Urban Rooftop Farming
Photo Credit © Lamiot on Wikimedia Commons; (see license); no changes were made.The Basics of Urban Rooftop Farming
As the world population grows and resources become increasingly scarce, there’s an increased need for innovative ideas to combat issues arising from unprecedented population growth and urbanization.
One of the biggest issues is how to feed everyone. As population increases so do demands for food and, unfortunately, we’re already struggling to keep up.
Sprawling development has dwindled the acreage available for farmers to plant crops, while ongoing climate change makes farmland decreasingly viable in many parts of the world. In the United States alone, approximately forty acres of farmland is lost every hour. Alarmingly, the census reports that total population grows by more than 200 people in that same amount of time [FN1, FN2].
With more mouths to feed and less space to farm each day, urban farming has quickly evolved from a community-building vision to an important neighborhood food source in urban centers across the country.
What is Urban Rooftop Farming?
Urban Rooftop Farming is exactly what it sounds like: it’s the process of utilizing otherwise bare rooftop spaces to grow fruit, vegetables and other crops.
In developed areas, empty plots of land are hard to find and excessively expensive, so traditional farming is nearly impossible. However, roofs of buildings provide large, unused areas that can often be transformed into a viable agricultural resource. Development of rooftop gardens and farms is a sustainable and reliable way to decrease, or in some cases eliminate, reliance on external produce [FN3].
The Benefits of Urban Rooftop Farming
Rooftop farming may be a relatively new concept, but its benefits are still significant. Urban farming helps feed families, reduce environmental impacts of urbanization and bring fresh food into hard-to-reach communities.
First, rooftop farming helps ward off food shortages brought on by a lack of agricultural land availability. This is particularly important in developing countries, where the space and ability to grow one’s own food has become a valuable tool in the battle against poverty [FN4]. It’s a cost-efficient and sustainable way for people living in low-income households to feed their families, plus potentially generate an extra source of income.
Growing plants on rooftops also helps the environment. Not only does local, rooftop food reduce individual automobile traffic (and the associated greenhouse gas emissions) from shopping, it also helps mitigate other issues caused by urban sprawl. One such problem is the “heat island effect” – a phenomenon in which manmade, concrete roofs (and streets and parks and other non-greenspaces) absorb and radiate heat to make urbanized areas significantly hotter. Most public health experts recommend planting more trees or building parks, but rooftop farming provides another way to restore greenspace, help keep the cities cool, and even reduce cooling costs for individual buildings [FN5, FN6].
Finally, urban rooftop farms provide an intuitive solution to hunger in the face of limited land – both in the US and abroad. In the US, urban farming is an important tool in the fight against food insecurity and a popular way to bring fresh produce into urban food deserts. Internationally, it could be a way to boost domestic food production.
Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, there’s enough land to grow food for the current population. However, densely populated countries like Singapore have limited land and already rely heavily on imported food. In times like these where global supply chains feel worrisomely uncertain, urban rooftop farming is a way to increase local food production in highly developed areas [FN7].
Adapting Farms to the Urban Rooftop
So, you’ve decided to start an urban rooftop farm and received approval from your local authorities, now where do you start? There are some important considerations when using rooftops to farm, and different farming methods have evolved to make sure production is as efficient as possible.
Because traditional farming requires massive amounts of soil and mulch, the weight of this method can be too heavy for some rooftops. Due to the additional strain put on roof structures when growing plants there are strict rules and regulations in place to regularly check rooftops and make sure they can bare the strain [FN8]. However, some innovative methods can lighten the load significantly.
For example, the use of hydroponic systems is becoming increasingly popular amongst rooftop farmers. Hydroponics is simply a method of “growing plants in a nutrient solution root medium” rather than using heavy soil [FN9]. While hydroponic systems are initially expensive to set up, they use approximately 20% less space and 20x less water than soil-based gardens. If correctly monitored, they provide an extremely valuable and cost-efficient way to grow a rooftop farm [FN10].
Have you ever planted or seen an urban rooftop garden? Share your thoughts and experiences with us in the comments section below!
Resources
1. https://www.farmprogress.com/land-management/7-facts-you-should-know-about-farmland-development
2. https://www.census.gov/popclock/
4. http://www.powerhousegrowers.com/urban-farming-differences-developing-developed-countries/
8. https://www.thespruce.com/rooftop-gardening-1403340
9. https://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/hydroponics
10. https://dyna-gro.com/hydroponics-advantages-and-disadvantages/