As an effect of the neoliberalist development, the public sector has outsourced the provision of some public services to the private and the third sector. This has led to the expansion of the latter, and a more central position of the actors related to it; among them the social entrepreneur. A social entrepreneur has the objective of creating social impact, while adopting a more business-like approach. This is often a way of achieving financial sustainability or competitive advantage.The aim of this thesis is twofold; first of all, to explore the concept of social entrepreneurship, what it entails and how it is applied. Secondly, it is viewed from the more concrete perspective of the role of a social entrepreneur. In order to operationalise the research, the role of a social entrepreneur is contemplated on in relation to one specific actor, namely Stadsbruk. They are an incubator for commercial urban farmers, with ambition of creating social impact on several levels. The discussion treats how they, as a social entrepreneurial actor, stand in relation to the public sector, the power structure it creates and their position in the urban context, primarily concerning aspects of space and power.The findings of this study indicate that there needs to be a balance between entrepreneurial ambitions and objectives of creating a social impact for an actor to qualify as a social entrepreneur. As the field of research on social entrepreneurship is in a pre-paradigmatic state, it is reasonable to expect that the concept will be more clearly defined if or when the paradigm is set. Moreover, theories on narratives shaping the paradigm of social entrepreneurship suggest that there are different trajectories. However, one might also consider re-evaluating the concept of a traditional entrepreneur; the social entrepreneur could simply be a more holistic approach to entrepreneurship in general. Finally, the activities of a social entrepreneur are often related to that of the public sector. The results of the research imply a power structure, in which the social entrepreneur (in the case of this study Stadsbruk) are subordinate the public sector, due to structures of dependency, etc. This also relates to Massey’s theory on power relations in connection to space; power-geometry. An actor like Stadsbruk are positioned in the urban context, in which to struggles and relations of power and aspects of space are inevitable.

As the Stockholm Slaughterhouse district is being examined for future redevelopment to include mixed-use housing, this project explores new possibilities and relationships dealing with current issues surrounding food and its presence in the city by combining those two prime functions. / Stockholms stad planerar att utveckla Slakthusområdet från ett renodlat verksamhetsområde till att bli en stadsdel med blandad bebyggelse. I det här examensarbetet undersöker jag möjligheterna att inkludera matproduktion och distribution I ett bostadsområde genom att skapa utrymme för boende och matproduktion inom samma byggnad.

The project set out to develop a non-typological approach to public space in a poly-centric city. The principle of third space was used to conceptualise an interface for public life that would potentiate both public and private realms, and mitigate the issues currently related to contemporary public space. The notion of third space was also considered for the projects programmatic response in order to achieve an authentic urban experience. In essence a bridge between industrial typology and retail space was proposed to remedy the state of the unconscious consumer as well as establish the cross-fertilisation that occurs when a larger demographic of users are present. / Mini Dissertation (MArch (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Architecture / MArch (Prof) / Unrestricted

Shifts in economics, demographics, and lifestyle in America have lead to changes in this country's urban landscape. Rural and urban populations have migrated toward the suburbs and concentrated metro areas, leaving holes in the urban fabric of small and midsized cities. Often these empty spaces become drivers of blight, crime, and discouragement in the community. The goal of the Grow Pods Project is to transform the negative of vacant urban lots into an opportunity for improving health, building community, and encouraging positive growth. As a tool for integrating the food system directly into the urban context, this project addresses the need for innovative solutions to the complex issues of city land use. Grow Pods aim to help communities redirect a trajectory of decline toward a future that is focused on the health and wellbeing of the urban environment and the people who live in it. Transformation and transportability are intrinsic features of the design, in acknowledgement of the necessity for any component of a contemporary city in flux to be dynamic enough to reinvent itself within its evolving context. The Grow Pod project is focused on the South End Neighborhood of Springfield, MA, a city whose population and industrial base has decreased since much of its infrastructure was designed. Located in the fertile Connecticut River Valley, it is also in a region with a rich agricultural history.

Cities in the Global South are undergoing rapid urbanization, where a high percentage of the urban poor live in informal settlements that lack basic services, are associated with unemployment, low-income levels, and insecurity. The impacts of climate change, intensive agricultural practices, and highly globalized food systems pose challenges to food security. Urban farming is one of the alternative practices to tackle food insecurity and urban poverty. In this study, urban farming was examined through grassroots innovation theory, which focuses on creating innovative sustainable development solutions from the bottom up. However, insufficient research has been done on urban farming initiatives in highly deprived areas. A qualitative approach was adopted, where semi-structured interviews were conducted, that were triangulated with observation and documentation data, providing multiple sources of support. The data was analysed through the Resources-Rationales-Relations Framework, which has been also used by other researchers to analyse grassroots initiatives. The results demonstrate that water is a crucial resource in urban farming grassroots initiatives, as water availability is limited due to droughts and climate change. Furthermore, resource-scarce environments experience limited access to water due to the unequal distribution of resources. Another identified resource that urban farming grassroots initiatives imply is climate-smart innovative technologies, such as the hydroponic system, that gives farmers good exposure. Sustainable livelihood creation was the main rationale to be involved in urban farming grassroots initiatives, by creating employment, giving back to the community, and influencing youth’s food and lifestyle choices. Relations were found to be crucial between farmers and organizational intermediaries, as they have increased their visibility and enabled them to engage with a wider context. The study concludes that the urban sustainability transition in Global South’s informal settlements is achieved when it cuts through all three levels of knowledge production, which was done by the climate-smart innovative farming technologies that raise attention and interest beyond the local context up to the political arena.

