SHORT DESCRIPTION: Sostenipra research group of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), together with many academics and experts, gave birth to Fertilecity: a project that aims to deepen researches and promotion of urban agriculture. Despite their limited extensions on the planet Earth surface, cities have a huge impact on the environment; often, energy production, garbage cycle and food production, alter natural balance. Fertilecity looks for the best solutions to install greenhouses on buildings roofs, bringing agricultural production inside the city and avoiding long distance transportation on track.
KEY ACTIVITIES: the project develops around some key points that aim to: improve agricultural production in vertical farms and evaluate environmental impact; architectural optimization of materials and infrastructures, and to determine potentials of this kind of agriculture. The activities are done in the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in Bellaterra, in a building with a greenhouse on the roof, where they grow lettuces and tomatoes with hydroponic, avoiding waste of water. Thanks to hi-tech installations, temperatures and CO2 emissions are efficiently managed.
RELEVANT DIMENSION: research, vertical agriculture, hydroponic
BUSINESS MODELS: experimental
