Urban Farming Rising

Urban agriculture is becoming a well-known idea all around the world. Most of it is done at the small-scale, but there's still the idea of creating large skyscraper farms to feed our cities. Smithsonian takes a look at the idea.

1 minute read

August 4, 2010, 6:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg

Skyscrapers dedicated to agriculture may not be up for permit approvals anywhere yet, but there are some ideas that come close.

"Such a high-rise farm has not yet been built. But in Devon, England, the Paignton Zoo has maintained a hydroponic, controlled-irrigation garden for several months. The yield from its 11,000-odd leafy vegetable plants-lettuce, spinach, herbs-is fed to the animals. The garden takes up 1,000 square feet in a greenhouse, about one-twentieth of what it would require in a field. Kevin Frediani, the zoo's curator of plants, says its key technology, a system of mobile nine-foot-high racks that help ensure the plants are properly fed and exposed to light and air, could be scaled up."

FULL STORY: The Rise of Urban Farming

Sunday, August 1, 2010 in Smithsonian

Architecture Land Use World Urban Agriculture Sky Farms

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