Office conversion is taking an agricultural turn.
Former office buildings are thriving as indoor farms as demand for office space drops, reports Vittoria Traverso for BBC. “While indoor farming had been on the rise for years, a watershed moment came during the Covid-19 pandemic, when disruptions to the food supply chain underscored the need for local solutions.”
Vertical farming can make use of vacant office space and grow food where agricultural land might be scarce. The conversion process is also, in some cases, easier than residential conversion. “Thanks to artificial light and controlled temperatures, offices are proving surprisingly good environments for indoor agriculture, spurring some companies to convert part of their facilities into small farms.”
One drawback: energy use. As Traverso notes, “vertical farms need a lot of electricity to run lighting and ventilation systems, smart sensors and automated harvesting technologies.”
FULL STORY: A new life for empty offices: Growing kale and cucumbers
Office conversion is picking up steam in San Francisco
The city spent five years streamlining approval processes and reducing fees to encourage more adaptive reuse of vacant office buildings.
With Zero Office Conversions in Four Years, San Francisco Pins Hopes on New Special Financing District
City leaders hope the new incentive will spur the redevelopment of some of the city’s 30,000 square feet of vacant office space into housing.
Manhattan Office-to-Apartment Conversions Doubled in 2024
Thanks in part to recent zoning changes, a record number of office space is being converted to housing in the city’s former business districts.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Mamdani overhauls NYC's Vision Zero plan with 100 new policy goals
The overhaul aims to reduce traffic deaths and make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers through lower speed limits, new safety infrastructure and more.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association