If the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were among the 7 wonders of the ancient world, maybe there will be a spot for the traveling gardens soon to be added to Madrid’s city buses.
A pilot project on the city’s two busiest bus lines and on bus shelter roofs is among the 6 winners in a contest that drew 800 proposals for improving the city. According to the project manager, “Each garden will be formed of metallic meshes and sustainable materials that can withstand movement and not leak water. The idea is for them to soak up noise, heat and pollution,”
The cost per bus is about €2500, and somewhat less for the shelters. Madrid’s new left-leaning city government has promised attention to the city’s pollution problems. Other, temporary measures, have included traffic restrictions on busy shopping streets during the Christmas rush.
The gardens aren’t completely new: a company called PhytoKinetic has systems running in Barcelona, Girona and Palma de Mallorca.
I suspect this entry was submitted by a garden center hoping to win a maintenance contract. €2500 seems an awful lot to me, not to mention a plethora of other possible negatives, as DrF mentions. I see political motives, rather than environmental ones.
I can see adding them to shelters and such, but putting them on the roof of a moving bus can only be viewed as a novelty. The added weight of the soil, plants and water will eat a lot of energy to move these small garden plots around the city. Seems this would generate more pollution than reduce it. And the added weight to the bus would have a negative impact on any vehicle the bus might hit if involved in a motor vehicle accident.
If the Bus ran into the car in front – then the occupants would be dead and buried before the Ambulance arrived !
Excellent joke, GarryRF!!!
