Some of us city dwellers are lucky enough to have access to Farmer’s Markets, where fresh produce is widely available. But all of those crops are brought into the city on trucks. Imagine, then, if we could take the subway or even cross the street to get to a farm.

The urban farm, or more accurately the vertical farm, may one day become a widespread reality, out of necessity. According to the Vertical Farm Project,

“By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the earth’s population will reside in urban centers. Applying the most conservative estimates to current demographic trends, the human population will increase by about 3 billion people during the interim. An estimated 109 hectares of new land (about 20% more land than is represented by the country of Brazil) will be needed to grow enough food to feed them, if traditional farming practices continue as they are practiced today. At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops is in use (sources: FAO and NASA). Historically, some 15% of that has been laid waste by poor management practices. What can be done to avoid this impending disaster?

“…An entirely new approach to indoor farming must be invented, employing cutting edge technologies. The Vertical Farm must be efficient (cheap to construct and safe to operate). Vertical farms, many stories high, will be situated in the heart of the world’s urban centers. If successfully implemented, they offer the promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply (year-round crop production), and the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming.”

It sounds pretty “out there,” but a bunch of architects and architectural firms have been working on what these farms might look like, and how they might work. Check out the designs under development here.