Cooperating countries: Philippines and Austria

Coordinating institution: University of Vienna

Project coordinator: Prof. Dr. Kerstin Krellenberg 

Partner institution: University of the Philippines

Project duration: 01.06.2024 - 31.05.2026

In cities around the world, climate change impacts are not only becoming more frequent and intense, but, due to the wickedness of such issues, they are often compounded with other challenges, such as food insecurity, infrastructure failure, and socio-economic inequality. Consequently, as both drivers and victims of climate change, cities have the potential, and the responsibility, to craft multifaceted strategies which embody the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and strengthen resilience capacities. Accordingly, Urban Agriculture (UA) is increasingly contended, by policymakers and academics alike, to be a multifunctional solution with the potential to strengthen the resilience and sustainability of a city’s social, economic, ecological, political, and infrastructural subsystems. However, more research is needed to better understand how the different typologies of UA, including outdoor, greenhouse, and technology driven indoor vertical farms, can be used strategically to maximize their co-benefits, as each differ in their ability to strengthen climate change adaptation capacities and social cohesion, provide employment opportunities, drive technological innovation, and improve access to healthy food. This perspective elevates UA’s potential to contribute to a plethora of SDGs which extend beyond 2, ‘No Hunger’, and 11 ‘Sustainable Cities and Communities’. Subsequently, by investigating UA initiatives in Vienna, Austria, and Manila, Philippines, this project will construct and test a holistic UA impact assessment framework. The resulting framework will support policymakers, urban planners, civil society, and the private sector in decision-making processes, facilitate the co-creation of knowledge, and foster an equitable integration of UA into cities which accelerates the achievement of the SDGs.