wind channeling

Mark my words: we will be hearing, probably from one of the more progressive cities like San Francisco, Chicago, or Dubai, about situating new buildings to direct wind through progressively narrower slots which will be filled with wind turbines (likely micro-turbines or vertical designs like the Helix). It's interesting to think how something like this could change the layout of cities overall, and where land may become more valuable (at the intersections of acutely-angled roads, at edges of downtowns, etc.).

The building I work in inadvertently creates the same effect with the building across the street, giving us one really windy corner and side all the time, even though prevailing winds hitting the other sides of the building are normally mild. There are buildings which are integrating turbines and micro-turbines are becoming increasingly viable, especially when installed as arrays, so why wouldn't we start to take action to reap the benefits?

Incidentally, wind power is something I don't remember seeing in any of those cool old deco glimpses of our future cities.

This isn't the image I originally had in mind (though it works, with its soaring facades and atomic-structure plazas and towers), but I like it and it just happens to be hosted by Cory Doctorow, one of my favorite authors. And, while Google sent me fruitlessly to this page to see it, there's a ton of other interesting stuff there as well. Damn the internets and their endlessly fascinating tangents and serendipities!!