Signal 1: How much good can a urban farm produce?

Nathan Caplan

Urban farms are both an innovative and creative way to reduce carbon emissions, reduce produce costs, and provide greenspace for the community. While they may not be the “mega-farms” producing much of the international-destined produce, they provide much more to the community and more should be set up across cities.

First, they are an environmental benefit. The Gotham Greens greenhouse located on top of a Whole foods in Gowanus Brooklyn is a great example. Due to being on top of a supermarket and fantastic engineering design, Gotham Greens has provided it with produce with little to no carbon emissions and reduced costs, cutting 86% of emissions 53% of the costs associated with travel and refrigerants.

There is also a community benefit beyond saving the consumer money. They provide greenspace, education (in the forms of tours and school trips), and an escape from the impervious surfaces of the urban environment.

With all this benefit, why aren’t there more urban farms. Well urban areas are quite complex when it comes to planning. There is a big data approach, such as determining and calculating city land use for the inclusion of urban agriculture as well as urban infrastructure.

1. Gowanus, Brooklyn, NYC, Gotham Greens,http://gothamgreens.com/our-farms/gowanus
2. Carbon Emissions in the Food and Beverage Sector, Climate Smart, https://climatesmartbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/CS-Food-and-Beverage-Sector-Industry-Brief-digital.pdf
3. From a Convention Center’s Roof, “Walk off Vegetables”, New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/24/nyregion/manhattan-rooftop-farm-javits.html
4. Big Data Suggest Big Potential for Urban Farming, CITYLAB, https://www.citylab.com/environment/2018/02/big-data-suggests-big-potential-for-urban-farming/552770/