For the last three years, the SmartFood project’s partners have been working with residents of urban areas in Poland and Norway to engage them in novel in-house green food self-production and consumption. Using field experiments organized in Urban Living labs in Warsaw and Oslo, new technological solutions have been co-created and tested in operational environments of residential buildings. This final conference shared key insights from the project with a wider audience, and discussed their meaning and implications for Europe in the coming years.
The conference was chaired by Łukasz Gontar, SmartFood Principal Investigator from Research and Innovation Centre Pro-Akademia. The event held presentations and discussions on following topics:
- Current readiness of cities for urban agriculture innovation: introducing hydroponics into urban buildings, sustainable water management, engaging residents in urban agriculture
- Co-creating tomorrow's urban food systems today: green food production by households and businesses in cities in Poland and Norway
- Driving a green transition of cities policies: how to support the exploitation of urban agriculture potential and greening of food systems?
The conference wrapped up with a hands-on visit to the SmartFood Urban Living Lab located at Kaspijska 1 street in Warsaw. This site visit took participants through the corridors of an urban apartment block where, for the past few months, 20 households have been cultivating their own green food in SmartFood Cabins. This experience provided attendees with a direct view of how the concepts discussed in urban agriculture can be applied in real-life settings.
