In this course we will get into the details of different technologies that are used for urban farming and evaluate their performance on different dimensions (productivity, economics and sustainability).
Indoor farms can use different growing systems and structures, from urban and small-scale farming, to high-tech fully controlled and semi-automated greenhouses in rural areas, to everything in between.
Indoor agriculture isn’t equivalent to urban farming. As evidenced by the data, indoor farms typically locate close to the point of sale or where efficiency can be maximized.
For a tomato grower, this may mean locating a greenhouse in a rural area where energy is cheaper and closer to a distribution center.
For a container farm, this may mean placing a container at a grocery store in an urban area.
This is one of the major benefits of indoor farming. Because the farmer has more control over climate, they can choose to locate a farm wherever it makes the most sense.
Different growing systems such as Hydroponics & Aeroponics combined with glass or indoor vertical farm are becoming very popular for urban farming purposes.
A recent research suggest that Hydroponics is by far most widely used growing system in all forms of Indoor farming.