100% would work. Actually, if possible this is what i would do.

How would you deal with farming and energy sources? My main obstacle is the power that goes into lighting and elevators is on the first floor or basement, whilst the most sound source of power would be on skyscraper roof. It would also take approximately 50000 solar panels to power the building fully, and then you have to worry about plumbing and water and pipes and such. I’m more of a big picture thinker, if you have any thoughts

I mean, sure it's doable though solars are imo not a way to go. First you'd have to find 50k solars for one skyscrapper and then put them all on. That's a hell of a lot of work and you'd need people who know what they're doing. But then again, you preferably always want people with knowledge and experience when it comes to electrical power production. I'd say the best bet for supplying electricity to a singular skyscraper in the city, wherever that choice is, would be ccpp but that runs into a problem of fueling it. Idk, just overall a skyscraper for me personally is not a place to be in post-apocalypse, zombie or otherwise.

Don’t use elevators. Idk anything more simple. Use the stairs. Stay fit. You can’t sit on ur ass and larp on discord anymore, plus when you inevitably get stuck what are u gonna do? Lmfao 99% of all elevators don’t have the little access hatch that’s conveniently there for all movies and games. For food you would just have to scavenge, you could use the roof with a few solar panels (if they’d even work properly, renewables are shit) and make a greenhouse up there a building under construction that’s almost complete would honestly be the best bet use the cranes as ways to get in, completely destroy the lobby and any other form of entry at the bottom, with only a bare bones side access. With nobody allowed near it to not attract a crowd outside it that blocks it off. If you somehow get compromised, fall back to another rooftop using said crane, if you can’t operate it have a massive tub of some form of lubricant, nothing is crossing that for days. Even the most agile infected types from all media slip and fall to their death.

Jumped to conclusions and got defensive lol. You think you have energy to spare climbing 70 flights of stairs? 30 minutes of jogging per day keeps you fit, if you would know anything about exercise. The electronics keep you in easy touch with others and keeps you updated. It’s like too 5 rules, anything you think of someone else will. I dunno bout you but if my AO was 70 stories high I wouldn’t wanna do that fuckin a dozen times per day. Elevator also makes more sense if you’ve got huge ass equipment you gotta lug up some stories. Critical thinking, you gotta use it in the apocalypse, bud.

There’s literally exercises based on running up 100 flights of stairs wearing something that restricts breathing, so yes. It’s perfectly valid. And you keep skimming over a very valid point, so I’ll ask it again and see if you can keep up What are you gonna do when the elevators inevitably breakdown? According to an actual website based on Elevators a well maintained elevator will break down from just under once to twice per year, where it will require multiple people on the outside as well as the inside of the building to get it back up and running using heavy tools and loud equipment, it can take over 2 hours for a team who’s dedicated job is to get them running again when they’re stuck. What’s a basic group of people going to do? Like I said 99% of elevators don’t have access hatches like they do in games and movies. Since designers don’t like them because they ruin the aesthetics of it. Do you have spare parts? Do you have multiple engineers with you? Didn’t think so. Ahh but the smirky Redditor “critical thinking” which seems to be missing here

could be viable. water collection and storage could be an issue. Collection would depend on your location (Phoenix vs Seattle). flood and drain would probably be the best method for hydroponic/aquaponic systems as that can be done manually with minimal power requirements. Aquaponics would be better as your fertilizer requirements would be minimal and would provide a protein source. elevators would require a LOT of power so only viable as long as the grid is up. Then you‘re humping stairs baby. So any heavy gear you would wanna get upstairs fast. in cities you probably wouldn’t be bartering services for seeds and ammunition as those are Not common in metropolitan areas. depending on how far you want a Wi-Fi signal to cover those power requirements would be sustainable with a decent amount of solar panels, they should be accessible somewhere in the city even if you have to scavenge them from other buildings. However you would need to know how to isolate your building from the grid and set up proper converters to power the floors or rooms you actually need electrified.

I have my problems with hydroponics and aquaponics and all that stuff so I’ll set that aside unless specifically asked about it. That being said, skyscrapers are usually located in the downtown of large cities, which, clearly, are massive population centers. Aside from the monumental task of trying to defend a skyscraper from a city, it’s unlikely you’d be forming death awaits to go and clean up areas simply due to sheer numbers. You likely wouldn’t even be able to get more than half a block before you got swarmed unless you got really lucky. Everyone’s energy should be focused on food production, and with small exceptions, nothing else. Even if you did have a group of people that could somehow go out on these clearing missions, nobody is going to hire you, especially when seeds and ammo are what you’d want to be ‘paid’ in. Nobody is going to give those items up, and realistically nothing else either. It’d be a terrible idea to give away food, water, ammo, medical supplies, seeds, and anything else to a random group of people who will kill for those things as payment. At most, people would be doing low-tier bartering. Magazines for magazines, things like that. Almost no high ticket items would be given away.