The rapid urban development has impacted a great loss of natural landscape in the U.S in recent years. In the process of urbanization, the population has moved from the city centers to the edges of the Metropolitan or the newly developed suburbs as much as 62% until 2000. The annual conversion rate of undeveloped land to developed land between 1982 and 1992 was 1.4 million acres per year while it accelerated later in only five years between 1992 and 1997 to 2.2 million acres per year. Among all the development one of the most common was the Enormous shopping mall in suburban districts which are the collections of a vast range of retail corporations in response to the growing consumerism. In support of the gigantic malls, more service infrastructures were built as in the multi-storied parking garages, surface parking, HVAC. Currently, the total number of malls in the U.S is approximately 116,000. The downside of the development has been observed as rapid as it has grown. As in 2014, nearly 3% of all the malls in the United States were considered to be "dying" (40% or higher vacancy rates) and nearly one-fifth of all malls had vacancy rates considered "troubling" (10% or higher). The sudden deterioration was caused because of several factors such as the socio-economic change of the demography in the urban context, the change in the spending habit of the consumers (i.e. spending for experience rather than goods), Rise of the E-commerce, etc. While the dying circumstance continues, these vast and trapped places have nothing but negative impacts in the urban environment as being wasteful land, blocking the visual connectivity through places, clogging the pedestrian flow, contributing to the heat island effect. Thus the problem is evoking to rethink a sustainable design approach. This thesis will first generate an adaptive master plan for the future, in a specific site as the result of investigating the socio-economic issues that forced the mall site to be vacant. After projecting the master plan, the architectural project will be proposed which will prioritize the physical and social development of the context. Educating people regarding the redevelopment of the community and the sustainable way of living are the key features of the project. The new project will be considered an iconic community asset that would serve the neighborhoods. / Master of Architecture / The rapid urban development has impacted a great loss of natural landscape in the U.S in recent years. In the process of urbanization, the population has moved from the city centers to the edges of the Metropolitan or the newly developed suburbs as much as 62% until 2000. To serve the resettled population new services have been developed at the outskirts of the cities. Among all the development one of the most common was the Enormous shopping mall in suburban districts which are the collections of a vast range of retail corporations in response to the growing consumerism. In support of the gigantic malls, more service infrastructures were built as in the multi-storied parking garages, surface parking, HVAC. Currently, the total number of malls in the U.S is approximately 116,000. The downside of the development has been observed as rapid as it has grown. As in 2014, nearly 3% of all the malls in the United States were considered to be "dying" (40% or higher vacancy rates) and nearly one-fifth of all malls had vacancy rates considered "troubling" (10% or higher). The sudden deterioration was caused because of several factors such as the socio-economic change of the demography in the urban context, the change in the spending habit of the consumers (i.e. spending for experience rather than goods), Rise of the E-commerce, etc. This thesis will explore the strategy for reintegrating the troubling mall sites within the urban fabric. The thesis will first generate an adaptive master plan for the future, in a specific site as the result of investigating the socio-economic issues that forced the mall site to be vacant. After projecting the master plan, the architectural project will be proposed which will prioritize the physical and social development of the context. Educating people regarding the redevelopment of the community and the sustainable way of living are the key features of the project. The new project will be considered an iconic community asset that would serve the neighborhoods.

