Over the last mid-century our planet has undergone drastic climate and environmental changes, plunging humanity into an unprecedented crisis. Such an extreme condition finds its causes in anthropogenic GHG emissions produced by human activities: the current food system and agricultural practices have contributed significantly in endangering both the planet and human’s health, causing multiple interconnected problems such as biodiversity loss, land degradation and climate change. These issues represent intertwined threats to human security, especially considering the rise of the global population that could reach 9.7 billion people by 2050, as well as the limited land and water availability combined with current harmful and polluting human practices. A transition towards sustainable food systems characterised by more efficient and nature-positive agricultural practices is therefore needed, and vertical farming is widely discussed as a promising farming method able to address next decades’ challenges. The aim of this thesis research is to understand the state of art of vertical farming and its current evolution and limitations in the Italian context: by detecting potential barriers that might hinder its development, greater attention has been given to consumers’ perceptions and attitudes towards this innovative farming method. The thesis supports the adoption of service design as an effective practice in approaching the topic and generating creative solutions that could bring innovation within the vertical farming domain and to the stakeholders involved, while fostering the transition towards sustainable food systems. The first part of the thesis is characterised by a description of our current food system and its underlying issues. Then a deep dive into vertical farming, including literature review and a collection of case studies is presented, followed by the introduction of food design as a new branch of the design practice and the description of the service design methodology and process. The second part of the thesis includes the results and the outputs of each stage of the design process that led to the development of a service design solution: the GrowMi project, a urban farming experience that enables Milan city dwellers to access fresh, healthy and locally grown food within short walking distances through the recovery of abandoned buildings disseminated throughout the city. The project developed for the thesis validated the service design role in producing valuable outcomes for the stakeholders involved and bringing innovation in the field. Research has disproved consumers’ resistance as a potential barrier in vertical farming development in Italy, identifying the lack of knowledge and visibility of this farming method and products as rather critical aspects. Despite the path to profitability still looks long, vertical farming is going through rapid development in Italy and in the world, gaining economical, environmental and social recognition and suggesting an auspicious future ahead even in more expensive urban areas. GrowMi represents a prototype that could be scaled up to different neighborhoods as it proves to have the potential to foster the shift to sustainable food systems. However, some limitations reveal the unlikelihood of vertical farming in coping with systemic challenges alone, highlighting the necessity of diversifying farming methods through a hybridisation of the food production systems that could optimise the transition towards sustainability. Finally, future directions of the projects have been identified by proposing the integration of vertical farming products with a larger variety of traditional products coming from regenerative agriculture methods.
Nell’ultima metà del secolo il nostro pianeta ha subito drastici cambiamenti climatici e ambientali, portando l’umanità ad affrontare una crisi senza precedenti. Una condizione così estrema trova le sue cause nelle emissioni di gas serra generate dalle attività umane: l’attuale sistema alimentare e le pratiche agricole hanno contribuito in modo significativo a mettere in pericolo sia il pianeta che la salute umana, causando molteplici problemi interconnessi come la perdita di biodiversità, il degrado del suolo e il cambiamento climatico. Questi problemi rappresentano minacce alla sicurezza umana, soprattutto in relazione all’aumento della popolazione globale, che potrebbe raggiungere 9,7 miliardi di persone entro il 2050, e alla limitata disponibilità di terra e acqua in combinazione alle attuali pratiche agricole inquinanti e dannose. È quindi necessaria una transizione verso un sistema alimentare sostenibile caratterizzato da pratiche agricole più efficienti e rispettose della natura e, in quest’ottica, il vertical farming rappresenta un metodo di produzione agricola promettente in grado di affrontare le sfide dei prossimi decenni. L’obiettivo della ricerca è quello di comprendere lo stato dell’arte del vertical farming, la sua attuale evoluzione e limiti nel contesto italiano. Rilevando potenziali barriere che potrebbero ostacolarne lo sviluppo, maggiore attenzione è stata data alle percezioni e attitudini dei consumatori nei confronti di questo metodo innovativo di coltivazione. La tesi supporta l’adozione del service design come pratica efficace nell’approcciare questo tema e nel generare soluzioni creative volte a portare valore e innovazione nel settore stesso e a tutti agli stakeholder coinvolti, con l’obiettivo ultimo di favorire la transizione verso sistemi alimentari sostenibili. La prima parte della tesi è caratterizzata da una descrizione del nostro attuale sistema alimentare e delle sue problematiche, seguita dall’introduzione e descrizione del vertical farming attraverso una literature review e una raccolta di casi di studio. Dopo una breve presentazione del food design come una nuova branca del design, la metodologia e il processo