Climate Action: Urban Farming as an Innovative Tool for Regenerating Cities to Be Sustainable—Case of the City of Conegliano, Italy

Abstract

Cities face many challenges to meet sustainability. This paper presents a conceptual vision for creating a livable centre for the communities in the city of Conegliano with a special focus on sustainability, not only from an urban farm viewpoint but also as a new social aspect to achieve social sustainability. The design strategy integrates new smart architectural and urban agricultural solutions. Various technologies are incorporated in the building including aquaponic tray farming system, vertical axis wind turbine modules and cable trellis ivy facades as well as multi-spectrum LED-censored lights and double-glazed glass to reduce energy consumption. Such technologies create a self-sustained building with minimal waste and CO₂ emissions and livable environments. The social innovation also includes various social spaces (local gym, Treviso cafeteria, educational farm and a research lab), all of which were redesigned to maintain the current existing structure, minimize embodied energy and maximize the social interaction with the users yet encourage communal interaction between the citizens and enhance connectivity. For economic sustainability, a business model including strategy, marketing, operations and SWOT analysis was carried out to predict the project’s operation cost and labour management. Results show that retrofitting this factory will turn such vacant site into a vibrant and multifunctional spot. Also, results indicate that enhancing the site would make the city a livable and an economic hub that serves people, raises awareness and is self-sustained for years to come by addressing sustainable development and SGDs, mainly SDG 7, 8, 11, 12 and 13.