Abstract
Green roofs are increasingly common. Planting on a rooftop is a way to insulate buildings, reduce stormwater flows, and potentially provide space for birds, bees and people to congregate. Engineered media has been developed that allow for planting on green roofs. Green roofs have also been recognized as a place to grow food. Rooftop agriculture can be as varied as the many types of in-ground and greenhouse agriculture that are more familiar to most people. For example, row farming, container gardening, and hydroponics are all possible under open sky as well as in greenhouses. Each type of cultivation can be carried out on a roof surface as well as on the ground. Different forms of cultivation come with their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Greenhouse and hydroponic production are both much more highly managed and controlled systems, and the potential differences between rooftop and ground level production are therefore likely to be smaller. Rooftop agriculture under an open sky, either as row farming or container production is likely to be more different than in-ground operations of this type than either greenhouse or hydroponic operations because they are more exposed to the novel environment of the rooftop. Our discussion of rooftop agriculture will be focusing on the row farming and container gardening operations that are open to the sky. These types of rooftop agriculture may use pre existing green roof technology.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Ackerman K, Plunz R, Conard M, Katz R, Dahlgren E Culligan P (2011) The potential for urban agriculture in New York City: growing capacity, food security, and green infrastructure. Urban Design Lab, Columbia University, New York
Agbenin JO, Danko M, Welp G (2009) Soil and vegetable compositional relationships of eight potentially toxic metals in urban garden fields from northern Nigeria. J Sci Food Agric 89:49–54
Akbari H (2002) Shade trees reduce building energy use and CO2 emissions from power plants. Environ Pollut 116:S119–S126
Alexandri E, Jones P (2008) Temperature decreases in an urban canyon due to green walls and green roofs in diverse climates. Build Environ 43:480–493
Alsup S, Ebbs S, Battaglia L, Retzlaff W (2013) Green roof systems as sources or sinks influencing heavy metal concentrations in runoff. J Environ Eng 139:502–508
Arora M, Kiran B, Rani S, Rani A, Kaur B, Mittal N (2008) Heavy metal accumulation in vegetables irrigated with water from different sources. Food Chem 111:811–815
Bass B, Krayenhoff ES, Martilli A, Stull RB, Auld H (2003) The impact of green roofs on Toronto’s urban heat island. In: Proceedings of 1st North American Green Roof Conference: greening rooftops for sustainable communities, Chicago, 29–30 May, 2003, The Cardinal Group, Toronto
Behm M (2012) Safe design suggestions for vegetated roofs. J Constr Eng Manag 138:999–1003
Berndtsson JC, Emilsson T, Bengtsson L (2006) The influence of extensive vegetated roofs on runoff water quality. Sci Total Environ 335:48–63
Blay-Palmer A, Donald B (2006) A tale of three tomatoes: the new food economy in Toronto, Canada. Econ Geogr 82(4):383–399
Castillo SR, Winkle CR, Krauss S, Turkewitz A, Silva C, Heinemann E (2013) Regulatory and other barriers to urban and peri-urban agriculture: a case study of urban planners and urban farmers from the greater Chicago metropolitan area. J Agric Food Syst Commun Dev 3(3):155–166
Chimbira C, Moyo DZ (2009) The effect of single and mixed treatment of lead and cadmium on soil bioavailability and yield of Brassica napus irrigated with sewage effluent: a potential human risk. Afr J Agric Res 4(4):359–364
Conservation Law Foundation and CLF Ventures (2012) Growing green: measuring benefits, overcoming barriers, and nurturing opportunities for urban agriculture in Boston (report sponsored by the Boston Foundation). Available at Web site http://www.clf.org/blog/maine/the-promise-of-urban-agriculture-new-growing-green-report/
Czemiel Berndtsson J (2010) Green roof performance towards management of runoff water quantity and quality: a review. Ecol Eng 36:351–360
de Zeeuw H, Guendel S, Waibel H (1999) The integration of agriculture in urban policies. RUAF foundation international workship on urban agriculture: growing cities, growing food- urban agriculture on the policy agenda. Available at Web site http://www.ruad.org/index.php?q=node/62. Accessed 31 Jan 2009
Department of Buildings (DOB) (1968) 1968 Building Codes of the City of New York. City of New York, Department of Buildings
Deptartment of Buildings (DOB) (1938) 1938 Build Code. City of New York, Department of Buildings
