The Plantagon wants to put farming in the cities via the amazing Plantagon dome farm. With most people now living in cities, it makes sense to grow food locally in cities and not transport it. While I applaud the visionary scale of such a project, I’m always a little skeptical of massive city architecture, especially when it’s just plopped down and clearly is aimed at wealthier people only.
Would it be nice to go to a farmer’s market inside the Plantagon? Absolutely. But I’m guessing the produce would be organic and expensive. Thus it really would just benefit those with higher incomes. Too much architecture in big cities seems designed for precisely that. The poor aren’t wanted or welcome.
“With most people now living in cities…”
Actually, worldwide, only 49% live in urban/suburban areas, meaning 51% live rural. In the U.S., 82% live in urbs/suburbs– but according to Wiki, “The majority of urbanized area residents are suburbanites; core central city residents make up about 30% of the urbanized area population…” That means only 1/4 of the U.S. lives in cities. The difference is significant– I can imagine plopping one of these down in downtown Los Angeles, Boston, or Salt Lake City– but not Tarzana, Medfield, or Provo.
Also note that trends are changing– people are moving out of the ‘burbs. Utah is the fastest growing state in the nation, with much of this growth in rural areas.
Bottom line: don’t jettison your farmers yet. You may yet need us.
i know, i thought it was wrong too