Food Self Handing Systems for Urban Areas as Motors of Growth and Centers of Creativity and Innovation

Promoting sustainable development is possible through small steps. There are multiple actions which contribute to small transformations that can lead to global and radical change. The primary field that can impact sustainable change is the city. The city represents the most problematic crux from a social and environmental point of view. In the next decades, cities worldwide will continue to see huge population growth and face environmental challenges. It is in the city where possible solutions interlace with new social dynamics in order to establish new habits. Our key contribution towards sustainable development: food reduction and consumption in an urban environment. This topic usually relates to some specific subjects within the sphere of ecology: - Soil consumption; - Creation of new ecological community for production and consumption; - Reduce the distance between production space and consumption space. The project born is born from the idea of applying the aquaponic system into a community housing environment in a Mediterranean city like Napoli. Aquaponics is a way of producing food that combines aquaculture (farming aquatic animals such as snails and fish) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. The aquatic animals feed on the plants, and the water is fed through a system which breaks down the fishes’ excretions into nitrates and nitrites, which are nutrients for the plants. So there’s no need to buy extra food for the fish. The idea is to place the aquaponic system on flat roofs which are typical in Mediterranean cities, integrated within a relevant social character. The aim is to create a local network of production in the city (neighborhood by neighborhood), which is able to distribute seasonal, fresh and self-producing food. The products will be sold temporarily in vacant shop throughout in city. Moreover, the design of the shop is based on the concept of “do-it-yourself”, in order to allow easy installation and dismantling. The social character is completed by the City-school.lab. The production unit will be managed in the school complex, so that the aquaponic unit becomes a didactic farm as the students take part in all the production steps. In this way the students will receive a significant support concerning a sustainable food education. With this solution it is possible to imagine several social, economical and strategic improvements such as : - Drastically reducing the transportation chain (Co2); - Production of seasonal, fresh and healthy food; - Construction of the aquaponic system on the roof, integrated with energy remediation; - “Green” jobs, residents can participate in the management and maintenance of the system; - The temporary rental of vacant commercial spaces