Nina Rappaport of UrbanOmnibus explores the history of the urban factory, examining the social, economic, and environmental benefits of the modern vertical factory industry.
Rappaport writes:
"In the future, cleaner and greener production methods could make vertical urban factories the new engines of urban revitalization, encouraging both economic growth and urban vitality as well as offering more sustainable solutions with production systems such as just-in-time manufacturing or increases in recycling."
Rappaport goes on to discuss the various advantages that a modern vertical factory system could provide, including: sustainable practices, added social value to a community, less CO2 emissions, and money-saving strategies.
There is also the possibility that, "Vertical urban factories could produce energy rather than just consume it, and workers could recycle goods, rather than spew them out. This in turn would close the loop of making, consuming and recycling as part of a new urban spatial and economic paradigm."
FULL STORY: Vertical Urban Factory
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Harvard University Graduate School of Design
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The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
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Journal of the American Planning Association