Around Los Angeles' Skid Row, vertical farms have been installed on walls. Its project leaders note that it not only promotes locally grown foods, but it also beautifies areas that "would otherwise just be concrete and steel."
"Each 30-foot-long-by-6-foot-high wall contains 4,000 plants growing in 180 square panels made of stainless steel; the panels, in turn, are divided into 4-inch-by-6-inch dirt-filled cells. Drip lines irrigate the crops from above and water drains through X-shaped slits on the underside of each cell. A fully loaded wall weighs roughly 15 pounds per square foot and can attach to an adjacent building or a freestanding metal framework.
'Bees and butterflies arrived within seconds after we put the walls up,' says Joyce Lewis, Urban Farming's L.A. project manager, who organizes local volunteers to tend the vertical gardens. 'They greened an environment that would otherwise just be concrete and steel.'"
"'There's been a definite shift across the country in understanding the value of locally grown food, but as a society we're not very good about giving up valuable urban real estate for parks,' Osler explains. 'The advantage of vertical farming is that it doesn't take up a lot of space.'"
FULL STORY: Vertical Food Gardens Sprout in L.A.’s Skid Row
Vertical Farms, Fad or Feast?
Hydroponic indoor farmers hope to charge a premium for plants grown out of season in indoor farms. The notion has generated attention from big investors, but whether or not consumers will follow is an open question.
Fish: the Future of Urban Farming
Cityscape Farms has developed a new technique for farming fish along with vegetables in combined urban food systems that allows them to farm in developed areas.
Is the Local Food Movement Misguided?
Eating local is in vogue, as the environmental impacts of industrialized agriculture surface. But is eating local really the right response? One author says maybe not.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.
Seattle's Plan for Adopting Driverless Cars
Equity, safety, accessibility and affordability are front of mind as the city prepares for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles.
As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.
With Protected Lanes, 460% More People Commute by Bike
For those needing more ammo, more data proving what we already knew is here.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)