EAT UPbusiness model basics
As a landscape architect, I help clients achieve their vision for a development project’s outdoor space. The types of projects vary wildly–from schoolyards to federal buildings to university campuses–and many involve landscapes on structure. Increasingly, clients…
amber waves of grain
In Chicago, green roof designer and Omni Ecosystems CEO, Molly Meyer, selected an unlikely plant species for atop Studio Gang’s office: hardy winter wheat. A wildflower meadow mix was originally slated for the 5,000-square-foot roof, but…
data we can eat
Edible crops are dappling our cities’ skylines in growing numbers, and yet, the blossoming North American rooftop agriculture movement remains in its infancy. As rooftop farmers and gardeners increasingly build knowledge by experimenting and improvising with…
Toronto-style thin farming
As ornamental green roofs increasingly coat our skylines, some urbanites have begun re-purposing older vegetated rooftops for agriculture. One example, north of the border in Toronto, is Ryerson University’s George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre, constructed in 2004….
a salute to urban fish
Some days you can eat leafy greens until the cows come home without ever feeling full. The missing link? Protein. While chickens and livestock often play a key role in addressing this classic omnivorous hunger, raising…
putting your money where the mouths are
“Imagine cities that feed their own inhabitants. Imagine communities that are connected by farms. Imagine knowing your farmer and knowing your food.” This is the vision of Mohamed Hage, founder and CEO of the Montreal-based rooftop farming…
rooftop rice paddy
Two hectares of rooftop in South Central China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region stand a cut above the rest. The Liuzhou Chenfeng Brewing Factory, founded in 1954, supports one of China’s only rooftop rice paddies. Tan Zhaohan,…
Staten Island gets fresh
On the edge of Staten Island’s harbor district an energetic team will soon “ferry” roof-fresh produce from an historic building to those in need. The site: the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. The Department of Transportation introduced…
top notch affordable housing
Watch out America, there’s a new breed of affordable housing in town. Nestled in the Morrisania neighborhood of the Bronx, the Arbor House is reshaping the way cities envision low-income housing projects. The eight story apartment building…
community roofs
Glitzy commercial farms tend to dominate the rooftop agriculture media scene. Magazines, newspapers, the blogosphere (and even I!) can’t resist featuring these highly photogenic rooftops. These farms rely on the surrounding community for indirect and sometimes…