INNOVATIVE URBAN FARMING TECHNIQUES FOR SUSTAINABILITY OF CITIES: FROM FARM TO FORK – CASE OF THE CITY LANUVIO, ROME, ITALY

— Urban areas and cities globally encounter many challenges to confront vast urbanization and climate change impacts. Urban farming is one of major responses to some of these defies. Such challenges are manifested in Lanuvio, a municipality near Rome situated in 'Castelli Romani Regional Park', use to have high cultural, historical, archeological and naturalistic values, but the site of ARES (once served as a fire station) is now vacant land, hence considered a waste of resources that decreases its value economically, socially and environmentally. Urban farming can assist in transforming cities to be generative, resilient and sustainable. This paper presents a project (Green Symphony) transformation that provides the citizens of Lanuvio with smart and sustainable technologies focusing on urban agriculture. The objective of the study is to transform the abundant site to be a generative urban farm while making people aware of the importance of healthy food and creating connectivity between citizens and tourists. Indeed, aquaponic systems, permaculture, green walls, vertical farming, combined with energy harvesting from footsteps, solar panels, water close circuit, and rainwater collection are incorporated. Organic waste is also transformed into fertilizer, which contributes to the creation of a self-sustained farm. The site has been developed as a social hub and a business model, including: strategy, marketing and operations plans are developed to estimate the operation costs and labour management. Results show that the developed site can generate 7 tons yearly of vegetables, fruits, herbs and fish, besides creating 3 stable jobs. The investment costs are paid off after a maximum of 5 years and the financial balance is annually positive and 1.7 tons of produce. Finally, the vacant land is transformed into a social hub and multi-functional green gardens to increase livability and targeted SDG 3, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 15.