Within the CITYFOOD project ^1,2, an important goal was to examine whether bringing upscaled aquaponic ³ food production into cities makes sense.

To get to the bottom of this question, we have conducted three studies using Berlin as an example. First, we investigated whether a relocation of production from its current locations to Berlin could be implemented sustainably (Causal Relations of Upscaled Urban Aquaponics and the Food-Water-Energy Nexus ⁴). Next, we explored whether and how the vast potential of the roofscape can be harnessed for urban agriculture applications, an issue that is often debated. (Urban Rooftop Uses: Competition and Potentials from the Perspective of Farming and Aquaponics ⁵). Once these points were clarified, the crucial question was whether aquaponic facilities should be located in the city or the surrounding peri-urban area and under which boundary conditions (City or hinterland – site potentials for upscaled aquaponics ⁶).

This short description is a teaser, so no results are revealed here. We hope that we have piqued your interest. For more details, please see the papers listed in the references.

References

1              CITYFOOD. CF IGB website. (Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, 2018).  https://www.igb-berlin.de/en/project/cityfood

2              Choudhury, S. CITYFOOD result interview, https://jpi-urbaneurope.eu/cityfood-makes-the-case-for-bringing-food-production-into-our-cities/ (2022). Accessed 11.11.2022.

3              Baganz, G. F. M. et al. The aquaponic principle—It is all about coupling. Rev. Aquacult. 14, 252-264 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1111/raq.12596

4              Baganz, G. F. M. et al. Causal Relations of Upscaled Urban Aquaponics and the Food-Water-Energy Nexus—A Berlin Case Study. Water 13, 2029 (2021). https://doi.org/10.3390/w13152029

5              Baganz, G. F. M., Baganz, E., Baganz, D., Kloas, W. & Lohrberg, F. Urban Rooftop Uses: Competition and Potentials from the Perspective of Farming and Aquaponics – a Berlin Case Study. REAL CORP 2021 (2021). https://doi.org/10.48494/REALCORP2021.7077

6              Baganz, G. F. M. et al. City or hinterland – site potentials for upscaled aquaponics in a Berlin case study. npj Urban Sustain. 2, 29 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-022-00072-y