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The urbanisation of controlled environment agriculture: Why does it matter for urban studies?
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The urbanisation of controlled environment agriculture: Why does it matter for urban studies?

Author

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  • Simon Marvin

    (The University of Sydney, Australia)

  • Lauren Rickards

    (La Trobe University, Australia)

  • Jonathan Rutherford

    (Ecole des Ponts ParisTech, France)

Abstract

This paper critically examines why urban studies should be interested in the emergence of controlled environment agriculture. Over the last decade, there has been significant commercial and urban policy interest in controlled environment agriculture systems for producing food in enclosed environments. Furthermore, there has been a significant expansion in research publications on urban controlled environment agriculture, stressing the novel character of these systems and the complex relationships with the conventional concerns of urban agriculture. The paper subjects these claims to critical scrutiny and then reconceptualises urban controlled environment agriculture as an emergent urban infrastructure of artificial, highly productive microclimates and ecosystems for non-human life designed to increase the productive use of ‘surplus or under-utilised’ urban spaces. We argue that controlled environment agriculture tries to secure food production through three spatial–temporal fixes: (1) the enclosure move – holding food closer by substituting the increasingly hostile outdoors for the controlled indoors in order to optimise yield, quality, efficiency and the ‘cleanness’ of the food; (2) the urban move – holding food closer to the city by substituting rural agricultural space for urban space to shorten supply chains and thereby help secure food production and improve its green credentials; and (3) combining 1 and 2, the urban interiorisation move – holding food yet closer still by moving food production into city buildings and intricate infrastructural systems, increasing control by securing total environments. In these ways, the paper shows how urban controlled environment agriculture selectively extends existing logics of urban and rural agriculture and identifies the future research challenges for urban studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Simon Marvin & Lauren Rickards & Jonathan Rutherford, 2024. "The urbanisation of controlled environment agriculture: Why does it matter for urban studies?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(8), pages 1430-1450, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:61:y:2024:i:8:p:1430-1450
    DOI: 10.1177/00420980231200991
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jaqueline Iaksch & Ederson Fernandes & Milton Borsato, 2021. "Digitalization and Big data in smart farming – a review," Journal of Management Analytics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 333-349, April.
    2. Dalrymple, Dana G., 1973. "Controlled Environment Agriculture: A Global Review of Greenhouse Food Production," Foreign Agricultural Economic Report (FAER) 145622, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    3. Wolfert, Sjaak & Ge, Lan & Verdouw, Cor & Bogaardt, Marc-Jeroen, 2017. "Big Data in Smart Farming – A review," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 69-80.
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    5. Megan Horst & Nathan McClintock & Lesli Hoey, 2017. "The Intersection of Planning, Urban Agriculture, and Food Justice: A Review of the Literature," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 83(3), pages 277-295, July.
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    7. O'Sullivan, C.A. & Bonnett, G.D. & McIntyre, C.L. & Hochman, Z. & Wasson, A.P., 2019. "Strategies to improve the productivity, product diversity and profitability of urban agriculture," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 133-144.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yaoxin Zhang & Zimo Zhang & Mengyu He & Xuanqi Niu & Zhiqiang Luan, 2024. "A Comparative Analysis of the Sustainable Development of Urban Agriculture in Chengdu and Singapore," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-24, November.
    2. Mabel Adaeze Nwanojuo & Christian Kosisochukwu Anumudu & Helen Onyeaka, 2025. "Impact of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) in Nigeria, a Review of the Future of Farming in Africa," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-25, January.

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