The first is a great example of what permaculture calls “stacking functions” in that most iconic of “ecotopic” (see the book, Ecotopia) cities, Portland, which is now to generate power from gravity-fed water pipes! Piped hydropower is constant, doesn’t disrupt fish migration or stream flows, and could be utilized in any hilly town.

Via Rebecca

Portland Now Generating Hydropower in its Water Pipes

I especially love the second example because it’s in the high mountain town where I lived for 20 years. The valley of Jackson Hole’s growing season is only six weeks long, so it’s in crying need of locally sourced and hard to obtain fresh produce. Plus, this innovative installation utilizes a very narrow strip of land next to an existing parking garage in the middle of Jackson where land is extremely expensive. YES!

BTW: Let’s hope it works. The project is so audacious that it vaguely reminds me of Biosphere 2, which did not work as intended. And I’m not even thinking about the innovative design, and the complicated mechanics — just thinking about how the usual problems with greenhouses might crop up and defeat the whole project. For starters: too much air flow, too little; too much sun, not enough; condensation; frost; aphids.

But if, I imagine after initial tweaking, the project DOES work, then wow, Jackson is a resort town that attracts over a million visitors annually. What a fabulous template for urban vertical gardening — though it will be interesting to see how construction and maintenance costs factor in.

Via Sue M

A Vacant Lot in Wyoming Will Become one of the World’s First Vertical Farms