Urban Agriculture, Smart Design, and Vertical Farms
The big advantage that urban farming touts is the innovative reimagining and utilization of space. Urban farms might be as humble as your traditional, outdoor community garden. On the other hand, they might be as complex and futuristic as well-regulated, self-contained, environmentally controlled pods that are stacked on top of each other.
In one of the latest trends in urban farming, vertical farming, we’ve begun to realize yields that are nearly 10 times more efficient than traditional agriculture. “Vertical farming doesn’t promise to radically change the way we farm, only make it more efficient, productive, and take up less space,” writes Jelor Gallego with Futurism.com.
Traditional farmers could take a lesson from vertical farmers in their buildings and design, adopting the tenets of smart design to reduce waste and increase yield. Josh Tittle, writing on smart and sustainable barn design, reminds that it’s easy to get carried away by what you want rather than what you need.
“ … more space means more energy that’s needed for heat and light, which in turn makes for higher costs and more wasted resources. Instead of building a larger structure, consider what it is you need at the moment and design an efficient space for that purpose,” he writes.
As we continue to overpopulate our world and take up space, we’ll need to rely on efficiency in spaces and growth to continue to feed ourselves. Unfortunately, no matter how high we build or how intelligently we design, human beings are causing extensive damage and change to our environments, impacting our ability to raise healthy, mature crops. (innovation excellence)
