Feasibility and community acceptance of modular urban farming in Singapore: Design, prototyping, and pilot testing

Food security is a growing global challenge, intensified by urbanization and industrialization that encroach upon valuable agricultural land. In Singapore, a city-state with limited land and heavy reliance on food imports, ensuring nutritional self-sufficiency for its 5.9 million residents is an in-creasingly critical concern. This study investigates community attitudes toward the implementation of urban farming structures in residential areas and explores the feasibility of integrating space-saving farming solutions, such as urban, rooftop, and vertical farming, into Singapore’s urban land-scape. A survey conducted among local residents revealed a 73.4% positive outlook toward the concept of community urban farms, with respondents expressing strong support for the idea of localized food production. However, the survey also highlighted a significant gap in opportunities for residents to engage actively in the operation and maintenance of urban farms. Community in-volvement is a critical factor that influences the long-term sustainability and scalability of urban farming projects. These findings underscore the importance of developing strategies that foster and incentivize resident participation in these initiatives to enhance their success and viability. Based on the positive survey feedback, a modular urban farming unit was conceptualized and pro-totyped. With a focus on adaptable design and speed of installation, the designs focus on the inte-gration of agricultural spaces with minimal to zero modifications required for existing architectures. In particular, Housing Development Board (HDB) rooftops in Singapore, often have uneven terrain. To optimize environmental conditions for crop growth, advanced design tools such as Revit BIM for architectural modeling, IESVE for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to optimize air-flow, and BIM HVAC for assessing lighting conditions were utilized to study the environmental con-ditions critical to crop growth. Following the successful digital prototyping phase, a physical proto-type was constructed at SIT@Dover campus, in Singapore. Between March and August 2023, Kailan and Bok Choy were cultivated, averaging an annual yield of 25.6 kg/m². A second prototype, optimized for maximum yield per floor area, was installed at the Oasis Living Lab between Septem-ber 2023 and February 2024, achieving a yield of 130.2 kg/m² per year. These results demon-strate the feasibility and adaptability of modular urban farming systems in high-density environ-ments. With supportive policies and collaboration among stakeholders, the widespread adoption of such systems can be realized in the near future.