I. Introduction a. Rooftop farming is new form of sustainability in urban areas where there are minimal resources for land development and agricultural growth. b. The addition of rooftop farming in areas like NYC help teach children to be more sustainable and aid in opening the eyes of the community in how important it is to get back to a more sustainable, natural way of living. c. Rooftop farming adds a new way of thinking to an already congested life. Rooftop farming helps reduce energy costs, benefits the economy, reduces the effect that cities have on the environment, and helps provide more food and agriculture to that urban area. II. How Rooftop Farming Works a. Rooftop farming works by utilizing already vacant spaces in a city. In some areas of the country, it’s easy to take land that has been dormant for a while and turn it into farmland. However, when you get to bigger cities where there is no extra land to speak of, “urban farmers” turn to rooftops. b. Rooftop farming is considerably affordable. The one built in Oregon only cost $160,000 – a cost that could’ve been cut in half if not for certain necessary renovations (Altz 1). c. A charter school in Portland, Oregon had to switch buildings. The children were devastated when they could no longer have a garden until the idea of rooftop farming was mentioned. d. Upon completion, the food grown will go to the lunch program for the school and the fact that the garden exists helps prolong the life of the building (Altz 11) III. Types of Rooftop Farms a. The Brooklyn Grange farm consists of two and a half acres of rooftops in Brooklyn and Queens. After going through the proper permits and ensuring the building can hold the extra weight of the soil and food, they sell the locally grown produce directly in the city. b. The United States isn’t the only one partaking in rooftop farming, one of the better established rooftop farms is in the heart of Hong Kong. A city known for its pollution and tight spaces, rooftop farming has taken off in the city. (Hainan 2011) c. With the growing market of rooftop farming, employment for people that have little to no job skills is increasing. d. Rooftop farming helps produce more food. In Chicago, the farm on the roof of McCormick Place aims to provide 12,000 pounds of food per year for the convention center’s food service company (barklay 2013). Even though that’s a small amount, it helps put a dent in the operating costs of the building and is all around healthier. IV. Benefits of Rooftop Farming a. Rooftop farming helps children learn how to be sustainable and self-reliant b. Rooftop farming helps reduce energy costs. (Nat Geo 1) c. Rooftop farming helps alleviate poverty in areas where urban agriculture is one option to generate income. Rooftop farming helps facilitate the economy by giving lower income individual’s an opportunity to provide and sustain on their own (Ackerman et al 2014) d. Cities are notorious for outputting something called the “urban heat island effect”. This is where there are built up pockets of heat in a urban area that are significantly hotter than the rural areas around it (epa 1) V. Conclusion a. Urban farming and rooftop gardening are important to the sustainability of our future. Urban farming ensures food security, reduces the negative impact of cities, and helps our children learn the importance of growing and taking care of something other than themselves. APA Bibliography Ackerman, K., Conard, M., Culligan, P., Plunz, R., Sutto, M., & Whittinghill, L. (2014). Sustainable Food Systems for Future Cities: The Potential of Urban Agriculture. The Economic And Social Review, 45(2, Summer), 189–206. Retrieved from http://www.esr.ie/article/view/136/82 Altz, Erin. (n.d., pg 1-12). Trillium Final Report. Retrieved June 10, 2015, from https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bes/article/428423 Barklay, Eliza. (2013, September 1). Rooftop Farming Is Getting Off The Ground. Retrieved June 9, 2015, from http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/09/24/225745012/why-aren-t-there-more-rooftop-farms Farming on a Rooftop. (n.d., para 1). Retrieved June 11, 2015, from http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/140429-new-york-rooftop-farms Green Roofs | Heat Island Effect | US EPA. (n.d., para. 1). Retrieved June 9, 2015, from http://www.epa.gov/heatisland/mitigation/greenroofs.htm Haikuo, Boao, Sanya. (March 2011). The 2011 Hainan China World Green Roof Conference, Hainan, China, Green Roof Urban Farming p.1-9. Retrieved from http://hub.hku.hk/bitstream/10722/140388/1/Content.pdf?accept=1 June 15, 2015. Heat Island Effect U.S. EPA. (n.d., para. 1). Retrieved June 11, 2015, from http://www.epa.gov/heatisland/

• published: 17 Jun 2015
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