ROOFTOP FARMING AS A FORM OF URBAN AGRICULTURE FROM A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE

El Messeidy, Rania

ROOFTOP FARMING AS A FORM OF URBAN AGRICULTURE FROM A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE

Document Type : Scientific and technological

Author

Rania El Messeidy

Lecturer, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA) University, 6th of October, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

Rapid urbanization raises concerns about the sustainability of urban communities. Sustainability, which means “meeting the needs of current generations without affecting the future generations in meeting their needs” (WCED, 1987), has become one of the most important terms today and a major theme in our lives. Our world is loaded with ecological issues such as biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, landscape fragmentation, and climate change. Land use throughout history has transformed landscapes on many levels and reduced opportunities for wildlife and humans. Nowadays, the need for a multifunctional landscape that provides food security and livelihood opportunities, maintenance of species and ecological, cultural and aesthetic functions has become vital.
Urban agriculture; is a type of landscape that provides many benefits on the level of sustainability whether it is economic, social, environmental levels or nutrition and food security level. The core interest of this research is to highlight the importance of urban agriculture as a tool to achieve sustainable development. Moreover, the paper discusses the relevance of sustainable landscape to sustainable urbanism. It also focuses on the sustainable benefits of urban agriculture and its contributions to urban food security and nutrition. As this study is basically theoretical, it does not include a practical part but uses the analytical study of international cases that applied rooftop farming in different projects. It also highlights the experience of rooftop farming in Egypt. The paper, therefore, concludes the sustainable role that rooftop farming could play in the sustainable development process, as a top trend of urban agriculture, providing a set of recommendations on the level of municipalities and organizations

Keywords

References

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