Modern examples include Eli Zabar's Vinegar Factory Greenhouse, Gotham Greens, Dongtan, Masdar City, and Lufa Farms.
The term building-integrated agriculture was coined by Ted Caplow in a paper delivered at the 2007 Passive and Low Energy Cooling Conference in Crete, Greece.
Specific observations include: Proponents maintain that BIA is an environmentally sustainable strategy for urban food production that reduces our environmental footprint, cuts transportation costs, enhances food security/safety, conserves water, protects rivers, improves health, reduces waste, cools buildings, and combats global warming.
[10] Using a building's waste heat and solar photovoltaic panels reduce fossil fuel emissions that typically result from production and distribution.
[15] The Science Barge, while not on a building, is widely credited with an invigorating interest in BIA in New York City, following its 2007 public debut.
[24] The New Alchemy Institute designed and built an experimental composting greenhouse in 1983 to research opportunities for the production of biothermal energy.