"The vertical farm is a world-changing innovation whose time has come. Dickson Despommier's visionary book provides a blueprint for securing the world's food supply and at the same time solving one of the gravest environmental crises facing us today."--Sting Imagine a world where every town has their own local food source, grown in the safest way possible, where no drop of water or particle of light is wasted, and where a simple elevator ride can transport you to nature's grocery store - imagine the world of the vertical farm. When Columbia professor Dickson Despommier set out to solve America's food, water, and energy crises, he didn't just think big - he thought up. Despommier's stroke of genius, the vertical farm, has excited scientists, architects, and politicians around the globe. Now, in this groundbreaking book, Despommier explains how the vertical farm will have an incredible impact on changing the face of this planet for future generations. Despommier takes readers on an incredible journey inside the vertical farm, buildings filled with fruits and vegetables that will provide local food sources for entire cities. Vertical farms will allow us to: - Grow food 24 hours a day, 365 days a year - Protect crops from unpredictable and harmful weather - Re-use water collected from the indoor environment - Provide jobs for residents - Eliminate use of pesticides, fertilizers, or herbicides - Drastically reduce dependence on fossil fuels - Prevent crop loss due to shipping or storage - Stop agricultural runoff Vertical farms can be built in abandoned buildings and on deserted lots, transforming our cities into urban landscapes which will provide fresh food grown and harvested just around the corner. Possibly the most important aspect of vertical farms is that they can built by nations with little or no arable land, transforming nations which are currently unable to farm into top food producers. In the tradition of the bestselling The World Without Us, The Vertical Farm is a completely original landmark work destined to become an instant classic.

Plant Factory: An Indoor Vertical Farming System for Efficient Quality Food Production, Second Edition presents a comprehensive look at the implementation of plant factory (PF) practices to yield food crops for both improved food security and environmental sustainability. Edited and authored by leading experts in PF and controlled environment agriculture (CEA), the book is divided into five sections, including an Overview and the Concept of Closed Plant Production Systems (CPPS), the Basics of Physics and Physiology – Environments and Their Effects, System Design, Construction, Cultivation and Management and Plant Factories in Operation. In addition to new coverage on the rapid advancement of LED technology and its application in indoor vertical farming, other revisions to the new edition include updated information on the status of business R&D and selected commercial PFALs (plant factory with artificial lighting). Additional updates include those focused on micro and mini-PFALs for improving the quality of life in urban areas, the physics and physiology of light, the impact of PFAL on the medicinal components of plants, and the system design, construction, cultivation and management issues related to transplant production within closed systems, photoautotrophic micro-propagation and education, training and intensive business forums on PFs. - Includes coverage of LED technology - Presents case-studies for real-world insights and application - Addresses PF from economics and planning, to operation and lifecycle assessment

This book focuses on light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, mainly for the commercial production of horticultural crops in plant factories and greenhouses with controlled environments, giving special attention to: 1) plant growth and development as affected by the light environment; and 2) business and technological opportunities and challenges with regard to LEDs. The book contains more than 30 chapters grouped into seven parts: 1) overview of controlled-environment agriculture and its significance; 2) the effects of ambient light on plant growth and development; 3) optical and physiological characteristics of plant leaves and canopies; 4) greenhouse crop production with supplemental LED lighting; 5) effects of light quality on plant physiology and morphology; 6) current status of commercial plant factories under LED lighting; and 7) basics of LEDs and LED lighting for plant cultivation. LED lighting for urban agriculture in the forthcoming decades will not be just an advanced form of current urban agriculture. It will be largely based on two fields: One is a new paradigm and rapidly advancing concepts, global technologies for LEDs, information and communication technology, renewable energy, and related expertise and their methodologies; the other is basic science and technology that should not change for the next several decades. Consideration should be given now to future urban agriculture based on those two fields. The tremendous potentials of LED lighting for urban agriculture are stimulating many people in various fields including researchers, businesspeople, policy makers, educators, students, community developers, architects, designers, and entrepreneurs. Readers of this book will understand the principle, concept, design, operation, social roles, pros and cons, costs and benefits of LED lighting for urban agriculture, and its possibilities and challenges for solving local as well as global agricultural, environmental, and social issues.

