Feeding the Future: How Cities Can Grow Their Own Food

The global population is estimated to reach 9 billion by the year 2050, with nearly 70% living in urban and peri-urban areas. This concentration of people in limited spaces creates a growing need for transporting large quantities of consumer goods, especially food. Their transportation, mainly by refrigerated trucks, cargo ships, and sometimes airplanes, places significant pressure on the atmosphere and the urban ecosystem, contributing to the well-known phenomenon of the urban heat island effect.

At the same time, available arable land worldwide is steadily decreasing, while unpredictable and adverse weather events are destroying large portions of primary sector production. Vertical farming emerges as a highly promising solution for urban food security. By utilizing vertical space and enabling high-density planting, it can greatly increase vegetable production within controlled urban cultivation systems.

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