As arable land decreases and urban populations increase, planners and designers worldwide have begun looking at vertical farming as a way to boost urban food security. Dickson explores vertical farming’s many benefits in an infographic packed with interesting data, including the estimate that a 30-story farm could feed 50,000 people a 2,000 calorie-per-day diet for an entire year.

The concept sounds like science fiction: instead of spreading out across acres and acres, the farms of the future will grow lettuce and strawberries inside climate-controlled, light-controlled cylinders. Less land, less water, but year-round light and perfectly controlled moisture.

At just 100,000 square feet, Plenty’s new facility will be 99 percent smaller than a typical American farm. But Plenty’s goal is to optimize every inch of that available space for ideal cultivation. Fruits and vegetables grow on 20-foot-tall towers, bathed in LED lights and connected to a wealth of data-collecting microsensors.

Kurt Kelty, Tesla's former director of battery technology, is moving into a very different sector of the tech industry: indoor agriculture.

For as long as I can remember, people have been hyping vertical farming — growing crops indoors, using vertical space to intensify production.

In 2014, Panasonic  started growing leafy greens inside a warehouse in Singapore and selling them to local grocers and restaurants. At the time, the 2,670-square-foot farm produced just 3.6 tons of produce per year. 

The Food Tower concept has been tested by Surbana Jurong’s architectural team as a direct response to the growing pressure on sustainability of food production in Singapore.

Plenty today announced that it will open a 100,000 square-foot farm in Kent, Wash., where the 3-year-old company will grow pesticide-free, “backyard quality” produce for consumers in Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.