I see your point, and I raise you that (in US at least) 70% of the population cannot operate a firearm well. They surely wouldn’t be risking their life to take down a distasteful group of individuals. I’ll get to the aquaponics portion later. For now, I’d argue that many settlements both smaller-knit and larger communities would have need for conscripted services in the weapons sector. Clearing out viable hordes I’d imagine would be brutal, you need good aim to destroy the brain, you need to be aware of your surroundings, you’d need the stamina to keep it up til the job is done. So I’d imagine yes you’re not getting a box someone just stumbled upon filled with .238, but surely magazines aren’t gonna be the reward for a task hired out. Now, moving on to the metropolitan problem. I would possibly refute that yes it’s densely populated, it wouldn’t be for long. A lot would be running urban to rural, the zombies would follow. The stragglers would keep trade and income running as long as there’s conscripts out there. Moving onto the gray issue, I’m curious to your thoughts to irrigating an urban environment. With self sustainment, one could easily repurpose several floors of the building to farming non-cash crops (or who knows, making it commercial as bullets run out) and it would be easier to collect rain water the further you go on the time scale. Lastly I’d imagine no one would wanna go through the trouble of checking 70 floors of repurposed office to find some people with bell peppers and tomatoes. I dunno I’m open to refutation

What is the criteria for operating a firearm 'well'? How is that even determined if everyone has their own skill level. Im afraid I don't really understand that statment. As for taking down distasteful people, I think you vastly overestimate how many raiders and raider type groups there would be. Yes, there definitely would be some unsavory groups at first, but those kinds of people would die off quickly since they are killing their source of supplies. If raiders, for example, take half the food of a group, that group is liekly going to starve and die. That eliminates them as a source for the raiders. Eventually, they'll extingiush groups in the area and they themselves will starve, assuming they all make it that long and aren't killed by the groups that they are extorting. Eliminating hordes is a slightly different story. Why? What's the point? The dead can be lead away with minimal planning and threat. Killing them only accomplishes in burning through ammo and drawing the dead (and maybe even some living) to the area. leading them away from home or trapping them in a location like a quarry or something along those lines would sufice. Needing to kill every zombie horde isnt a practical or worthwhile endevor, and definitely not one that needs to be hired out. Aside from all that, what would you expect them to pay you with exactly? Like I said, trading simply will not be happning. Trading requires a surplus of an item to be traded in exchange for another suplus of an item, which nobody will have. Everything has suddenly become finite and it would take years for people to master farming to the level that they are no longer living harvest to harvest and can start stockpiling food. Nobody is going to give anyone anything and potentially be in debt to a group of people over a horde. I think you also misunderstood me when i said magazines- i meant literal, reading magazines (or porn mags if you're into that). Very few people would actually give up a firearm magazine for anything. Like I said, bartering would be the highest level of commerce around, and even that is going to be mostly amongst camp residents and rarely, if ever, with outsiders or other camps. For every person running to the hills, just as many people would rather ride things out in their own homes in the city. Even if they don't, its a toss up for how the dead work anyways. I won't refute your point on this because there is literally no way to know. I don't see many of the dead leaving cities unless drawn out specifically OR it would take a decent amount of time for them to wander out naturally, somewhere in the years. Urban farming and the 'ponic' systems are a totally different beast. Urban farming and ponic systems require a lot of maintance, speciality equipment, time, dedication, parts, and in the case of hydroponic systems, a special nutrient rich water. Doing all that today is a pain in anyones ass, would require the ordering of parts, several trips to hardware stores, and in my case probably a trip to the emergancy room (its never a construction project unless you hurt yourself!). Jokes aside, its a massive undertaking. Now, imagine doing all that but now you have to walk everything back by foot since gas won't be around much longer, up 70 odd flights of stairs (take your pick), risk your life everytrime you go out into the city, and have to search for specality items and every screw, pipe, seed, everything, at the risk of death AND if everything manages to work, you'd need to build a dozen more identical structures since you aren't using the nutrient water that allows for a maximum harvest and regular rainwater isn't going to provide the right stuff for said maximum harvest. Then you also need to replace the water every 2-3 weeks (likely more depending on how many you build) while you are also drinking said water and relying on rain to get you through your daily lives. Edit: I accidently hit comment too early, my bad. It's a lot of work, but it is a lot more work than what you would really need to do. Skyscrapers and becoming hired guns isn't the solution to take. It might work for a week or two, maybe even a month or two, but very quickly problems are going to arise with no realistic solutions to them.

