Assessment of the food-water-energy nexus suitability of rooftops. A methodological remote sensing approach in an urban Mediterranean area
Perla Zambrano-Prado, Joan Muñoz‐Liesa, Alejandro Josa, Joan Rieradevall, Ramón Álamús, Santiago Gassó, Xavier Gabarrell
Sustainable Cities and Society
Urban Farm DB summary
This work established a remote sensing framework to identify and analyze the technical feasibility of roofs for integrating urban agriculture, rainwater harvesting, and photovoltaic systems. Applied to a region north of Barcelona, the study found that 8% of the roof area was feasible for tomato and lettuce production, potentially satisfying 210% of average tomato intake and 21% of average lettuce consumption. Rainwater harvesting systems could supply 94.26% of water for open-air lettuce and 53% for rooftop greenhouse tomatoes, while 50% of roofs were suitable for photovoltaic panels, representing 18% of citizens' average energy consumption.