Growing interiors - cultivating urban biophilic environments

To address growing urbanization, climate crisis, and food justice, we need to rethink patterns around the global food system. Traditional agricultural processes are labor- and resource-intensive and can be exploitive of local communities and ecosystems. In an increasingly decentralized food system, it is important to further innovate sustainable approaches to food production that support local ecosystems and resource conservation for positive climate and societal impact. This essay presents a case study of an indoor vertical farm in the historic urban core of Lincoln, Nebraska as a form of urban agriculture that creates increased opportunities for localized plant-based food production and access. As an adaptive reuse model for existing or underutilized buildings, it creates a spatial ecosystem of interior space, ecology, and economy, becoming a biodiverse environment for local food production that reconnects communities with their food while enhancing urban food resiliency.