Vertical farming in NYC

[Micah 16]

BBC offered an interesting article about the future of farming.

Columbia University is offering a new proposal about a different way to look at farming. Why does farming have to just go horizontally over thousands of acres? Why not let farming go upwards? Scientists have come out with an simple idea: build a skyscraper with huge glass walls with a huge solar panel on top. Then, build a giant bed of plants with a complex irrigation system and there you go: "vertical farming"!

 

It would allow:

Year round crop production in a controlled environment

 

All produce would be organic as there would be no exposure to wild parasites and bugs

 

Elimination of environmentally damaging agricultural runoff

 

Food being produced locally to where it is consumed

Nurturing high rise crops in the "vertical farm"

Is this the future of farming? What are your thoughts about this?

[Easy Bakes 253]

Reminds me of Silent Running.

[coolotter88 2]

what if parasites/bugs were introduced when these plants have been living for such a long time in a bubble? there would be no immunity and disaster for the harvest.

[autoVino 26]

Aww, but normal farming looks so nice...  But they say it's to be sustainable... but a lot of water will go out of the system through the plants.  And how are they going to change the soil full of nutrients, or even where are they going to get the nutrients?

It's a great idea with much potential, but there are still some things that must be worked out.

[Jasoncw 11,843]

I've thought this would be a good idea, except that it would be so expensive and inefficient.  It could only be practically used for small volume things.  No corn skyscrapers. 

[DanWalker8 3]

It would be interesting if they build these structures under ground, with the top level occupied by a field-size array of solar panels to power the lights on the underfloors. heating and cooling would be more efficient underground, water would not have to be pumped vertically, there would be ample dirt supplied by the excavation... Underground just seems like a better option - what do you think?

p.s. i guess the goal of saving space would be left unreached, i was thinking of the cornfield in my backyard multiplied by about 7 subterrainian fields... not practicle for NYC

[Duke87 1,070]

This sounds like something you'd see in Japan...

...anyway, I doubt NYC could handle such a thing. Land is just too expensive, you'd never be able to get away with farming on it, even with your fields stacked 20-30 stories (or more) high... it would have to be part of a multiple use building, I'd think. Couple levels of retail on the bottom, some apartments on top, with the farms in the middle. That you could get away with, maybe.

Still, it would have to be an outer boroughs thing, you couldn't do that in the middle of Manhattan.

[MrFingers 0]

This would make sense for intensive hydroponic farming, but not for basic crops.

[Mulefisk 15]

In most places they can't even do this with parking, so why would they do it with farming?

[Meg 368]

Having the ability to do this would be good.    The population keeps increasing and the amount of cropland keeps decreasing.  At some point, that will be a problem and having alternatives would be helpful.

[TheSixCents 0]

it would be a good idea if they did a cash crop...

like Cannabis, Tobacco, or Coca

Joking

[ILL Tonkso 1,237]

Just cut the sprawl then lol. Less Sprawl = More Farmland.

[2ch.net simplayer 180]

This is exactly the idea behind my previous BAT....

In my BAT, I've included CO2 cycle and termperature control unit. Vertical farms (This BAT is called "Integrated Hirise Farm") can be used to consume CO2. So, direct connection with CO2-emitting facility is a quite good idea. A built-in vertical farming will probably take modular structure to allow for versatility. For some crops, complete automation (robot farming) is an obvious possibility. Moreover, what can go up can go down also as you see in the picture.

I think sooner or later, "manufacturing industry" and "farming" will merge. I actually considered about this possibility in my CJ Zanapolis

http://motherlandofsimtropolis.dudyconstructor.com/wiki/doku.php?id=zanapolis#economy (Economy - Industry category I and category II) 

But there is one problem I think. Do you eat all crops straight off? You would probably eat processed food. You can build food-processing factory in the middle of a city where this virtical farm is built, but there why are food processing factories not normally found in city centers?

[MrFingers 0]

The only place where you find farming in the middle of a city is Japan. It's all about the land value vs return on that land.

