Edible Cities

Cities are faced with an increasing complexity of urban development. Systemic solutions are therefore required which unfold with little implementation effort a substantial effect for environment and humans. In the wake of current social challenges such as climate change, the estrangement of the human being from nature due to urbanization and criticism of the food industry, the concept of the "edible city" is gaining in importance for urban planning and research. Edible cities use for instance public urban green spaces for the cost-free provision of food and for urban gardening for their citizens but can include as well permaculture fields and urban vegetable gardens. However, for analyzing the contribution of edible cities to the development of systemic solutions for challenges of urbanization it lacks comprehensive evaluation frameworks.

Based on the concepts of nature-based solutions, human-nature connection and place attachment this DFG-project developed an evaluation framework to assess the implementation and impact efficiency of edible cities in the context of sustainability transformation. The evaluation framework was specified and validated in selected case studies in Germany (Andernach, Haar, Munich).

In cities a mosaic of different types of urban food production (UFP) can be found (e.g., community gardens, vertical farming, community-supported agriculture). However, knowledge about advantages and disadvantages of different UFP-types is still fragmented. In particular, it lacks an understanding in which regard technical and nature-based UPA supports a sustainable food production in cities. In this follow-up project the previously developed integrated assessment framework for UFP will be refined for systematically assessing different types of UFP. The evaluation will focus on vertical farming, as a technology-based type of UFP, and community-based agriculture exemplarily representing nature-based UFP. The integrated assessment will be based on a multicriteria analyses and an Analytical Hierarchy Process including ecological, social and economic assessment dimensions and its corresponding ecosystem services. The multicriteria analyses and Analytical Hierarchy Process will be implemented through a literature review and online expert surveys (urban administration, nongovernmental organisations, practitioners) and will include German cities of different settlement densities and urbanization degrees as case studies. The follow-up project provides scientific fundamentals for systematically evaluating different types of UFP and their impact on sustainable food production in cities. By testing the framework using the examples of vertical farming and community-supported agriculture, the project also makes socially and urban planning relevant contributions by critically reflecting innovative strategies for sustainable UFP.

Publications:

• Artmann, M.; Specht, K.; Vávra, J., Rommel, M. (2021): Introduction to the Special Issue "A Systemic Perspective on Urban Food Supply: Assessing Different Types of Urban Agriculture". Sustainability, 13(7), 3798. doi.org/10.3390/su13073798.
• Sanyé-Mengual, E.; Specht, K.; Vávra, J.; Artmann, M.; Orsini; F.; Gianquinto, G. (2020): Ecosystem Services of Urban Agriculture: Perceptions of Project Leaders, Stakeholders and the General Public. Sustainability, 12(24), 10446. doi.org/10.3390/su122410446.