European Commission spotlights UAB research project on urban agriculture
17/07/2015
In a 2012 study of the agricultural potential of both rooftops and vacant land in suburban Barcelona, UAB researchers found that exploiting these for agriculture could mean an annual saving of up to 4,400 tonnes of CO2. The researchers have now turned their attention to urban Barcelona, focusing on rooftop farming, which is already popular in cities like New York, London and Vancouver. This article, published in Agricultural Human Values, was highlighted by the European Commission in the latest edition of the bulletin Science for Environment Policy.
According to the research, based on interviews with local administration, urban gardeners, food cooperatives and NGOs, urban agriculture is regarded as a socially based activity, rather than one of food production, and support is given only to ground-level urban agriculture, ignoring the possibility of exploiting rooftops.
The article points out that legislation is a barrier to the development of this type of agriculture, as it does not contemplate the use of rooftops for growing fruit and vegetables. Some attempts to install rooftop gardens have failed precisely because of these legal impediments.
The study shows a need for pilot projects to determine the viability of rooftop farming and its potential benefits, and for the administration to be informed of these benefits. In addition, the use of these pilot projects in education would help to avoid the prejudices voiced by consumers and gardeners.
Taking part in this research work were ICTA researchers Joan Rieradevall, Esther Sanyé, and Isabelle Anguelovksi, the researcher Jordi Oliver Solà, from the firm Inèdit (a UAB spin-off), and the IRTA (Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology) researcher Juan Ignacio Montero.
The bulletin Science for Environment Policy is published by Directorate-General Environment, European Commission and edited by the Science Communication Unit of the University of the West of England, Bristol (United Kingdom).