Urban Science, Vol. 8, Pages 210: Beyond Efficiency: The Social and Ecological Costs of Plant Factories in Urban Farming—A Review

Urban Science, Vol. 8, Pages 210: Beyond Efficiency: The Social and Ecological Costs of Plant Factories in Urban Farming—A Review

Urban Science doi: 10.3390/urbansci8040210

Authors: László Csambalik Izóra Gál Krisztina Madaras Andrea Tóbiás Péter Pusztai

Ever-growing cities constantly increase the distance between suburban regions and semi-urban areas on the perimeter of the cities, where traditional crop production can take place with relatively fewer restrictions. The implementation of ultra-short supply chains implies moving the means of crop production as close to inhabitants as possible. Two main directions can be identified as effective for increasing the food resilience of densely populated suburban areas; these are soil-based traditional urban agriculture and high-tech plant factories. Both approaches to crop production offer a certain level of integration with the built environment; however, these alternatives differ in terms of their contributions to environment modulation, agrobiodiversity, social well-being, and food resilience. Vertical farms can produce a high amount of nutritionally rich crops for direct use, although the involvement of inhabitants is minimal; therefore, they can be considered a service function without social advantages. Open-field plant production can contribute to the well-being of locals, but the yields are considered rather supplementary. The combination of both production approaches to strengthen common advantages is less likely; automated production technologies require a low number of highly qualified personnel; therefore, community plant factories cannot be considered possible contributors to urban social well-being in the future.