Vertical Farms and the New Green City

Urban agriculture, urban farming, or urban gardening is the practice of cultivating, processing and distributing food in or around urban areas. In densely populated regions, urban agriculture offers a new frontier for land use planners and landscape designers to become involved in the development and transformation of cities to support community farms, rooftop gardening, and vertical farms. Vertical farming is an agricultural method of cultivating vegetables that combines the design of building and farms all together in a high-rise building inside the cities. This form of farming can produce food in vertically stacked layers, vertically inclined surfaces and/or integrated in other structures, such as a skyscraper or warehouse. Technology now exists for indoor farming techniques, where all environmental factors can be controlled, and large cities are becoming pioneers of vertical farming. While urban agriculture has historically been an important source of food in many developing countries, recent concerns about economic and food security have resulted in a growing movement to produce food in cities of developed countries, including the United States and Europe. It is beginning to play an important role in the economic development of cities by repurposing vacant industrial buildings, supplying fresh and healthy food, and providing jobs in distressed areas. This industry, however, faces both challenges and opportunities. Using both case-based and survey research, this study provides a better understanding of vertical farming, and explores the potential to raise public awareness and garner community support for the continued growth of this industry in urban areas of developed economies