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Lessons learned from the urban agriculture stories

This section brings the different urban agriculture stories into conversation with each other. To introduce this dialogue, Table 1 summarises the opportunities and challenges of each case.

Table 1: Summary of opportunities and challenges identified in the urban agriculture stories.

Study case	Opportunities	Challenges
Stockholm Royal Seaport	The global awareness on the importance of establishing short food supply chains supports urban agriculture as a mean to strengthen urban resilience and self-sufficiency. The district employs an innovative governance model characterised by experimentation of sustainable solutions and co-creation with a broad and heterogeneous network (e.g., NGOs, businesses, researchers, developers). The vision of including food production in cities follows Stockholm’s tradition in urban farming with urban allotment gardens. Gardening has become a meditative practice for urban dwellers during COVID-19 as a mean to reconnect with nature.	It takes time and effort to raise interest within the planning administration to enable incorporating urban agriculture in forthcoming land allocation processes. Urban agriculture initiatives may be met with resistance or indifference from political leaders. Developers and other stakeholders may focus on risks rather than benefits, making it difficult to implement food production into the urban environment. High land costs threaten the implementation of agriculture in cities.
Växthuset på Berga	Aquaponics systems deliver higher yields compared with traditional soil-based technologies for growing food. Greenhouses and aquaponic systems can be easily implemented in cities, as they can be built in between existing buildings, use heat waste and available water, and also provide food and pleasant environments for people. Aquaponic systems do not make use of pesticides and use only 10% of the amount of water compared to soil-based technologies.	The market has been slow in uptaking aquaponics technology. European legislation does not grant ecological, organic labels to food grown with aquaponics, thus hurting its competitiveness. New skills and competencies are needed to enable the implementation and management of aquaponic systems in the built environment. Growing fruits in aquaponic systems is a long-term investment as many years are required before the production can be commercialised.
Dodo	The NGO explores opportunities for growing food in urban areas while promoting social inclusion and education through the implementation of several projects and initiatives (e.g., Urban Dinners, Growing Change Project). The organisation runs on a creative and smart management (e.g., investments in hedge funds, cooperation with small-scale initiatives, renting out premisses for public and private events). Longevity and national recognition with branches in different Finnish cities strengthen of the organisation	The organisation faces difficulties to engage volunteers in the long term. Reliability on savings and external funding poses financial uncertainties to the organisation. The organisation misses a strong media platform which jeopardises the reach and establishment of stronger connections with local and higher authorities.
Longyearbyen, Svalbard	There is a great demand and need for fresh food in Longyearbyen. The vision of turning waste into resources and to use renewable energy to grow food locally aligns with goals of transitioning to a green and circular economy. The local community is willing and committed to the sustainable development of the region.	The strict legislation and regulatory frameworks for the implementation of new activities (e.g., access to land) trouble the implementation of the project. The Arctic climate poses many constraints to local food production (e.g., lack of sunlight, limited warm months) and requires greater investments. Limited access to infrastructure (e.g., access to running water, electricity) and pollution from coal mining activities harms the implementation of the project. The project implementation lacks financial backing and governmental support.
Campus Roslagen	The programme responds to a knowledge gap and offers education that can bring innovation to food systems, which urgently need to change to cope with environmental crises and the increasing demand to feed a growing population. Students gain flexible skills through different opportunities to work with plants, fish, or with aquaponics. Growing food with aquaponic systems allows engaging people with disabilities in the agricultural labour market.	Funding for the programme beyond 2024 remains uncertain. It is difficult to overcome prejudices against aquaponics systems. Developing business models can be challenging due to the slow-growing market. Managing aquaponic systems can be tricky as it involves balancing a whole ecosystem.
NMBU master’s programme in urban agriculture	The programme employs a unique pedagogical perspective that combines transdisciplinary, student-active learning, and problem-solving approaches. Circularity of resources is one of the strengthens of the programme which emphasizes technologies to grow food using waste streams (e.g., black, and grey water, organic waste). The students’ projects and theses respond to the needs of municipalities to include urban agriculture in their agendas and to implement the Norwegian Strategy for Urban Agriculture.	The implementation of the flexible and open curriculum requires a lot of coordination and efficiency among the seven faculties. It is difficult to overcome the misconception that urban agriculture is merely a hobby. It will take a long time to defeat social resistance towards the consumption of food produced with waste streams.
Roof2Fork	Besides transforming underutilised spaces into spaces of production, the use of rooftops to grow food also contributes to shorter food supply chains. Growing food in dense urban environments contributes to temperature and noise reduction while increasing biodiversity in cities. Rooftop farms contribute to lowering buildings’ energy consumption and minimising urban storm run-off. Farming in rooftops increases the opportunity for people to enjoy nature in cities and facilitates the education of children and the public about the origin of the food we consume.	The implementation of rooftop farms is dependent on the structural capacity of buildings and legislation (e.g., building codes permits). Farming on rooftops may be seen as risky for residents due to infiltrations. Food grown on the tops of buildings are more exposed to adverse weather conditions (e.g., strong winds, droughts).

Cultivating change in connection with legislation and innovation

The two stories under this theme were told from the perspective of a civil servant, who is on a mission to include urban agriculture as part of the development of the Stockholm Royal Seaport, and an entrepreneur who grows tropical fruits in the Stockholm region. Here, the public and private perspectives meet and complement each other as the entrepreneur showcases the possibility of growing nutritious food in cold climates and sustains the vision that the built environment offers the best conditions for this, which aligns with the arguments of the civil servant.

