urban rooftop greenhouses (RTG) as the most promising farming model for Berlin. In a joint collaboration of all stakeholders, a manual for RTG was developed within the participatory innovation process that addresses the identified problems and challenges associated with future implementation and governance of RTG in Berlin and beyond.

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“…As for rooftop vegetables, the experimental data from Taylor et al (2012) of growing lettuce in a 19-m 2 net shack led to an estimate that if all of Manila's metropolitan area lettuces (1248 t annually) were supplied by roof hydroponics,~2000 t of CO 2 would be reduced through reduced food miles and air conditioning (from lowering building temperature). Sanyé-Mengual et al (2013) estimated that compared to conventional production methods for tomato production in Barcelona, Spain, a rooftop greenhouse system could save up to 74 % of the energy used for conventional farming. Orsini et al (2014) projected that if all the flat rooftop surfaces in Bologna, Italy, were converted into rooftop gardens, it could result in the annual capture of about 624 t of CO 2 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rooftop production of leafy vegetables can be profitable and less contaminated than farm-grown vegetables

Liu

Yang

Han

et al. 2016

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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Urban agriculture may solve issues of feeding urban populations. In China, for example, densely packed mega cities will continue to expand in number and size, necessitating increasing food miles. Interestingly, it has been estimated that the total rooftop space in China is about 1 million hectares, some of which can be converted for rooftop farming. Yet, despite some favorable reports on urban farming, the Chinese commercial sector has shown little interest. This may be explained by the dearth of data comparing urban and conventional farming. Therefore, we present here a feasibility study of hydroponically grown vegetables in a rooftop screen house in Guangzhou, China. From December, 2012 to May, 2014, we tested the production of seven leafy vegetables that are easily perishable and are not well suited to long-distance transport. We calculated the production cost and measured biochemical parameters. Results show that levels of vitamin C, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, and crude fiber were comparable to market counterparts. None of the roof hydroponic vegetables exceeded the maximum residue limit for lead, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, mercury, or nitrate. In contrast, 5 of 98 market vegetables were contaminated by exceeding the maximum residue limit for lead. Similarly 3 were contaminated for arsenic, 23 for nitrate, and 2 for organophosphate or carbamate insecticide. Compared to high-end vegetables sold on the market, rooftop-grown vegetables were competitive in cost and quality. Given that many countries have limited arable land to feed a large population, the widespread adoption of rooftop hydroponics could help expand the total area available for food production as well as meet the rising demand for safe high-quality vegetables.

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Environmental analysis of the logistics of agricultural products from roof top greenhouses in Mediterranean urban areas

Cited by 92 publications

References 22 publications

Socially acceptable urban agriculture businesses

Socially acceptable urban agriculture businesses

Zero-Acreage Farming in the City of Berlin: An Aggregated Stakeholder Perspective on Potential Benefits and Challenges

Rooftop production of leafy vegetables can be profitable and less contaminated than farm-grown vegetables

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