Internal Publication
Vertical farming architecture as core urban infrastructure: fostering resilience and adaptive governance in Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia
The explosive and largely uncoordinated urbanisation trajectory of Ethiopian cities, epitomised by the rapidly expanding administrative centre of Wolaita Sodo, has generated a fundamental structural flaw: a pervasive decoupling of the built environment from essential resource management and food security functions. Despite the agricultural sector’s centrality to the national economy (World Bank, 2022), urban populations are increasingly vulnerable to food price volatility, supply chain disruptions, and the depletion of inner-city green space. This paper advances a comprehensive strategy for urban resilience through the formalisation of Vertical Farming Architecture (VFA); the deliberate integration of high-efficiency, soilless cultivation systems (hydroponics and aeroponics) into the design and retrofit of multi-storey residential and commercial buildings. Employing a qualitative, embedded case study methodology in Wolaita Sodo, supported by an analysis of 10 in-depth stakeholder interviews and comparative site observations, the research moves beyond the perception of VFA as aesthetic ornamentation, re-designating it as a form of core, productive urban infrastructure. Empirical analysis confirms VFA’s unparalleled capacity for spatial and land-use intensification, resource efficiency (achieving 70–90% water reduction compared to conventional soil-based farming), and the critical creation of inclusive, diversified green employment for marginalised urban demographics, particularly women and youth (UNDP, 2022). The study identifies the most salient challenge as the prevailing institutional fragmentation and the inertia of existing urban planning paradigms, which fail to integrate agricultural mandates. The conclusion proposes an urgent Strategic Policy Roadmap for Ethiopian municipal authorities, advocating for the institutionalisation of VFA through mandatory adaptive building codes and mandatory cross-sectoral governance mechanisms to ensure alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 2 and SDG 11) and the urgent establishment of genuinely circular urban metabolic flows (Specht et al., 2014; Girardet, 2010; Van Veenhuizen & Danso, 2011).
Uploaded by: Dagnachew Amberbir KetemaAuthor: Ketema, Dagnachew Amberbir | ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5721-3724
Institution: University of Cape Town | Centre: DAAD
Thesis Supervisor(s): Wake, Naol
Type: Theses | Bachelor | English
Subjects: Agriculture, Climate and Environment, Governance, Development
Date: July 2019 | Pages: 17
Copyright: The Author | License: Open Access