Changing the future of food production to urban areas seems feasible with the connection between technology and legislation. While the market tests the feasibility of technologies suitable for growing food in cities, such as aquaponics, the public sector strives for the implementation of legislation that encourages agriculture in cities. Nevertheless, as the stories revealed, several challenges must be overcome at different levels. At the European level, granting ecological labels to food produced with aquaponics can help the technology to thrive and become attractive, firstly to new entrepreneurs who may see better opportunities to profit but also to consumers who may enjoy fresh and easily accessible food.

At the local level, politicians must overcome the conception that food is a matter only for rural areas and realise its great potential to address several challenges (e.g., climate regulation, increase biodiversity, food security, social inclusion) while making urban environments more pleasant and resilient. The story of Stockholm Royal Seaport, unfortunately, is rare, as the district is a test bed for sustainable solutions, enjoying public support and funding for testing novel solutions. The role it plays as a frontrunner for urban sustainability is an asset that provides the opportunity to raise awareness among politicians and civil servants from different departments about embracing agriculture in urban areas. Political bravery and food production innovation are the seeds necessary to cultivate change, and the work of the civil servant and the entrepreneur is, without a doubt, paving the way for a future in which agriculture is a desirable urban function.

Cultivating community in connection with culture

The story of Dodo shows the persistence of an NGO initiated by enthusiastic students and driven by the mission of finding ways of living more sustainably in urban environments. Meanwhile Svalbard tells the story of two residents from an Arctic town that dream of overcoming the struggles of accessing fresh and healthy food. For both cases, urban agriculture provides the means to respond to their wishes and needs. Dodo showcases the power of civil society to voice wishes for an urban life that better aligns with sustainability using food as a theme to nurture communities. The Svalbard case displays the determination of community members who fight with innovation difficulties of living in a remote and climate vulnerable region.

Cultivating community in both cases is about the empowerment of people through urban agriculture. The story of Dodo highlights the role of civil society in the city. The NGO mediates urban agriculture interventions in public spaces, welcomes knowledge exchange, and celebrates sustainable urban living through various events among community members. In doing so, the NGO raises awareness about enjoyable ways to consume more sustainably and enables social learning opportunities. In Svalbard, two residents combine the visions of enabling resource circularity and encouraging local food production to form a pathway for sustainability in the local community. Besides increasing the access to local food, which is a challenge in the remote and vulnerable region, urban agriculture will support the local market and the hospitality industry, thereby creating local value as the town transitions from a coal-based economy to a green economy and requires new industries and jobs. The vision of establishing this circular system also bridges the local community with scientists beyond the borders of Svalbard, showing that small and susceptible communities have the power to connect with stakeholders that can offer solutions to their problems. Nevertheless, both Dodo and Longyearbyen face several hurdles that need to be addressed to enable their cases to thrive in the future.

Economic barriers are common to both cases. Despite the creativity and entrepreneurship applied by Dodo’s board to run the organisation, the future is uncertain as accessing funding is not easy. Challenges are due to eligibility criteria for competing for financial support and engagement of new volunteers as people struggle to find time to commit within their demanding urban lifestyles. Similarly, Longyearbyen wrestles with financing to implement their circular system, as the long-term economic return and the novelty of this systems are likely to be a risk for private investors. In this case, the strict legislation that rules the development of the island is also an obstacle. In a world increasingly facing resource scarcity, legislation needs to be reviewed to support rather than hinder sustainability solutions.

Cultivating knowledge in connection with education and science

The three stories included in this theme convey the message that urban agriculture is being recognised by academic institutions at different levels (technical qualification, master's degrees, and research). These educational opportunities are providing new skills and competencies and thus responding to the growing demand in the food systems’ labour markets. Campus Roslagen reacts to the increasing awareness about the need to embrace aquaponics technology to feed a growing population in an uncertain climate future. This is, in fact, an urgent issue considering that we already witness disruptions in large food supply chains that rely on food production using traditional soil-based methods. This programme is attracting a heterogeneous group of students who see the economic and environmental potential of aquaponics technology. NMBU pioneered the first master’s programme in urban agriculture in the Nordic Region. Responding to higher educational demand for knowledge in urban agriculture, this programme is also supporting municipalities in Norway and other regions to include urban agriculture in their local agendas. The all-encompassing view on urban agriculture goes beyond producing food to include waste streams as a resource to produce nutrients for growing food in cities. Roof2Fork showcases the significance of Latvian research institutes who are deepening knowledge on growing food in cities using rooftops. The comparison between the quality of food produced in urban and rural areas will be a valuable outcome to shed light on the argument that it is risky to produce food in cities due to pollution.

Cultivating knowledge and innovating within education and science is paramount to unlocking the potential of food systems to become more sustainable through urban agriculture. While research focusing on urban agriculture has been increasingly supported in Europe (e.g., through the Horizon Europe funding programme and other national funds), the future of education in urban agriculture faces several challenges. Campus Roslagen works to build a cohesive understanding of aquaponics by bringing together experts from agronomy and veterinarian sciences into a systematic educational program that qualifies professionals to work not only in the aquaponics market but also with plants and/or fish. NMBU encounters some difficulties in bridging seven science faculties that are relevant for urban agriculture. The programme also struggles to change the misconception that growing food in cities is merely a hobby. In the Roof2Fork project, even if researchers gather positive results concerning the quality of food production in urban areas, growing food on urban rooftops will likely take a long time to gain traction. There remains a lack of proper business and management models that appeal to investors to effectively embrace the production of food in cities.

In order for urban agriculture to be a success, it needs to have acceptance from the market and from society with regards to new technologies, food quality, profitability, and resourcefulness.