YEAR: 2020 PLACE: Shandong, China TYPE: Urban Strategy
Land Use Densifier aims to address a growing food shortage by reusing the abandoned mines of Shandong for a densified circular food production system. The design strategy consists of a three-step implementation process:
First; the condition of each mine is analysed and subsequently turned into a lake to allow for natural cleansing of the polluted groundwater with floating wetlands.
Second; these artificial lakes are transformed into fish ponds, the existing agriculture in the region is relocated around them and vertical farming methods are implemented. This results in a circular food production system in which the crops filter the water for the fish and the fish waste functions as a natural fertiliser.
Third; the system is expanded to other abandoned mining locations across the region. This allows the surrounding cultivated land, currently in use for inefficient conventional forms of agriculture, to be returned to a natural and wild state.
