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.

Framtiden kommer att sätta städer på prov i och med att världens befolkning och urbanisering ökar. Detta utsätter livsviktiga förutsättningar som ekosystemtjänster och pollinering för stora hot, då en ökande urbanisering gör att grönytor i städer minskar. Samtidigt som att de som finns oftast är av en karaktär som inte är speciellt gynnsam för den biologiska mångfalden. Det har påvisats att det kan finnas ett positivt samband mellan biologisk mångfald och människans välmående. Samtidigt poängterar flertalet studier de hälsofrämjande effekter naturen har på människor, sett till både det fysiska och det mentala. Om rätt förutsättningar ges för städer kan det skapa möjligheter som bidrar med positiva effekter för en hållbar stadsutveckling. Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka effekter småskalig odling i urban miljö kan ha för att öka biologisk mångfald och ekosystemtjänster i staden, samt boendes relation till naturmiljöer. Studien fokuserade på miniträdgårdar/blomurnor som placerats ut i ett bostadsområde i Gävle, Sverige. Dessa delades ut till hushåll som ville ta hand om dem under 2019. Resultatet av både en enkätundersökning och en litteraturundersökning visar på att miniträdgårdar kan ses som en förbättringsåtgärd/ett verktyg för att främja hållbarheten i städer gällande både de ekologiska och sociala aspekterna. En analys av en inventeringsstudie som skedde mellan år 2018 och 2019 gällande pollinerande insekter för området i Gävle, visade på att förekomsten av pollinatörer hade ökat. Enkätstudien av 39 svaranden visade på att de som tyckte att det skett en förändring i och med tillkomsten av miniträdgårdar/blomurnor, tyckte att det varit i en positiv mening. Det visade sig även att i jämförelse mellan år 2019 och 2020 hade de boendes inställning till olika inslag i naturen ökat i en positiv mening. Detta skulle kunna förklaras som att exponeringen av miniträdgårdar/blomurnor har lett till mer pro-ekologiska attityder. Slutligen konstateras att vidare studier inom ämnet behöver genomföras för att kunna ge ett tydligare svar av vad för slags mini-odlingar som är bäst lämpade och i vilken utsträckning dessa är nödvändiga för att uppnå positiva resultat. / The future will put cities to test as the world's population and urbanization increases. This may lead to threats to vital conditions for ecosystem services and pollination as such. As a result of increasing urbanization, green spaces in cities are declining and those of existence are usually of a character that is not particularly favorable for biodiversity. It has been shown that there can be a positive relationship between biodiversity and human well-being. At the same time, several studies point out the health-beneficial effects that nature has on humans, regarding both physical and mental health. As well as providing right conditions for cities, it can create opportunities that contribute with positive effects for sustainable urban development. The aim of this study is to investigate what effects small-scale cultivation in an urban environment has on biodiversity and ecosystem services in the city, as well as the resident’s relationship to natural environments. The study has focused on arrangements of miniature gardens/flower urns placed in a residential area in Gävle, Sweden. These were distributed to households who wanted to take care of them in 2019. The result of both a questionnaire survey and a literature study show that such an arrangement can be seen as an improvement action/tool to promote sustainability in cities regarding both the ecological and social aspects. An analysis of an inventory study which occurred between the years 2018 and 2019 that looked at pollinators in the resident area in Gävle, showed that the abundance of pollinators had risen. The questionnaire survey of 39 answers showed that of those who felt that a change had occurred with the presence of the miniature gardens/flower urns thought that it had been in a positive way. Compared to 2019, the residents' attitudes towards natural elements had been increasingly positive in 2020. This could be explained by the fact that the presence of the miniature gardens/flower urns has affected their values in a pro-ecological manner. Finally, it is concluded that to give a clearer answer of what kinds of small-scale cultivations that are best suited and to what extent these are necessary to achieve positive results, further studies in the subject are needed.