Urban Rooftop Farming

Urban Rooftop Farming

Urban Rooftop Farming

Current metropolitan areas depend so severely on resources brought in from rural side that their environmental impact exceeds their inherent bio capacity (Baabou et al., 2017; Galli et al., 2017). The excessive resource and energy demands of modern cities constitute a major danger to the natural environment, (Girardet, 2014). An increasing focus on recycling and reusing materials rather than generating new ones is necessary to transform modern “compact cities” into environmentally friendly communities. In 1992, the United Nations’ Agenda 21 proposed the compact city with multiple land uses as an example of a sustainable urban development. (The United Nations, 1992) Adapting underutilized rooftop space is a tried-and-true strategy among urban planners for enhancing the sustainability of cities (Elzeyadi et al., 2009). The prospect for the growth of Urban Agriculture is greatly enhanced by the fact that rooftops comprise 21–26% of all areas of built-up (Getter and Rowe, 2006). (UA). A variety of solar cells and rainwater collection systems have been implemented on rooftops as multifunctional approaches for enhancing sustainability, increasing savings of energy, and decreasing adverse impact on environmental (Soler and Rivera, 2010). 

As a result, we may divide the many available UA possibilities into two major groups, each of which includes numerous subgroups. Private gardens, communal backyard farming, city farms, and gardens all fall under the category of “traditional” agriculture, which relies mostly on land and conventional irrigation. Technologies (soil-free growth systems, light emitting diode-LED and others) are being incorporated into urban agriculture in many forms, such as rooftop green roofs, greenhouses, and green walls (Nadal et al., 2015). Significant advantages accrue from both types according to the three principles of the sustainable growth (Cohen and Reynolds, 2014). Roof-top green-houses (RTGs) are a specific technological example of UA (Sanyé-Mengual et al., 2015; Cerón-Palma et al., 2012). RTG is the greenhouses erected on top of buildings that employ soil-less growth techniques to cultivate vegetables. Increased food production efficiency in densely populated urban settings may be possible through the use of rooftop greenhouses (RTGs) and other forms of mixed land use, which minimize adverse environmental impacts and maximize the use of otherwise underutilized space (Nadal et al., 2017b). Vegetable and plant cultivation in urban RTGs also promotes local food production and increases availability to healthful foods in high-density urban areas (Nadal et al., 2017b). When it comes to the service sector, compact city models like those described by Pérez-Lombard et al. (2008) make use of a wide variety of building types and functions. 

Administration, education, culture, sports, housing, health care, and a wide variety of other activities that are in the public interest are all included in this broad category of structures and services (Oliver-Solà et al., 2013). Large, well-maintained, load-bearing structures are typical of the many citywide school centers (in many situations the roof-tops are left fallow and deliberated as remaining spaces). Environment and social education programmers in schools can have a broader impact on communities beyond just the students that participate in them. Several qualitative and quantitative qualities make RTGs a viable option for bolstering this strategy and these traits can lead to strong synergy in environmental, economic and social aspects as compared to alternative possibilities (Kortright and Wakefield, 2011). Therefore, turning school roof-tops into “agro-green places” (places with possible for urban development of agriculture) is a sensible and efficient method of boosting urban metabolism and the circular economy. This study provides a quantitative evaluation of the potential integration of RTGs into educational institutions as part of a strategy to improve the environmental, social, and educational conditions inside a small community, as well as the city’s economic growth.

 

Urban Rooftop Farming is the practice of growing crops on the rooftop of buildings in urban areas. It provides fresh produce, reduces the urban heat island effect, helps to conserve biodiversity, and contributes to sustainability efforts. Rooftop farming can also provide food security, especially in densely populated cities where land is limited. However, it requires careful planning, design, and maintenance to ensure the safety and structural stability of the building.

Rooftop Farming

Rooftop Farming

The expanding practice of cultivating food in and around cities is known as urban agriculture, and it has the potential to improve food security in together with developing and developed countries (Mok et al., 2014; Orsini et al., 2013). Urban agriculture has many advantages that can’t be found in other sectors, such as social education, local job creation (and hence less commuting), food miles saved, and economic development (Nadal, 2015; Bon et al., 2010). Vertical farming is a sophisticated form of urban agriculture that involves growing crops indoors (Thomaier et al., 2015; Besthorn, 2013). Z-Farming and Sky farming are two examples of similar concepts defined in the literature (Specht et al., 2013; Despommier, 2010). Depending on factors like their location (rooftop vs. facade), orientation (open vs. enclosed vs. closed), medium of growth (hydroponic, aeroponic, aquaponic), and manufacture objective (academic vs. commercial), vertical farms can be placed into a wide variety of categories (Association for Vertical Farming, 2016). Because the technique of highly technical schemes for the production of food in buildings, are completely insulated from nature, and the formation of synergy between structures and discussed the crops by a number of authors (Germer et al., 2011; Fischetti, 2008). 

To prove that these systems can be economically, socially and environmentally sustainable in relations of the production of food, energy consumption, and water use, as well as to resolve any problems and assess its performance, implementations of pilot of this knowledge in a study setting are necessary. Researchers have found that there is a lack of academic literature evaluating vertical farming systems, and that prior studies have stressed the need to take a life cycle perspective into account while doing such an analysis (Sanye-Mengual et al., 2016). One type of greenhouse utilized in vertical farming is the rooftop greenhouse (RTG). They sit atop structures and may function independently or in tandem with the building’s plumbing, electrical wiring, and ventilation systems to manage the flow of water, power, and carbon dioxide (CO2) (Pons et al., 2015). Large cities in particular have a great opportunity to embrace rooftop farming (Astee and Kishnani, 2010). Bologna, Italy, can cover 77 percent its vegetables demands with the help of farms in rooftop with productivity levels of 15kg/m2 (Orsini et al., 2014). In the small term, the use of RTG might let a Barcelona logistics park with 13ha of usable area in rooftop can produce 2000 tons of annual tomato, enough to satisfy the needs of 150,000 individuals (Sanye-Mengual et al., 2015a). The idea of the i-RTG was previously introduced and debated in the work (Ceron-Palma et al., 2012). By pooling means with neighboring buildings, i-RTGs can increase agricultural productivity and efficiency. This connection can improve the building’s energy efficiency, cut down on carbon dioxide emissions, increase crop yields, and lessen or eliminate the need for supplementary water.

References

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