Urban Farm at TMU’s Living Lab
A research platform that integrates scholarly, research and creative collaborations into the daily operations of the Urban Farm.
The Urban Farm Living Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) aims to develop and share resources and best practices that respond to the challenges of designing and operating a rooftop farm using green roof technology. Launched in 2019 by the Urban Farm at TMU in partnership with the Centre for Studies in Food Security, the Living Lab initiative builds on community-driven research needs with the ultimate goal of knowledge mobilization and translation in rooftop farming.
The Urban Farm uses the Living Lab model because it promotes co-creation, innovation and user participation, aiming to develop effective solutions for rooftop farming that have been tested in a real-life setting. The Urban Farm actively participates in Living Lab collaborations and prioritizes applications that are interdisciplinary, multi-sectoral, community-informed, and that value mutual respect, multiple ways of knowing, Two-Eyed Seeing, cultural centeredness and community-based, participatory action research.
To learn more about the Living Lab’s governance model, current and past research projects and upcoming events, please visit the Urban Farm’s Research page.
Do you have an idea for a research project that you believe would be a good fit for the Living Lab? Please visit Urban Farm Research Partnerships to learn about the intake process, or visit the Urban Farm Academic Requests to submit a one-time or short-term request.
Contributors
Principal academic advisor: Dr. Fiona Yeudall, Director of the School of Nutrition and Associate Director of the Centre for Studies in Food Security
Management and Research Advisory committee members: Research and Governance Model
Collaborators and Partners: Current and Past Research
urbanfarm@torontomu.ca (opens in new window)
Funding
Andrew and Valerie Pringle
Project dates
Since February 2019