[The_Dalai_Llama 15]

Impractical in most parts of the world for right now... in America and Europe, limiting sprawl is the way to increase farmland. Japan seems to be one of the only logical locations where vertical farming can flourish... this concept just appears very Japanese to me.

[2ch.net simplayer 180]

Political factors might add to the feasibility, especially in countries where food is a strategic resource that more than half has to be imported - Singapore, UAE etc.

I bet Singapore or UAE(probably Dubai) is the first to actually build this, followed by Japan doing this at mass scale.

[Rymac91 15]

I use Vertical Farms in my cities...mine are smaller however. The Concept seems sound, but there would be a few hurtles to overcome in order to do this in a American city such as how to zone this, how to afford to build this and where to build this.

I had the Idea of taking a old abandoned parking garage and turning it into one of these...but then it hit me. Is there even a such thing as a abandoned parking garage in a city?(one of the rarest types of building in a city)

[aking88 7]

About Japan which someone mentioned, they have developed an artificial light which works touse for farming, and which would enable them to have farms underground.

Anyhow about the topic its not a new idea but its good if they get it working in a practical way. Look at my BAT project for a vertical farm (and please help if u can with rendering ) :

https://www.simtropolis.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=49&threadid=90205&enterthread=y

[aking88 7]

Originally posted by: 2ch.net simplayer This is exactly the idea behind my previous BAT....

In my BAT, I've included CO2 cycle and termperature control unit. Vertical farms (This BAT is called "Integrated Hirise Farm") can be used to consume CO2. So, direct connection with CO2-emitting facility is a quite good idea. A built-in vertical farming will probably take modular structure to allow for versatility. For some crops, complete automation (robot farming) is an obvious possibility. Moreover, what can go up can go down also as you see in the picture.

I think sooner or later, "manufacturing industry" and "farming" will merge. I actually considered about this possibility in my CJ Zanapolis

http://motherlandofsimtropolis.dudyconstructor.com/wiki/doku.php?id=zanapolis#economy (Economy - Industry category I and category II) 

But there is one problem I think. Do you eat all crops straight off? You would probably eat processed food. You can build food-processing factory in the middle of a city where this virtical farm is built, but there why are food processing factories not normally found in city centers?

quote>

Where can i find this BAT?

[JDRCRASH 53]

According to my "Popular Science" magazines I get every month, this idea has already been proposed for some time now.

And its not just in New York City; Los Angeles, Tokyo, London, Beijjing, Shanghai and of course.....Dubai, have all already expressed interest in building this so-called Farm Sprawl solutions.

[ACEfanatic 7]

With the increase in demand for corn (to be made into ethanol), this will be economically viable in the US pretty soon.

-ACE

[Bluebeard 0]

Not sure if this has been posted but someone is working on this so be patient.

[crazyyaya 4]

A great idea, expect it would never work. The cost of production would outway the land consumption. A very interesting concept however. I would like to see if they actually build one of those, for an expeirement.

[Barbarossa 51]

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  Edited September 7, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[Easy Bakes 253]

I dont see these being built and time soon.

Building a tall building like that would cost way more then

regular horizontal farm would cost ,and would generate more of a return

as offices or apartmments.

It will be a long time before we are so crowded that we will need farming of this type.

[ciber 0]

the sky skraper farms dont need to be in the city just think replace a 10 acer farm with 10 100 floor farm towers or even just 10 floor

or build em on the edj of a city

[Micah 16]

It's becoming a reality in Las Vegas.

Link

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: Micah

It's becoming a reality in Las Vegas.

Linkquote>

I would like to go see this once it's built.  It looks like a good location to try it out.  even if they did use the phrase "with operating expenses only being about $6 million a year"

[Bookworm 1]

Only 6 million?! Why, sign me up right now! I hope that the benefit outweights the cost... especially since it seems like a big excuse to fill in more real farms.

[Red1530 1]

I think this an interesting idea that may be crazy enough to work.