Assessing urban greening strategies as systemic solutions for social challenges of urbanization. Development of a conceptual evaluation framework and experimenting with using the example of edible cities in Germany.

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Cities are faced with an increasing complexity of urban development. Systemic solutions are therefore required which unfold with little implementation effort a substantial effect for environment and humans. The production of food in cities through (peri-)urban agriculture (UPA) can be considered a nature-based solution delivering systemic solutions for societal challenges of urbanization such as biodiversity, social cohesion or local economy. In cities a mosaic of different types of UPA can be found (e.g., community gardens, vertical farming, community-supported agriculture). However, knowledge about advantages and disadvantages of different UPA-types is still fragmented. In particular, it lacks an understanding in which regard technical and nature-based UPA supports a sustainable food production in cities. In this follow-up project the previously developed integrated assessment framework for UPA will be refined for systematically assessing different types of UPA. The evaluation will focus on vertical farming, as a technology-based type of UPA, and community-based agriculture exemplarily representing nature-based UPA. The integrated assessment will be based on a multicriteria analyses and an Analytical Hierarchy Process including ecological, social and economic assessment dimensions and its corresponding ecosystem services. The multicriteria analyses and Analytical Hierarchy Process will be implemented through a literature review and online expert surveys (urban administration, nongovernmental organisations, practitioners) and will include German cities of different settlement densities and urbanization degrees as case studies. The follow-up project provides scientific fundamentals for systematically evaluating different types of UPA and their impact on sustainable food production in cities. By testing the framework using the examples of vertical farming and community-supported agriculture, the project also makes socially and urban planning relevant contributions by critically reflecting innovative strategies for sustainable UPA.