Shaping the future of urban agriculture in Stockholm

As cities around the world face increasing pressures from climate change, population growth, and food insecurity, urban agriculture is emerging as a promising solution. In Stockholm, interest in growing food locally is on the rise – from schoolyards and rooftops to community gardens and high-tech vertical farms.

Urban agriculture brings fresh, locally produced food closer to residents, strengthens self-sufficiency, and creates green jobs, while transforming grey urban landscapes into vibrant green meeting places. However, understanding which initiatives are truly sustainable and deliver the greatest long-term benefits remains a key challenge

– Urban agriculture involves competing interests over valuable land and can be very energy intensive. There’s also a risk that the people who would benefit most are not reached, says Mosen Farhangi, researcher and project manager at IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute.

Global collaboration

To address these challenges, Stockholm is taking part in the international Just Grow project, led by IVL in collaboration with partners in five other city regions worldwide. The project’s goal is to develop tools and indicators that help cities measure the true environmental and social impacts of urban agriculture. These tools will enable municipalities, planners, and practitioners to make informed decisions and choose solutions that benefit both people and the planet.

As part of this effort, IVL hosted a stakeholder workshop in Stockholm that brought together municipal officials, urban farmers, civil society organizations, researchers, and entrepreneurs to discuss the environmental, political, and social challenges and opportunities connected to urban agriculture.

One of the main challenges highlighted was the limited access to suitable land, fragmented regulations, and financial barriers. At the same time, participants emphasized urban agriculture’s potential to improve air quality, strengthen biodiversity, create local jobs, and build inclusive communities – provided there is coordinated support from both municipalities and private actors.

– The most encouraging outcome was the strong willingness to collaborate. Many participants expressed an interest in continuing the dialogue and building a community of practice around monitoring and improving urban agriculture, says Mosen Farhangi.

From dialogue to action

Insights from the workshop are now being combined with a comprehensive review of scientific studies on environmental indicators, as well as Swedish policy documents at national, regional, and local levels. By weaving together scientific evidence and local knowledge, the work will result in a set of indicators for sustainable and fair urban agriculture in Stockholm.

In the next step, these indicators will be tested by practitioners and decision-makers to see how they can be applied in practice. The goal is to provide Stockholm – and other cities – with reliable tools to track the progress of different urban agriculture initiatives, compare their benefits and trade-offs, and support those with the greatest positive impact.

– We hope that our work within the Just Grow project will help make urban agriculture a natural part of a climate-smart, fair, and future-proof food system, says Michael Martin, researcher and project manager at IVL.

Read more about the project: Just Grow - IVL.se External link.

For more information, please contact:
Mosen Fahangi, mosen.farhangi@ivl.se, +46 (0)10-788 66 73
Michael Martin, michael.martin@ivl.se, +46 (0)10-788 66 81