Projekt

FOODCITYBOOST

Europe's rural and urban areas are facing growing problems due to climate change, loss of biodiversity, unsustainable use of resources and growing alienation between urban and rural dwellers. These megatrends threaten the sustainability of urban development and food systems. Many European cities have already developed various forms of urban agriculture, such as gardens, rooftops or vertical farming, which could become effective responses to these megatrends.

The FOODCITYBOOST project focuses on these developments by investigating the effects of urban agriculture and providing knowledge for practitioners and policy makers to promote and disseminate the sustainable development of urban agriculture.

In a participatory process, foresight analysis, scenario development and prototyping of new forms of urban agriculture will help to identify future potentials, further develop possible formats and make urban farming future-proof in different urban contexts.

FOODCITYBOOST works closely with 100 stakeholders from six case studies, using a living lab-based approach. This will allow learning from regions and cities across Europe where urban agriculture is already thriving and supported by regional policy. FOODCITYBOOST brings together expertise from the social sciences, humanities, soil systems, urban agriculture and life cycle assessment to expand the knowledge base on urban agriculture through an integrated approach.

foodcityboost
© Āgenskalns Market publicity photo
Living Lab Āgenskalns Market in Riga

FOODCITYBOOST helps to lay the foundations for transforming urban areas into green, food-producing hubs. It aims to design cities where green spaces on rooftops, balconies and even vertical structures are abundant and fresh produce thrives. At the same time, FOODCITYBOOST addresses pressing issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss and disparities between urban, peri-urban and rural regions

Duration

01/2024 – 12/2027

Client

European Union

Partner

  • (CO) Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam VUA Netherlands
  • Stichting Wageningen Research WR Netherlands
  • Bulgarian Acad. of Sc. –Inst. of Philosophy and Sociology IPS Bulgaria
  • Riga Stradins University RSU Latvia
  • Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona UAB Spain
  • Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research ZALF Germany
  • Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e. V. FHG Germany
  • Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas CSIC Spain
  • Université de Liège ULIEGE Belgium
  • Astredhor - Institut des professionnels du végétal ASTR France
  • AgroParisTech APT France
  • Wroclaw University of Env. and Life Sciences UPWr Poland
  • Peri Urban Regions Platform Europe (PURPLE) PRPL Belgium
  • FoodScaleHub FSH Greece
  • FlevoCampus FLEVO Netherlands
  • Entretantos FENT Spain
  • Gorichka (NGOs) GOR Bulgaria
  • Vlaamse Landmaatschappij VLM Belgium
  • Fundacja Ekorozwoju FER Poland
  • BC manufaktūra KQ Latvia