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Implementing Vertical Farming at University Scale to Promote Sustainable Communities: A Feasibility Analysis

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  • He Zhang

    (M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32603, USA)

  • Ashish Asutosh

    (M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32603, USA)

  • Wei Hu

    (School of Statistics, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China)

Abstract

The issue of food security has affected the well-being of the people for centuries. Academic and industry experts have been constantly developing alternate and better ways to address this issue. One of such innovations is the concept of vertical and zero acreage farming for providing food security and ensuring environmental sustainability. However, this concept has been in its nascent stage, and its development has been sporadic for many years. This paper uses a comprehensive framework to conduct a feasibility analysis of initiating vertical farming on university campuses, which could set an example for using this technique on a large scale. A case study was conducted on a set of 24 canteens across a university in Wuhan, China for accessing the return on investment and food sufficiency using this technique. By using the central limit theorem, a model was developed after investing in 24 canteens in the university, and various scenarios were analyzed. The breakeven on implementing these farms was about 10 to 20 years, with annual profits reaching $92,000 (592,000 RMB).

Suggested Citation

  • He Zhang & Ashish Asutosh & Wei Hu, 2018. "Implementing Vertical Farming at University Scale to Promote Sustainable Communities: A Feasibility Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-18, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:12:p:4429-:d:185741
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    Cited by:

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    2. Donald Coon & Lauren Lindow & Ziynet Boz & Ana Martin-Ryals & Ying Zhang & Melanie Correll, 2024. "Reporting and practices of sustainability in controlled environment agriculture: a scoping review," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 301-326, June.
    3. Yiming Shao & Zhugen Wang & Zhiwei Zhou & Haojing Chen & Yuanlong Cui & Zhenghuan Zhou, 2022. "Determinants Affecting Public Intention to Use Micro-Vertical Farming: A Survey Investigation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-26, July.
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    5. Hannah Bradley & Serena Stein, 2022. "Climate opportunism and values of change on the Arctic agricultural frontier," Economic Anthropology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(2), pages 207-222, June.
    6. Zinette Bergman & Manfred Max Bergman, 2022. "Toward Sustainable Communities: A Case Study of the Eastern Market in Detroit," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-14, April.

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