SEED TO SOIL

Through this network, the pressing problem of food deserts around Pittsburgh, specifically the North Side, will be addressed. An extension of the Pittsburgh light rail, the T-Line, will connect the sites of Brunot Island and Gateway Station.

On Brunot Island, the existing natural gas power plant will be remediated and transformed into an agricultural zone. A newly added rail station will streamline the transport of fresh produce grown on the island directly to local neighborhoods via grocery stands, constructed with reused shipping containers.

Empty grocery stands are replaced with restocked units and transported to Gateway Station for waste management. Located at the city’s transit crossroads, the station serves as a food upcycling, education, and market center. Surplus and stale produce are distributed to public kitchens, transformed into ready-to-eat meals, preserved through pickling and freeze-drying, or composted for urban planters, creating a sustainable food cycle in Pittsburgh.