The Significance of Urban Permaculture and Green Technology

“Global warming poses an existential threat to humanity.” - The UN Secretary-General António

Guterres. One of the most critical impacts of climate change - Depletion of resources can be
considered as a gradual ticking time bomb for the entire world and generations to come.
However, to counter this pressing issue, a multitude of measures can be taken, and practices
be implemented. Delving into the substantial implementations that promote environmental
sustainability, they can be narrowed down to two innovative practices - Urban Permaculture and
Smart Cities.

Urban permaculture is a creative way of reshaping traditional farming techniques for urban
environments, which ensures a resilient and sustainable future. Urban permaculture is the
concept of utilizing land, resources, people and the environment in a manner that doesn't
produce any waste. Stated by the UNEP, within cities, there are multiple methodologies of
urban permaculture including land-based personal household plots, community allotment
gardens and larger commercial farms, not to mention, other novel types of agriculture that have
less requirement for open land including indoor gardening, aquaculture, mushroom farming, etc.
These diverse modes are suited to different business models and to varied objectives and
goals. For example, high-tech vertical farming, usually profitable for niche crops (e.g., herbs,
select vegetables), can create economic development and reduce transport needs and related
impacts, while business models connecting conventional small allotment agriculture in
underserved neighborhoods with community nutrition programmes can provide income and
help improve nutritional security for underserved communities.

Urban agriculture has potential to provide broader environmental benefits including climate
mitigation and adaptation, heat and flood mitigation, erosion reduction, carbon capture,
maintenance of agricultural biodiversity, increased presence of pollinators and the consequent
reduction in biodiversity loss. However, more scientific evidence is needed to confirm these
benefits, as noted in a review article by Keeler et al. (2019). By practicing urban agriculture,
ample nutritional benefits can be offered through access to fresh vegetables, fruits, milk and
eggs, particularly to those facing food insecurity in cities. Moreover, when communities
collaborate and converge, they forge bonds, which further enhances the societal relationships
as well.

Moving forward, another efficient method to ensure environmental sustainability and

conservation of resources is shifting towards a concept called ‘Smart Cities’. This idea combines
social capital, human investment and infrastructure aimed at economic and sustainable
development using technologies to promote sustainability (Macke et al., 2019). Such a city is
considered sustainable, intelligent or ‘smart’, and has several technological characteristics such
as renewable energy, smart housing, pollutant emission control, multimodal mobility, digital
inclusion, efficient financial management. By such implementations, the rapid depletion of
resources can be mitigated.
The reconnaissance of the essay brings to the surface the discussion of innovative sustainable
methods to ensure the preservation of the environment, which are urban permaculture and the
incorporation of smart/green technologies and taking the world towards smart cities. These
techniques effectively promote long-term ecological balance, shaping a world that the coming
generations would like to live in.