Innovative approaches to resource-smart farming in urban contexts: 3 case studies from Europe

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As urban areas face increasing pressure to feed their populations sustainably while minimizing environmental impact, resource-smart farming emerges as a crucial paradigm. This approach emphasizes the intelligent use of water, energy, nutrients, and space, aligning agricultural practices with circular economy principles, ecosystem services, and urban resilience. During the URBAGR’INN Days 2025, three pioneering projects were presented that embody this vision in distinct and complementary ways: Tectum Garden, Vertical Farming by Leo Marcelis, and Agrotopia by Inagro. Each initiative showcases how technology, innovation, and context-specific design can foster sustainable food production within urban ecosystems.

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Tectum Garden: Resource-Efficient Technologies for Urban Agriculture

Presented by Pietro Tonini

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Tectum Garden is a consulting firm specializing in urban agriculture, delivering technical expertise and innovative products to support the creation of resilient green infrastructures. The company’s work centers on maximizing resource efficiency—particularly water, energy, and nutrients—while customizing solutions to diverse urban environments and stakeholder needs.

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Three emblematic projects illustrate Tectum Garden’s commitment to multifunctional and inclusive urban agriculture:

• Hort en el Terrat, developed with the Ajuntament de Barcelona, integrates hortotherapy and social inclusion through urban gardening on rooftops, creating spaces that are both productive and healing.

• Máquina Climática, in collaboration with Barcelona Regional, transforms a historic greenhouse in Parc de la Ciutadella into an immersive exhibition space, addressing climate and urban ecology in a public format.

• REGREEN, in partnership with CETAQUA, advances urban ecosystem services and promotes greywater reuse, embedding urban agriculture into broader circular economy strategies.

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Vertical Farming: environmental impact and opportunities in urban areas

Presented by Leo Marcelis

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Vertical farming represents a novel, high-tech model for urban food production where crops are cultivated in stacked layers or on vertical walls under controlled environmental conditions and LED lighting. This system enables year-round, standardized production of fresh vegetables in even the most challenging environments—be it dense cities, deserts, or arctic zones.

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Leo Marcelis presented quantitative data on the resource-use efficiency of vertical farming, highlighting its minimal consumption of water, land, fertilizers, and pesticides. However, the system’s high electricity demand remains a key environmental trade-off.

His comparative analysis of vertical farming, greenhouse cultivation, and open-field agriculture offered insights into:

• The productivity per square meter,

• Energy input vs. nutritional output,

• And the potential for producing value-added crops aligned with consumer demand for safe, reliable, and flavorful produce.

Vertical farming, while still evolving, stands out as a promising component of future resource-smart urban food systems, particularly where land or climatic conditions limit traditional agriculture.

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Agrotopia: integrating urban farming and greenhouse horticulturerming

Presented by Leo Marcelis

 

Agrotopia is Europe’s largest rooftop greenhouse, situated atop an industrial warehouse and designed as a research facility by Inagro. It exemplifies circular urban agriculture by connecting greenhouse horticulture with urban and industrial functions.

The facility leverages urban residual heat, contributing to energy circularity, and features a façade greenhouse, showcasing efficient land use in densely built environments. Addressing the challenge of increasing summer droughts due to climate change, Agrotopia investigates alternative water sources to avoid the unsustainable use of surface or tap water.

Ongoing research focuses on:

• Condensate from CHP installations (Combined Heat and Power),

• Runoff from impervious urban surfaces (e.g., roofs, parking lots),

• Processed water from the agrifood industry.

These studies examine the impacts on tomato yield and plant physiology, offering actionable insights for integrating professional horticulture into urban systems without compromising environmental integrity. Additionally, Agrotopia explores the synergies between greenhouses and vertical farming, aiming to develop hybrid models for even greater efficiency.

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These three projects underscore the diversity and potential of resource-smart farming in urban areas. Whether through technological innovation (vertical farming), systemic circularity (Agrotopia), or multifunctional urban design (Tectum Garden), each initiative provides concrete examples of how agriculture can become an integrated, efficient, and regenerative part of the urban fabric. As cities continue to grow and adapt to climate and resource constraints, such approaches are not only innovative—they are essential.