6Aika: CircularHoodFood

The aim of the project is to increase urban food production and food appreciation, as well as to develop biowaste recycling in cities. The project will result in an overall vision of best practices and development prospects. The project is being coordinated by HSY and involves Metropolia, the City of Vantaa, and the University of Helsinki.

CircularHoodFood promotes circular food economy

Urban food production refers to all food that can be produced in cities. This includes, for example, conventional urban farming, enclosed vertical farming, container breeding of protein-rich insects, and the cultivation of edible microbes and cell cultures in bioreactors.

The project examines the current state of urban food production and biowaste recycling in cities and conducts product development and marketing pilots with core operators and start-ups in the field, as well as with housing companies, for example. Concrete pilots may include, for example, prototypes of indoor farming or innovations to facilitate the sorting of biowaste. In addition, the project encourages housing companies and restaurants to reduce food waste, sort biowaste and increase food appreciation through communication and advice.

The pilots carried out in the project are assessed from the perspective of impact, sustainability, and permanence. Based on the assessment, practical guidelines on the benefits and implementation of urban food production solutions will be prepared for housing companies, for example. The housing company and block-level space needs required by the new solutions, as well as related permit practices, will also be investigated. This allows them to be better taken into account in sustainable area planning and zoning.

At HSY, the project is carried out in cooperation with the Climate Change Unit, the Communications and Advisory Unit, and the Development Unit.

Background to the project

The 6Aika: CircularHoodFood Circular Economy in Urban Neighbourhoods – Low-Carbon Food, Urban Production and Biowaste Recycling project is part of the 6Aika strategy of Finland’s six largest cities and receives funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The project promotes the generation of a carbon-neutral urban environment and a sustainable food system, the reduction of the carbon footprint of food, and is accelerating the creation of related new business, cooperation and solutions. The project will run until the end of 2021.

Project events

Kick-off webinar 15 September 2020

The kick-off webinar of the 6Aika CircularHoodFood project was held on Tuesday 15 September 2020 at 2–4 pm. Additional information about the event

The event’s presentations are available here