THE VERTICAL FARMING MCQ (MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS) SERVES AS A VALUABLE RESOURCE FOR INDIVIDUALS AIMING TO DEEPEN THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF VARIOUS COMPETITIVE EXAMS, CLASS TESTS, QUIZ COMPETITIONS, AND SIMILAR ASSESSMENTS. WITH ITS EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF MCQS, THIS BOOK EMPOWERS YOU TO ASSESS YOUR GRASP OF THE SUBJECT MATTER AND YOUR PROFICIENCY LEVEL. BY ENGAGING WITH THESE MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS, YOU CAN IMPROVE YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE SUBJECT, IDENTIFY AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT, AND LAY A SOLID FOUNDATION. DIVE INTO THE VERTICAL FARMING MCQ TO EXPAND YOUR VERTICAL FARMING KNOWLEDGE AND EXCEL IN QUIZ COMPETITIONS, ACADEMIC STUDIES, OR PROFESSIONAL ENDEAVORS. THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS ARE PROVIDED AT THE END OF EACH PAGE, MAKING IT EASY FOR PARTICIPANTS TO VERIFY THEIR ANSWERS AND PREPARE EFFECTIVELY.

What Is Vertical Farming By 2050, it’s estimated that there will be two billion more human beings than there are today. To feed that many people, we’ll need a landmass the size of South America to account for the food production. Unfortunately for everyone, they don’t make new continents anymore, and if the lack of land isn’t enough to worry about, year by year, the planet is losing arable land due to the changing climate, intensifying weather conditions, air quality, and more. Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers. It often incorporates controlled-environment agriculture, which aims to optimize plant growth, and soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics, and aero ponics. Some common choices of structures to house vertical farming systems include buildings, shipping containers, tunnels, and abandoned mine shafts. The main advantage of utilizing vertical farming technologies is the increased crop yield that comes with a smaller unit area of land requirement. The increased ability to cultivate a larger variety of crops at once because crops do not share the same plots of land while growing is another sought-after advantage. Additionally, crops are resistant to weather disruptions because of their placement indoors, meaning fewer crops lost to extreme or unexpected weather occurrences. Because of its limited land usage, vertical farming is less disruptive to the native plants and animals, leading to further conservation of the local flora and fauna. How You Will Benefit (I) Insights, and validations about the following topics: Chapter 1: Vertical Farming Chapter 2: Arcology Chapter 3: Development Supported Agriculture Chapter 4: Folkewall Chapter 5: Foodscaping Chapter 6: Green Wall Chapter 7: Container Garden Chapter 8: Terrace (Earthworks) Chapter 9: Terrace (Garden) Chapter 10: Terrace (Building) Chapter 11: Urban Horticulture (II) Answering the public top questions about vertical farming. (III) Real world examples for the usage of vertical farming in many fields. (IV) 17 appendices to explain, briefly, 266 emerging technology in each industry to have 360-degree full understanding of vertical farming' technologies. Who This Book Is For Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of vertical farming.

Amid economic uncertainties, fluctuating oil prices, and a rising environmental consciousness, the need for sustainable and efficient food production has become dire. The Vertical Farm: Scientific Advances and Technological Developments systematically navigates the realm of vertical farming (VF), rooted in a robust, scientific foundation. Unveiling the intricate convergence of plant biology, environmental science, and agronomy, it provides a profound understanding of contemporary agriculture. The book spans lighting systems and climate control mechanisms, focusing on sustainability. From small urban initiatives to significant commercial endeavors, real-world case studies showcase VF's adaptability, scalability, and resilience. Addressing multiple challenges, the book explores economic considerations and public perceptions, recognizing their roles in fostering meaningful advancements in agricultural innovation. A volume in the Nextgen Agriculture series, this book is valuable to scientists, practitioners, and students in urban agriculture and planning, horticulture, engineering, landscape architecture, and plant/technology sciences.