With an increasing urbanization and decreasing food security, the policy places greater demands on the future use of agricultural land and food supply. At the same time as awareness of food consumption increases among individuals, new technologies for farming also develop. The following degree project aims at carrying out a pilot study for further concept development for small-scale urban farming in winter cities. Based on a literature study and inspiration from reference objects, opportunities for continued conceptual development are analysed. These technical aspects together with a study of how public spaces, can or cannot, be used according to the case study’s municipality policy for usage of public space. And these aspects then lay the foundation for an initial concept and design proposal aimed at pointing out the possibilities of the concept. This initial concept is also the basis for a rough estimate of productivity with such urban cultivation tools. The conceptual urban farming tool devised here, is intended to not be taking more attention than necessary and portable. This is to make as little physical and visual impact in the city as possible, and to be adaptable to different places. However, there has been a lack of space for urban farming in the case study's municipal policy, for usage of public spaces. This has meant that the design proposal could not be anchored in accordance with the guidelines the municipality wishes for the use of public spaces. There are documented guidelines for similar use, and the design proposal has been assumed to fit in the policy of using the public space. The tool that has been developed consists of two containers, one of which is intended to work as a working area for harvesting and the other for cultivating. The hydroponic installation chosen in this work has been developed by Bright Agrotech. These installations are called Zipfarm and Zipwall, and are vertical cultivations which by drip irrigation bring nutrients to the plants. These towers that hold the plants during the cultivation period are mounted either in a portable rack or against a wall-based rack. This vertical cultivation method was chosen in this work because of the mobility. With the help of a tool to estimate production that Bright Agrotech provided and technical specifications for the grow lights used in the concept, a rough estimate of the operating cost of 13kr per kilo, to produce leafy green crops, has been calculated. This figure is based solely on the estimated amount of harvest and an estimate of the electricity consumption of the grow lights. The conclusion in this work, is that it is possible to integrate urban agriculture in winter cities with the aid of containers and hydroponic installations. What can be an incentive to not do this today is that electricity consumption can be too expensive, and that it is cheaper to cultivate in other places and transport the food in to the city.

The world is facing a food shortage as the world’s population increases and arable land decreases. Despite this, the food industry is wasteful, and 30% - 40% of all produced food is lost before reaching the end consumer. Emerging technologies aim to increase the amount of food that can be grown per m2 or allow the growing of food in climates or on lands previously impossible. Four main farming techniques utilising these emerging technologies are Controlled Environment Agriculture, Hydroponic Farming, Urban Farming and Vertical farming. When used together, these techniques form the basis for what can be called a Plant Factory. Despite the positive effects these technologies have on the production rate, few Plant Factories have managed to achieve profitability. By creating support for developing the post-harvesting system for a plant factory, this thesis aims to aid in the development of profitable plant factories. The thesis uses Design Research Methodology to achieve this aim in three parts. The first part identifies the underlying factors of the post-harvesting system affecting plant factory profitability. The second presents a set of support components that will aid the developers to improve key factors affecting profitability. The third part is a case study where the support components applicability at targeting the key factors are evaluated, and suggestions for further improvements and testing of the support is suggested.  Further, using Design Research Methodology, the methods used to develop support in this thesis are presented to easily be replicated by other researchers to aid them in developing support for other industries and circumstances. The suitability of the developed support was tested using the principles of an initial DS-II. The developed support proved very useful for the investigated case, and with its conditions, the application evaluation was considered a partial success. Two key factors were successfully improved and indicated that the intended support is ready for a comprehensive DS-II. A third support component needs more work to provide the intended support fully. Therefore a second  PS iteration is recommended before a comprehensive DS-II is done to increase its value.

This thesis explored design’s role in transitioning the Swedish food system to one that is more resilient to the shocks caused by climate change and in the context of the project duration, COVID-19. The project’s central question was: What does food citizenship look like in a resilient food system, and what design process is necessary to facilitate such a solution? The project collaborated with a local food ecosystem startup, Harvest, which has the mission to improve the local food supply chain so everyone can eat deliciously and sustainability. Together with Harvest, the project developed a vision of what the local food ecosystem will look like in a viable world. It proposes that collective action around food is a possible vehicle for systems transition. The resulting design is the proposition of a network that connects urban communities to local food producers while facilitating the support required to expand the production capability and stability of the local food ecosystem. The network is grounded in the design principles synthesized from the research conducted with the creative communities in Sweden that are working towards a resilient food system. The ideas of mutual aid and the permaculture ethics of people care and fair share have been guiding forces as supporting those living in transition is an essential element of food systems transition. From this proposition the project sets to explore what disruptive innovations need to occur in order to reach this vision. By framing the project in this way I aim to not only illuminate what the preferable future looks like and how it will function, but also illustrate how it is possible to reach this future.

The Farm is a speculative proposal for a self sustainable city block where as much food is produces as is consumed by it’s inhabitants. It is utilising the potential that arise when the greenery of farming is brought in to the cities in creating a new hybrid that blends with the city fabric with the aim of contributing to the areas multiplicity and vibrant life. The aim of the project has been that through architecture design; study the possibility to go from a throughput society, where everything we consume is produced outside of the community, to a society that produces what it consumes within the community in a cyclical integrated sustainable way. Can we produce what we consume with in a city and what happens when the production, which in this case is the cultivation of crops and plants, merge with the existing city fabric? What happens if the cultivation is combined with a traditional apartment program and what does it  become? Can the programs thrive together in symbiosis or will one of the programs become a parasite of the other? How does the vast open spaces required for farming relate to the small intimate spaces suitable for living spaces? What is their interrelationship, how do they effect each other?