In my community, the construction trend seems to be strip malls. This means that more and more land is cleared for buildings and construction projects. To minimize our land use, we could build businesses on top of one another in high rise business centers. The land that is saved in the process can be used for urban farming, community gardens or to plant trees. Building up, not out would be a great strategy moving forward as open, arable land becomes more of a commodity. Of course, businesses would have to be willing to adapt a high rise construction style, but the benefits of more available land would be clear and local governments could play a role in this development. Overall, we need to be efficient with the space we have and focus more on high rises rather than strip malls.

Photo credit to Concrete Forms.