Secondly, the discourse in urban agriculture shifts from the early stage in which every initiative is interesting, food production is a social activity and an estimated contribution to sustainability, towards the question how much food is actually produced within the city boundaries. Analyses show that the amount produced is very little. The follow-up question is how more food could be producedin the city? This is obviously also a matter of space. Current urban concepts do not offer enough space for food production and this implies new concepts need to be found. In the context of the favelas these new spaces need to be found on roofs.
Dr. Rob Roggema, Landscape Architect, is an international renowned design-expert on climate adaptation, renewable energy planning and urban agriculture. He holds positions at several universities in the Netherlands and Australia, State and Municipal governments and design consultancies. Dr. Roggema is the Director of Cittaideale, a research office for adaptive design and planning. In 2008 he received the scientific award for best paper at the Sustainable Building conference in Melbourne.