Skyscraper Farms, Agriculture for the Future?

Thirty-story buildings used for crop-growing is a good idea on paper, but the challenges still outweigh the benefits.

1 minute read

January 8, 2009, 9:00 AM PST

By Judy Chang


"What's needed before millions of dollars are spent to construct or renovate an existing 30-story building into a vertical farm, [Columbia University professor of public health Dickson] Despommier says, are prototypes just a few stories high. They should be built at leading agricultural universities and tinkered with until the concept is proved. 'Once it does, drive it out of the showroom and take it home,' he says.

While Despommier has won admirers around the world for his innovative thinking, skeptics still wonder how he's going to handle the problem of solar energy – bringing necessary light to the interior and lower floors of his agri-towers. 'As soon as you go vertical, you compound that problem of getting that [solar] energy to the plant,' says Gene Giacomelli, director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center at the University of Arizona in Tucson."

"The challenges also include finding and training indoor 'farmers' who can operate what is likely to be a complex system. 'There's nobody at the moment,' Giacomelli says. The technical problems aren't insurmountable – crops are being grown indoors at the South Pole, albeit at great expense, he says. But, he adds, 'There are many more ways to fail [at indoor agriculture] than to grow a crop correctly and succeed.'"

Wednesday, December 24, 2008 in The Christian Science Monitor

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight