Impact of Controlled Environment Agriculture on Urban Food Systems: A Data-Driven Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64137/XXXXXXXX/IJAES-V1I1P104Keywords:
Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), Urban food systems, Smart cities, Hydroponics, Data analysis, Sustainability, Vertical farming, Food security, Urban planningAbstract
The development of controlled environment agriculture has become a major solution to food worries in cities, unstable weather and a lack of resources. This paper analyzes CEA’s role from a data-oriented angle within the context of urban food systems. We study CEA farming types, including hydroponics, aeroponics and aquaponics and measure how they outperform and match traditional agriculture in terms of efficiency, ease of scaling and sustainability. The fields of statistical and machine learning were applied to a dataset made up of energy, crop production, water use and factor analysis for the economy. The research also investigates how CEA technology can fit with existing city infrastructure and finds out what outcomes this, if widespread, can bring to society and the economy. The experiment shows that CEA systems give up to a 90% larger output using only 95% less water per square meter. Furthermore, when food doesn’t have to travel as far, CEA farms produce less carbon and keep their food fresher. Finally, we make recommendations and suggest urban planning approaches that help CEAs fit smoothly into smart cities. The research points out that data is crucial for creating the right urban agriculture policies and improving food security as places become urbanized
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