Vertical Farming and Controlled Environment Agriculture: Sustainability, Scalability, and Global Food Futures

Urban and periurban agriculture are increasingly recognized as critical components of sustainable, resilient, and climate-responsive food systems. Within this rapidly evolving landscape, vertical farming, greenhouse production systems, and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) have emerged as innovative approaches capable of transforming food production through the efficient use of water, land, nutrients, energy, and environmental controls. Advances in hydroponics, aeroponics, greenhouse technologies, artificial lighting, sensors, automation, artificial intelligence, and precision agriculture have accelerated global interest in these systems as potential solutions to food insecurity, urbanization pressures, climate change, and resource constraints.

Despite their growing prominence, important questions remain regarding economic viability, energy demands, infrastructure requirements, crop suitability, environmental performance, and long-term sustainability. In addition, the social dimensions of urban and periurban CEA systems—including food access, equity, community well-being, workforce development, and environmental justice—have received comparatively less attention than technological innovation. While the existing literature has generated valuable insights into engineering and production efficiencies, there remains a need for more comprehensive assessments of scalability, governance, policy frameworks, regional disparities, and broader socioeconomic outcomes across diverse geographic and cultural contexts.

A balanced, interdisciplinary, and globally informed evaluation is therefore needed to better understand the opportunities, limitations, and future trajectories of vertical farming, greenhouse systems, and controlled environment agriculture within sustainable urban and periurban food systems. Such an assessment is essential for informing research, practice, and policy aimed at advancing resilient, equitable, and environmentally sustainable food futures.

The Research Topic further encourages comparative and transdisciplinary analyses across regions, production systems, and socioeconomic contexts. We are particularly interested in studies that critically examine the synergies, trade-offs, and long-term implications of technological innovation for sustainability outcomes, social inclusion, and urban food system transformation. Contributions from diverse geographic regions and disciplinary perspectives are strongly encouraged to foster a globally relevant and balanced understanding of the opportunities, limitations, and future trajectories of urban and periurban controlled environment agriculture.

Illustrative research questions include:

* How can vertical farming and greenhouse systems strengthen urban and periurban food security and nutrition?

* What environmental, economic, and social trade-offs influence the long-term sustainability of controlled environment agriculture?

* How do vertical farming and CEA systems affect community well-being, food access, and environmental justice?

* What policy, governance, and planning approaches best support sustainable urban and periurban agriculture?

* How can greenhouse and vertical farming technologies contribute to climate-resilient and resource-efficient cities?

* What roles can artificial intelligence, automation, and smart agriculture play in improving the performance, efficiency, and scalability of CEA systems?

* How can controlled environment agriculture be adapted to diverse socioeconomic, cultural, and geographic contexts while maintaining sustainability goals?

* What strategies can improve the economic viability and long-term adoption of vertical farming and greenhouse production systems?

* How can urban and periurban agriculture contribute to circular economy approaches, resource recovery, and sustainable city development?

* What lessons can be learned from comparative studies of CEA systems across different regions, climates, and production environments?

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Vertical farming, controlled environment agriculture, hydroponics, food security, urban agriculture, sustainability, precision agriculture, climate resilience

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.