di progettazione vengono illustrati nel dettaglio. La seconda parte della tesi include i risultati e gli output di ogni fase del processo di progettazione che ha portato allo sviluppo di un nuovo servizio: GrowMi, un’esperienza di agricoltura urbana che, attraverso il recupero di edifici abbandonati presenti nel tessuto urbano, consente ai cittadini milanesi di avere accesso a prodotti km0, freschi e sani entro brevi distanze raggiungibili a piedi. Il progetto sviluppato per la tesi ha confermato il potenziale del service design nel generare valore per gli stakeholder coinvolti e a portare innovazione nel campo. La ricerca ha smentito la diffidenza dei consumatori come potenziale barriera allo sviluppo del vertical farming in Italia, identificando invece la mancanza di consapevolezza e visibilità di questo metodo e suddetti prodotti come aspetti piuttosto critici. Nonostante il percorso verso la redditività sia ancora lungo, il vertical farming sta vivendo un rapido sviluppo in Italia e nel mondo portandolo ad essere riconosciuto sia a livello economico che ambientale e sociale, suggerendo così un favorevole sviluppo anche nelle aree urbane solitamente più costose. GrowMi rappresenta un prototipo che potrebbe essere esteso ad altti quartieri della città in quanto dimostra di avere il potenziale per favorire il passaggio a sistemi alimentari sostenibili. Tuttavia, alcuni limiti rivelano l’incapacità del vertical farming nel far fronte da solo alle sfide di livello sistemico, evidenziando la necessità di diversificare i metodi di coltivazione attraverso un’ibridazione dei sistemi di produzione agricoli che potrebbe ottimizzare la transizione verso la sostenibilità. Infine, vengono individuate le direzioni future del progetto proponendo l’integrazione dei prodotti coltivati in vertical farming con una più ampia varietà di prodotti coltivati tradizionalmente attraverso metodi di agricoltura rigenerativa.
Unlocking vertical farming potential through service design. How urban farming can foster the transition towards sustainable food systems : the GrowMi project
MERONI, ARIANNA
2020/2021
Abstract
Over the last mid-century our planet has undergone drastic climate and environmental changes, plunging humanity into an unprecedented crisis. Such an extreme condition finds its causes in anthropogenic GHG emissions produced by human activities: the current food system and agricultural practices have contributed significantly in endangering both the planet and human’s health, causing multiple interconnected problems such as biodiversity loss, land degradation and climate change. These issues represent intertwined threats to human security, especially considering the rise of the global population that could reach 9.7 billion people by 2050, as well as the limited land and water availability combined with current harmful and polluting human practices. A transition towards sustainable food systems characterised by more efficient and nature-positive agricultural practices is therefore needed, and vertical farming is widely discussed as a promising farming method able to address next decades’ challenges. The aim of this thesis research is to understand the state of art of vertical farming and its current evolution and limitations in the Italian context: by detecting potential barriers that might hinder its development, greater attention has been given to consumers’ perceptions and attitudes towards this innovative farming method. The thesis supports the adoption of service design as an effective practice in approaching the topic and generating creative solutions that could bring innovation within the vertical farming domain and to the stakeholders involved, while fostering the transition towards sustainable food systems. The first part of the thesis is characterised by a description of our current food system and its underlying issues. Then a deep dive into vertical farming, including literature review and a collection of case studies is presented, followed by the introduction of food design as a new branch of the design practice and the description of the service design methodology and process. The second part of the thesis includes the results and the outputs of each stage of the design process that led to the development of a service design solution: the GrowMi project, a urban farming experience that enables Milan city dwellers to access fresh, healthy and locally grown food within short walking distances through the recovery of abandoned buildings disseminated throughout the city. The project developed for the thesis validated the service design role in producing valuable outcomes for the stakeholders involved and bringing innovation in the field. Research has disproved consumers’ resistance as a potential barrier in vertical farming development in Italy, identifying the lack of knowledge and visibility of this farming method and products as rather critical aspects. Despite the path to profitability still looks long, vertical farming is going through rapid development in Italy and in the world, gaining economical, environmental and social recognition and suggesting an auspicious future ahead even in more expensive urban areas. GrowMi represents a prototype that could be scaled up to different neighborhoods as it proves to have the potential to foster the shift to sustainable food systems. However, some limitations reveal the unlikelihood of vertical farming in coping with systemic challenges alone, highlighting the necessity of diversifying farming methods through a hybridisation of the food production systems that could optimise the transition towards sustainability. Finally, future directions of the projects have been identified by proposing the integration of vertical farming products with a larger variety of traditional products coming from regenerative agriculture methods.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/183772