City Farming - cultivating well-being, new sustainable development models for farming in and with the city
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet - Institutionen för landskapsarkitektur, planering och förvaltning |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 9 500 000 |
| Project duration | May 2014 - August 2016 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | Challenge-driven innovation - Phase 2 Collaboration |
Purpose and goal
Stadsbruk is a concept that offers a new, active way of contributing to sustainable cities, incorporating all three pillars of sustainability: social, economic and environmental. The concept creates jobs and growth in the horticultural sector through organic farming in urban areas. Stadsbruk connects good social examples from urban farming with the profitability of agriculture. This concept breaks new ground in entrepreneurship and green industries, providing cities with new green services and organic, locally-produced products through collaboration between businesses.
Expected results and effects
Stadsbruk is the largest urban farming project in Sweden. Stadsbruk has worked with different concepts to create methods for profitable farming within the city; methods that can be applied in other cities, both nationally and internationally. By using the project´s `test beds´, methods were tested and conclusions drawn for municipalities, farmers and other actors. By cultivating land that is not used in the city, growers had the opportunity to start up a company and develop their horticultural business idea and enhance the multifunctionality of city land use.
Planned approach and implementation
Stadsbruk is a form of urban agriculture. Stadsbruk is not growing for pleasure or own use. Stadsbruk is not traditional farming or vegetable production. There should be a connection to the city, and the farmed plot should have a connection with urban residents and a business model which is suitable for cultivation close to urban areas. All cities have unallocated land. Through mapping this land, cities can foster ideas for using the land in an innovative way that contributes to creating employment opportunities. There are many who are unemployed in cities today with farming competence.