Last updated: March 2025
The municipal real estate company Higab partnered with The Foodprint Lab Architects, an architecture firm specialising in food system design, in a three-year pilot project to create urban farms in three of their properties in Gothenburg. The Foodprint Lab designed the urban farms based on the conditions of each property and connected Higab with potential farmers. The urban farms are located at Slakthuset (an old industrial area), Kviberg (by an empty building undergoing renovation) and Musikens hus (an old building used for music events and a restaurant). The farms are established in unused, mostly grey areas such as parking lots. In all sites, the farming is run by local farming associations; some sell vegetables on site and in Kviberg, there has also been a commercial production of vegetables. Sustainable food production, entrepreneurship opportunities, a nicer and safer environment, and the promotion of biodiversity are highlighted as benefits of the project. In total, about 50 different plant species are found across the locations. The establishment of the urban farms was part of the Grow Gothenburg project within the Sharing Cities Sweden program, which provided some of the funding [Ref. 1-5, 7].
The urban farm at Musikens hus
Ref. 2
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Community gardens and allotments
- Community gardens
- Horticulture
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Climate change mitigation
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social interaction
- Sense of community and community engagement
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Economic development: agriculture
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable production
- Food scarcity / security
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Environmental Degradation
- Biodiversity loss
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Agriculture/ crop production
- Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
- Insecurity in public spaces
- Resource Scarcity and Competition
- Food insecurity due to disruptions in food production and distribution
Key priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Social Justice and community
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of areas for food production (community gardens, allotments)
Project objectives
- Utilise unused areas and create a more pleasant and safe environment around the properties [Ref. 1, 3]
- Grow food locally through regenerative agriculture to reduce climate impact from food production and transport [Ref. 2-4]
- Contribute to biodiversity and pollination by growing a diverse set of plants [Ref. 1-3]
- The Foodprint Lab refers to SDG:s in their descriptions of the projects: the projects are intended to contribute to biodiversity, food security, health, community and climate [Ref. 3, 4]
Implementation activities
1. On behalf of Higab, The Foodprint Lab conducted a spatial study to identify farmable areas based on micro-climate and movement patterns [Ref. 2].
2. Potential growers were identified and matched with each site, and associations were formed.
3. The farms were designed with modules for cultivation and seating areas, in some cases in collaboration with the future growers [Ref. 1, 3-4].
4. Farms were constructed, and farming associations took over operations to grow vegetables and other plants, in some cases to sell to restaurants or the public [Ref. 1-5].
5. Evaluation of the results of the project [Ref. 2].
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Improved agricultural practices for improved food security and prevention of food scarcity
Climate change mitigation:
- Improve agricultural practices (e.g. cover cropping, no-till farming, improved manure management) to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and increase carbon storage in soils.
Main beneficiaries
- Private sector/Corporate/Company
- Citizens or community groups
- Food producers and cultivators (i.e. farmers, gardeners)
Governance
Management set-up
- Government-led
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
Higab owns the properties where the NBS takes place and seems to be the initiator. The Footprint Lab Architects, a private company, designs the project and identifies potential growers. Growers' Associations are formed to run the urban farms and contribute to the design process. Some businesses have been formed to grow and sell vegetables commercially. A web platform, Grow Here (formerly Grow Gothenburg) is used to advertise the opportunity for citizens to join the urban farming associations in different locations.
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Yes
(Sharing Cities Sweden [Ref. 7])
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(The Grow Gothenburg initiative is part of the Sharing City Göteborg testbed, which is coordinated by the City of Gothenburg. The Gothenburg testbed, in turn, is part of the national program Sharing Cities Sweden, which promotes the sharing economy in cities within the Viable Cities innovation program [Ref. 7]. )
Type of enablers
Capacity-building projects, Other
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Public national budget
- Other
Type of funding
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of land
- Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Reduced emissions
- Achieved reduced emissions
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Achieved increased green space area
- Increased number of species present
- Achieved increased number of species present
- Enhanced support of pollination
- Expected enhanced support of pollination
Economic impacts
- Generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)
- Achieved generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)
- Reduce financial cost for urban management
- Expected reduce financial cost for urban management
- Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
- Achieved increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
- Generation of income from NBS
- Expected generation of income from NBS
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved access to urban green space
- Achieved improved access to urban green space
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Achieved increased opportunities for social interaction
- Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Achieved increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Achieved increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
- Expected increased sustainability of agriculture practices
- Education
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Expected increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Safety
- Increased perception of safety
- Expected increased perception of safety
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
Yes
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Unknown
References
1.
Higab (2019). Pressmeddelande: Nya stadsodlingar vid Higabs hus. Accessed on August 15, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Grow Here (n.d.). Finding passionate growers – how Higab turned unused land into urban farms. Accessed on August 15, 2024, [Source link];
3.
The Foodprint Lab Architects (n.d.). DESIGN OF PUBLIC PLACES. Accessed on August 15, 2024, [Source link];
4.
The Foodprint Lab Architects (n.d.). EDIBLE MEETING PLACES. Accessed on August 15, 2024, [Source link];
5.
Möller, V, (2021). Glädjen i att odla tillsammans. Landets fria tidning, Accessed on August 15, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Higab (n.d.). Om Higab. Accessed on August 15, 2024, [Source link];
7.
Naraine, J. (2019). Grow Gothenburg Slutrapport testbädden Sharing City Göteborg, 2018–2019 . Grow Gothenburg, [Source link];
8.
Möller, V. (2021). ”Visionen är en stadsodling i varje kvarter”. Landets Fria Tidning, Accessed on August 16, 2024, [Source link];
The urban farm in Kviberg
https://grow-here.com/farm/stalltappan-i-kviberg/
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.