Shipping container houses are all the rage right now. So why not a shipping container farm?
Freight Farms builds hydroponic farms in repurposed shipping containers. The 325-square-foot boxes include red and blue LED lights to mimic day and night, plus a climate-control system for year-round farming. The units use 90 percent less water than conventional farming, and eliminate the need for pesticides by sealing off the immediate environment. Farmers can control the box’s growth settings using a smartphone app.
Freight Farms was founded in Boston in 2011, and raised $1.2 million late last year. Their $70,000-85,000 units have sold to chefs, restaurants, schools, food community entrepreneurs, and others, writes Amber Cortes.
Read the full story: Meet the smart farm you can control with a smartphone
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Los Angeles just elected an urban planner as its mayor
Transportation analysts are optimistic that Raman will be more aggressive in addressing transit issues than Bass.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority