Vertical Urban Farm De Schilde

Den Haag, Netherlands

City population: 488605

Duration: 2015 – 2016

Implementation status: Completed and archived or cancelled

Scale: Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)

Project area: 2000 m²

Type of area: Industrial, Agricultural area or farmland, Building

Last updated: October 2021

‘De Schilde’ in The Hague was the former factory of Philips Telecommunication that had been empty for years. In 2016, it become the home to the largest commercial city facility for food production in Europe: a 1,200 m2 roof greenhouse for specialized vegetables, a 370 m2 covered fish farm and a 250 m2 area for integrated processing and packaging. In addition, 250 m2 within the farm was exclusively reserved for events and guided tours. (5) The farm comprised two-storey greenhouses on the roof and uses the UF system for the sustainable production of fish and vegetables. (5) The urban farm was initiated by the the municipality of the Hague and realised by Urbanfarmers, a Swiss technology company focused on building food production facilities in cities (5). However, the initiative wasn't successful. In 2018, the company declared bankruptcy and terminated production in the rooftop farm as it did not produced any revenues. (12,13).

Source: https://www.thehagueonline.com/features/2017/02/24/urbanfarmers-roof-market

Overview

Nature-based solution

Nature on buildings (external)
Green roofs
Other
Community gardens and allotments
Horticulture
Blue infrastructure
Other

Key challenges

Water management (SDG 6)
Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Conversion of former industrial areas
Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
Economic development: agriculture
Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
Sustainable consumption
Sustainable production

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Transformation of previously derelict areas, Other

Project objectives

1. Become the largest rooftop farm of Europe, being an example of urban agriculture projects in Europe and becoming an international research centre for vertical farming (1,2) 2. Be the start of a 'fresh revolution' and should inspire other cities to initiate similar projects. (2) 3. Grow vegetables and fish in a sustainable way (1,2,3) 4. Educate people on urban agriculture and thereby raise awareness of where food comes from and the possibilities of growing food in urban areas. (2) 5. Water use and waste reduction through the smart combination of horticulture and aquaculture, the project aims at water use reduction and waste reduction. (2,4). 6. Disrupt the unfair global food system by re-connecting good food with consumers locally (9) 7. Encourage people to buy local, eat fresh and stay healthy (9)

Implementation activities

- Construction of a 1200 sqm greenhouse in which vegetables are grown such as tomatoes, lettuce, egg plant and cucumber (1,3). Installation of fish tanks of a total of 370 sqm where aquaculture is introduced and tilapia fish is cultivated (1,2,3). - Application of the aquaponics system that combines horticulture with aquaculture (,1,2,3). - Creation of 'field labs' in which solutions are experimented with, developed and implemented. Thereby, it creates a connection between research, education and policy regarding vertical farming (1) - Organisation of activities such as daily tours and weekly roof markets in which the harvested goods are sold. (2) - Network building with restaurants and specialized supermarkets to which part of the harvested goods are sold. (6)

Main beneficiaries

Private sector/Corporate/Company

Governance

Management set-up

Co-governance with government and non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

Local government/municipality
Private sector/corporate actor/company

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

Dissemination of information and education
Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

The project was initiated by the municipality of The Hague as they initiated a business challenge in 2013 on urban agriculture. 70 innovative initiatives joined the competition and finally, Urban Farmers AG was chosen to develop the vertical farm. (1). Urban Farmers is a spin-off from the university of applied sciences of Zurich and has now become a private technology firm that initiates and facilitates urban agriculture. (4). De Schelde is implemented by Urban Farmers and were financially supported by the municipality of The Hague (by means of funding and by providing a loan under the 'Fonds Ruimte en Economie' (Spatial and Economic Fund) which is a fund enabled by the European Regional Development Fund (4,8) Wageningen has supported the municipality in proposing the business challenge and facilitates stakeholder involvement. The Stimuleringsfonds Volkshuisvesting Dutch municipalities also collaborated in the project (5).

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown

... a national policy or strategy? Unknown

... a local policy or strategy? Yes (The Urban Agriculture Business Challenge which led to the development of De Schilde was the result of the ambition of the municipality of The Hague to become a climate neutral city in 2040. (4))

Financing

Total cost

€2,000,000 - €4,000,000

Source(s) of funding

EU funds
Public local authority budget
Corporate investment
Other

Type of funding

Earmarked public budget
Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Loan
Equity funding (investment in shares)
Other

Non-financial contribution

Unknown

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

Environmental quality
Improved waste management
Water management and blue areas
Improved stormwater management
Other

Economic impacts

Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)

Socio-cultural impacts

Health and wellbeing
Gain in activities for recreation and exercise

Type of reported impacts

Expected impacts, Achieved impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Unknown

Presence of indicators used in reporting

No evidence in public records

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

No evidence in public records

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

References

1. Stadlandbouw. (n.d.). The new farm - verticale landbouw. Website not available
2. Urban Farmers. (n.d.). UF002 De Schilde. Website not available
3. Vivaldi, S. (2016). Waarom verse groenten niet van ver hoeven te komen. Website not available
4. Geerts, P. (2016). Grootste stadsboerderij van Europa gaat open. Accessed on November 9, 2020, Source link
5. Rizkalla, M. (2014). Grootste stadslandbouwproject van Europa in Den Haag. Website not available
6. Den Haag. (n.d.) Urban Farmers. Website not available
7. Vastgoed Markt. (2015). SVn financiert Haagste stadsboerderij De Schilde. Accessed on November 9, 2020, Source link
8. Gemeente Den Haag. (2016). Nieuwe Toekomst voor de Schilde. The Hague: muncipality of the Hague. Accessed on November 9, 2020, Source link
9. The Hague Online. (2016). Europe's Largest Rooftop Farm Now Open to the Public in The Hague. Accessed on November 9, 2020, Source link
10. The Hague Online. (2015). Largest Urban Farming Project Started in The Hague. Accessed on November 9, 2020, Source link
11. The Hague Online. (2017). Urbanfarmers Roof Market. Accessed on November 9, 2020, Source link
12. The Hague Online. (2018). Urbanfarmers declares Bankruptcy. Accessed on November 9, 2020, Source link
13. I Grow. (n/a). Who Wants To Buy The Dutch Rooftop Greenhouse? And The Building Below. Accessed on November 9, 2020, Source link

Source: https://www.igrow.news/igrownews/who-wants-to-buy-the-dutch-rooftop-greenhouse-and-the-building-below

Source: https://cgconcept.be/den-haag-grootse-stadsboerderij-van-europa-gaat-open/