Actualising the sustainable development goals with the Vertical Tower Farm

Abstract

Civilisation requires food security, food security depends on agriculture, and agriculture depends on the environment and climate. Unsustainable food production practices threaten ecosystems, biodiversity, climate, and global food security. Increases in urbanisation, the growing global population, and ageing populations are also factors that must be considered in long-term oriented urban planning strategies to confront food security. While the Sustainable Development Goals offer a map to prosperity, the vertical tower farm (VTF) is a possible path in actualising these goals.

A VTF is an agricultural operation in a tower, with its height greater than its width, and consisting of 10 or more levels. It minimises horizontal land use and maximises the utility of vertical space. Essentially, a VTF is the combination of a modern greenhouse and tower which utilises state-of-the-art technology and food production practices. A VTF mimics natural processes that can transform waste streams into valuable resources. It utilises freely available natural phenomena, energy-efficient technology, and renewable energy to cut long term operational costs to compensate for high start-up costs while reaching sustainability goals. The VTF revolutionises food production offering local, fresh, and healthy food produced sustainably, while also supporting food security, and is a long term investment for future generations. However, the VTF remains in its conceptual stage.

This research aimed to develop a more comprehensive VTF understanding and holistic view of its systems to build an updated perception. By gathering 53 VTF publications representing the last 15 years of VTF thought, this research identified domains and categories of its systems. A SWOT analysis was used to go deeper and discover the opportunities and challenges of the VTF. Next, the weaknesses and threats from the SWOT analysis were addressed with its strengths and opportunities. The results of the VTF domains and SWOT analysis led to the development of a meta-level model describing the dimensions, modes, and drivers of success for the VTF. Afterwards, there was a more profound discussion updating current VTF thought and establishing a foundation to guide future research, development, and innovation projects.

This research contributes to the emergence of the VTF field while also approaching the Sustainable Development Goals through an updated holistic viewpoint offering direction for future research. The findings suggest that it is essential for future work to explore in greater detail the synergies that link the VTF business model and its structural design. The meta-model framework "A Sustainable Organisation: The Dimensions, Modes, and Drivers of Success" (see Figure 20) and the 4 domains of the VTF could work as a guiding tool for future researchers to use and improve on. Finally, future work would benefit from collaborative multidisciplinary research, development, and innovation projects.