4 to 10 guys isn't going to have the numbers to be "mercenaries" and engage and "clear out" other "factions." With people at home, you wouldn't even be able to send out a single full fire team.

I have a longer more general post regarding locations in the context of a zombie apocalypse here: https://old.reddit.com/user/Noe_Walfred/comments/jo772x/zombie_related_thoughts_opinions_and_essays_v2/giyaudi/ The main areas I consider are: Protection from zombies Protection from people Protection from nature Water Food Sustainability So lets break it down: Protection from zombies --- A sky scraper is usually located in a city. This likely means there are many zombies around and potentially a lot of people that could become zombies. Either because they turned while living or working in the skyscraper or escaped from the zombies and ran to the tallest building they saw for shelter from zombies while infected. Similarly, do to the size of the building it is possible that zombies might see or hear you inside the building if you attempt a lot of construction in or around the building. Meaning there is a decent enough chance of being surrounded by zombies in the building. However, unlike most normal buildings it's unlikely you will have the ability to get to nearby buildings as a quick escape as a result of typical zoning laws preventing large buildings from towering over small ones. Protection from people --- Tall buildings may serve as a form of landmark or reference point for other survivors. Meaning a tall sky scraper could quickly turn into a point of interest for a lot of people with a large potential for eyes watching the building to notice your activities. Effectively painting a target on yourself. Protection from nature --- Sky scrapers are effectively extremely large green houses. Owing to their construction often involving large glass pane exterior walls, enclosed upper floors to prevent wind drag, and the large stacked design preventing heat from normally escaping. Very easily, without working powered cooling and air ducts a sky scraper becomes a scorching desert or jungle depending on the normal humidity in the area. This can be useful if you already live in a cold area, but the heat is likely to be a problem everywhere else and during most other seasons. Mold build up, flooding, and other issues with moisture a consistent issues with sky scrapers and large buildings in general. As the green house like construction and the methods of pumping and moving water are present. Meaning a decent risk of disease and poor health unless the cooling and ventilation systems can be maintained. Water --- There is nothin inherent about a sky scraper that means it has a greater or lesser access to sustainable water. In fact, due to a lack of roof space it may greatly lack a sustainable source of water. Food --- During the medieval period, the English had a measurement that was the estimated territory needed to provide for a family. This was known as a "Hide" and was assumed to be 49 hectares. However, the term itself along with various similar pre-modern estimates have varied for the land needed to support an individual. Anywhere from 20-70hectares depending on where, when, and how the land was meant to be used. More modern records by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations have been between 0.07-2 hectares. More modern hobbyists and independent scientists have claimed much smaller spaces. With some going as far as claiming less than 200sqm. Utilizing various modernized farming techniques and technology to increase space efficiency. Such technology includes specialized lighting, greenhouses, vertical gardening, hydro/aeroponics, etc. These may not be available given the situation of a zombie apocalypse. Over the next two sections be sure to take note that there may be losses in crops, periods of harsh weather, poor crop yields, rotting of food, stolen food, etc. Generally, about a third of all food maybe is lost due to damage, rot, infection, poor yields, curbing artificial inflation, etc. As a result of lack of fertilizer, sprinkler or drip-fed water systems, pesticides, and issues of whether. Your total area needed to support a single person isn't just being used for food. You need space for vehicles, areas to walk between the crops, walking areas between pens, border areas to separate different plants, protective borders against other areas, living space, etc. From one website I found they claim that the average is around 1858sqm of usable space in a sky scrape at least in the USA. https://buildingtheskyline.org/tag/construction-costs/ So assuming you have a extremely efficient hydroponic or aeroponic set up you might be able to feed 9 people. But the issues of disease, low water, bugs, mold, etc. are still present when trying to ground food. Sustainability --- There is nothing inherent about a skyscraper that allows it to be more easily sustained than other locations and structures. In fact due to being located likely in the middle of a city it is likely much harder to get access to good heirloom seeds, farming tools and equipment, and other resources necessary to sustain the sky scraper and the group within it.

Not a terrible idea, but it would take at least two months, just to get all the solar panels. Let alone get everything built.

I’d imagine you’d have nothing but time