The Future Garden Is Digitized WiFi-Connected, and Rented By the Hour

This feels like the inevitable collide of the post-ownership sharing economy cultural shift and the overpopulated urban future: an on-demand garden you rent by the hour decked out with all the latest buzzy tech.

The project is called Plot, based in Manchester, UK, and the idea is to give nature-starved city dwellers without a yard of their own access to a private little plot of green outside. Private, and shared with 30 other people at any given time.

As Gizmag wrote, it's "exploring the notion of access instead of ownership." Of course, this is not at all a new notion. Startups want you to share rides instead of own cars, stream music instead of collecting albums, rent art for your walls and return it later, share a coworking desk instead of invest in a home office. It goes on and on.

But there's something particularly sad about sharing the outdoors. Don't get me wrong, I live in New York, where a bit of grass to sit and chill on is harder to find than an artisan pop-up shop that sells monocles and meatballs. Still, the idea of whipping out a smartphone to reserve a hour of garden feels awfully dystopian.

Particularly since the whole space is digitized to the max, including: smart plants wired with LED sensors to indicate when they need to be watered, a digital screen at the entrance clocking the time you have left and displaying the weather (pro tip: one of the benefits of being outside is you can tell what the weather is without the internet) and a social media feed to keep you plugged into the digital world while you're getting in touch with nature. Access to the space is reserved through a branded app.

The Plot garden is a project by digital agency magneticNorth, and on trial as part of the Dig the City urban gardening festival this month. It's located on the roof of a building in Manchester that's generally closed to the public, and the plan is to hold meetups, book clubs, fitness classes and provide free wifi—so you can surf the web while enjoying the great outdoors.

This could be the future, folks, for better or worse. Either that, or a virtual garden projected on your stark apartment walls giving you the illusion of nature. No kidding.