Cultivating Resilience: Urban Agriculture and Vertical Farming for Food, Health, and Environment – A Systematic Review

Background Urbanization and climate change pressure urban food systems. Urban agriculture and vertical farming integrate biological systems, smart technologies, architectural design, food engineering, and environmental management to enhance food security, public health, and environmental sustainability. However, the literature remains fragmented, and no synthesis has examined how these domains interact within a food, health, and environment nexus. Methods This systematic review followed PRISMA 2020. Scopus was searched using a four-block string covering urban agriculture, smart technologies, architecture and biology, and food, health, and environment. From 1,207 documents, after filtering (2016–2026, research articles, English, open access) and screening, 38 studies were included. Data extraction used a standardized form. Quality was assessed with MMAT, JBI, CASP, and ISO 14040/14044. Thematic synthesis addressed eight research questions. Results The 38 studies spanned Architecture (n = 14), IT/Computational Science (n = 8), PSDAL (n = 14), Breeding (n = 7), Biology (n = 7), Public Health (n = 5), and Food Science (n = 4). Quality assessment: 27 low risk, 11 moderate, none high. Key findings: 156% food self-sufficiency; 13.5–20.2% energy savings; 57.14% water savings; 14.1% CO2 reduction; 28.1% VOC reduction; 20.9% PM2.5 reduction; 7.8°C PET reduction; GWP 0.86 kg CO2-eq/MJ; NER 3.7. CRISPR crops, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and microalgae improved crop architecture, nutrient uptake, and resource recovery. IoT, AI, digital twins, and robotics enabled precision monitoring and control. Green façades, BIPV, agrivoltaics, and green roofs created multifunctional envelopes. Conclusions Urban agriculture and vertical farming yield synergistic benefits across food, health, and environment. Evidence supports integration into sustainable urban development. Gaps remain: multi-climate validation, economic analysis, policy fragmentation, data standardisation, and social acceptance. Future research should prioritise multi-site validation, economic assessment, regulatory frameworks, data interoperability, and AI-driven optimisation. Cultivating resilience requires integrated, evidence-based approaches aligning biological potential, technological capability, and architectural design.