Community in Urban Agritech isn’t just about growing food.
It’s about growing possibilities.
The sector brings together people, planet, place and prosperity in ways that can transform an empty building into a buzzing hub of energy, learning and year-round harvests. When that happens, you don’t just change a high street. You change lives.
People
Every sustainable system starts with people. We are the roots, the connectors, the ones who decide whether change happens.
I learned the power of people early on. As a boy, I spent summers on my grandfather’s farm in Caithness, where neighbours would leave their pickup keys in the ignition so others could borrow them, or share expensive equipment to save everyone money. Knowledge was never kept to yourself. It was given freely, for the betterment of all.
That spirit lives on in urban agritech. You see it when a grower shares a technique with a competitor, or when a community group turns up to help harvest a crop they’ve been learning to grow together. Case studies that share failures as well as successes. It’s collaboration that feeds more than just stomachs.
Planet
People often forget that urban agritech isn’t only about food production. It’s about climate action in plain sight.
In my hometown of Kirkcaldy, there’s an empty Marks & Spencer’s building. People will talk about what a tragedy it is that technology has taken away from the high streets. Why can’t we make it a synergy instead? I picture it reborn as a “department store of sustainability” powered by solar, wind and people themselves. Walk through the doors and the air is filled with the scent of fresh basil, soft fruit and crisp salad leaves.
Upstairs, glowing racks of vertical crops quietly hum as they grow. Electric cargo bikes wait at the loading bay for local deliveries, cutting down food miles. Every element is part of a closed loop, with clean energy powering clean food. It’s a high street that nourishes both people and the planet.
Place
Place shapes how communities connect. A century ago, some of the best vegetable growers in urban areas were coal miners. They had a deep sense of belonging and the determination to feed their neighbours. That same pride of place can be rekindled today.
This industry can turn underused buildings into living community hubs where crops are grown, skills are shared, and ideas are swapped over the hum of LED lights and the trickle of irrigation. My mission is to make this happen in Kirkcaldy and prove that what works in one place can inspire others across the UK.
Prosperity
True prosperity isn’t just about money. It’s about resilience, purpose and pride.
When a community focuses on what it has — local talent, local spaces and local resources — and combines them with innovation, it creates wealth that stays close to home. Jobs are created, skills are developed, health improves, and the high street becomes a place people want to be again.
As Scottish-born advocate John Muir once said:
“When we try to pick out anything by itself – we find it hitched to everything in the universe.”
Looking Ahead
I’m constantly inspired by the people I meet in this sector. They are doing incredible things with limited space, unexpected partnerships and sheer determination.
The seeds for change are already here around us. Urban Agritech just gives us the light, water and nutrients to help them grow.
by Andrew Bowie
