Skip to content
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Happy News

The 15 Minute City Concept

Concordia University researchers in Montreal have proven that neighborhoods can become completely self sufficient in vegetable production while slashing carbon emissions by 98 percent by dedicating just 13.8 percent of rooftops, 10 percent of building walls, and 15 percent of unused lots for growing fresh food locally. The groundbreaking study published in the journal Sustainability combines the 15 minute city concept where everything sits within walking distance with rooftop gardens, solar powered electric delivery vehicles, and local farmers markets that eliminate dependence on gas guzzling trucks bringing food from distant locations. The team tested their Food Production and Transportation Framework on West 5, a real neighborhood in London, Ontario that already serves as a testing ground for the university’s electrification research program, calculating exact numbers for food production capacity, walking distances to markets, and solar power requirements. The financial results look incredibly promising with the solar powered delivery system paying for itself in less than three years and producing clean electricity at around 92 cents per kilowatt hour after the initial investment period ends.

Lead researcher Caroline Hachem Vermette explains the goal centers on integrating energy, mobility, land use and social functions to bring daily needs closer to residents and help people reduce fossil fuel consuming trips they currently make for basic necessities. The system works by converting spaces communities already have but often waste, transforming flat rooftops from empty expanses of tar into vegetable gardens, building facades into vertical growing systems, and empty lots between houses into productive community garden plots. Solar panels embedded into sidewalks generate electricity while people walk over them, with electric vehicles collecting harvested vegetables and bringing them to grocery stores and farmers markets within one kilometer of most homes so everything stays local and produce arrives fresher. Beyond environmental gains, growing food and sharing it with neighbors fosters real bonds between people that build community resilience, with researchers planning to expand their model to include workplaces, schools, health centers, and recreation facilities creating interconnected neighborhood clusters that share food, energy and amenities.

PrevPreviousScientists Made Real Leather Without Harming Any Animals
NextHow 5,000 Red Solo Cups Became SweatersNext

Recent Articles

Happy News

Team USA Brings Big Wins And Snoop Dogg to Light The Torch

February 9, 2026

Team USA is crushing it at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Italy and they brought along the coolest torch carrier you could possibly imagine: Snoop Dogg, who lit up the games both literally and figuratively before competition even started. The legendary rapper who became an unexpected Olympic icon was

Read More
Happy News

Scientists Are Bringing Dead Coral Reefs Back To Life

February 9, 2026

Coral reefs have experienced severe decline in recent years with global assessments showing a 14 percent decrease between 2009 and 2018, but groundbreaking restoration efforts using a technique called coral outplanting are bringing these vital underwater ecosystems back to life in remarkable ways. These magnificent structures not only support more

Read More
Happy News

Nature Just Dropped a New Ladybug and It’s a Banger

February 9, 2026

Nature just dropped a new ladybug species and scientists are absolutely buzzing about it because this tiny beetle was hiding in plain sight the entire time on a university campus in Japan. The mini insect named the pine dweller ladybug is just over one millimeter long which is smaller than

Read More
« Previous Next »
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2026 HappyNews.