The Editor, Few cities in the world have the opportunity that currently presents itself to the citizens of Richmond. The Garden City Lands is a predominantly untouched piece of real estate in the middle of a busy urban core.
For years the debate has raged as to what our city should do with this piece of land; some favour preserving it as farmland as its current ALR zoning designates, while others would like to rezone and develop the land.
I personally believe the solution rests in a combination of both options, creating the most for all citizens of our community today, while creating a legacy for Richmond residents of tomorrow.
My answer to this quandary is ecofriendly, vertical farming; a trailblazing solution, which using a small portion of the land base, could significantly produce more output than if the entire area were farmed traditionally.
Vertical farming is the future. Arable land is fast disappearing and populations around the globe are ever increasing at an unsustainable rate.
Resembling high-density residential development in urban areas, future cities will inevitably rely on high-density agriculture.
Consider this stat from Scientific American Journal: "A one-square-block farm 30 stories high could yield as much food as 2,400 outdoor acres."
Engineers calculate a typical city block at roughly 2.25 acres; therefore at 136.5 acres the Garden City lands would be equivalent to 60 average city blocks.
If 10 per cent of the Garden City Lands (13.65 acres) was used to build six vertical green houses, at 10 stories high (60 stories total), it would produce the equivalent of 35 times more than if the entire Garden City Lands were farmed traditionally, and leave the other 90 per cent for other community uses, and renewed public discussion.
Vertical farming could provide the City of Richmond with the opportunity to create an audacious legacy, and set a worldwide vision for the future of agriculture; fittingly revolutionizing the same industry which facilitated the establishment of our city in the fertile Fraser River delta over a century ago.
The future is bright and it's time for Richmond to be bold.
Matt Pitcairn
Richmond