Dillion RM (2010) Urban gardeners versus zoning laws. Associated Press, February 16. http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Gardening/2010/0216/Urbangardeners-versus-zoning-laws. Accessed 15 Apr 2010
Durhman AK, Rowe DB, Rugh CL (2006) Effect of watering regimen on chlorophyll fluorescence and growth of selected green roof plant taxa. HortSci 41:1623–1628
Emilsson T, Czerniel Berndtsson J, Mattsson JE, Rolf K (2007) Effect of using conventional and controlled release fertilizer on nutrient runoff from various vegetated roof systems. Ecol Eng 29:260–271
Enete AA, Achike AI (2008) Urban agriculture and urban food insecurity poverty in Nigeria: the case of Ohafia, south-east Nigeria. Outlook Agric 37(2):131–134
Erickson L, K Griggs, Maria M, H Serebrin (2009) Urban agriculture in Seattle: policy and barriers (the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods P-Patch Program and Department of Planning and Development)
FLL (Forschungsgesellschaft Landschaftsentwicklung Landschaftsbau) (2002) Guidelines for the planning, execution and upkeep of green-roof sites. Forschungsgesellschaft Landschaftsentwicklung Landschaftsbau. Bonn, Germany. Accessed 6 May 2013. http://www.greenroofsouth.co.uk/FLL%20Guidelines.pdf
Getter KL, Rowe DB (2006) The role of extensive green roofs in sustainable development. HortSci 41(5):1276–1285
Getter KL, Rowe DB, Andresen JA (2007) Quantifying the effect of slope on extensive green roof stormwater retention. Ecol Eng 31:225–231
Govindasamy R, VanVranken R, Sciarappa W, Ayeni A, Puduri VS, Pappas K, Simon JE, Mangan F, Lamberts M, McAvoy G (2006) Demographics and the marketing of Asian and Hispanic produce in the eastern coastal USA. New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station P-02903-2-07. New Brunswick, New Jersey
Graefe S, Schlecht E, Buerkert A (2009) Opportunities and challenges of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Niamey, Niger. Outlook on Agric 37(1):47–56
Green roofs for healthy cities. http://www.greenroofs.org/index.php/about/greenroofbenefits. Accessed 12 Oct 2013
Greenroofs.com (2011) The green roof and wall project database. http://www.greenroofs.com/projects. Accessed 2 Mar 2012
Growing Chefs (2013) Growing chefs …food education from farm to fork. Accessed 1 Aug 2013. http://growingchefs.org/
Hathaway AM, Hunt WF, Jennings GD (2008) A field study of green roof hydrologic and water quality performance. Am Soc Agric Biol Eng 51(1):37–44
Hazell P, Poulton C, Wiggins S, Dorward A (2007) The future of small farms for poverty reduction and growth. International Food Policy Research Institute. Washington, DC, 38pp
Hell’s Kitchen Farm Project (HKFP) (2013) Accessed 9 Sept 2013. http://www.hellskitchenfarmproject.org/#!home/mainPage
Hu X, Ding Z (2009) Lead/cadmium contamination and lead isotopic ratios in vegetables grown in peri-urban and mining/smelting contaminated sites in Nanjing, China. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 82:80–84
Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts (IHR) (2013) Sustainability at the Intercontinental New York Barclay. Accessed 1 Aug 2013. http://www.intercontinentalnybarclay.com/new-york-green-hotel.aspx
Jones V (2008) Green collar economy: how one solution can fix America’s two biggest problems. HarperCollins, New York, p 238 pp
Kezis A, Crabtree D, Cheng H, Peavey S (1997) A profile of the specialty food retailing industry in the East-ern U.S. J Food Distrib Res 28(1):82–91
Mandel L (2013) Eat up: the inside scoop on rooftop agriculture. New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island
Memon RA, Leung DYC, Liu C (2008) A review on the generation, determination and mitigation of urban heat island. J Environ Sci 20:120–128
Monterusso MA, Rowe DB, Rugh CL (2005) Establishment and persistence of Sedum spp. and native taxa for green roof applications. HortSci 40:391–396
Nugent R (2002) The impact of urban agriculture on the household and local economies. RUAF Foundation International Workshop of Urban Agriculture: Growing Cities, Growing Food. Available at Web site http://www.ruaf.org.index.php?q=node/57. Accessed 31 Jan 2009
Omar MS, Quinn MM, Buchholz B, Geiser K (2013) Are green building features safe for preventive maintenance workers? Examining the evidence American. J Ind Med 56:410–423
Peters CJ, Bills NL, Lembo AJ, Wilkins JL, Fick GW (2009) Mapping potential foodsheds in New York State: a spatial model for evaluating the capacity to localize food production. Renew Agric Food Syst 24(1):72–84
Rosemary’s NYC (2013) Accessed 19 Mar 2013. http://rosemarysnyc.com/
Rowe DB (2011) Green roofs as a means of pollution abatement. Environ Pollut 159(8–9):2100–2110
Sharma RK, Agrawal M, Marshall FM (2009) Heavy metals in vegetables collected from production and market sites of a tropical urban area of India. Food Chem Toxicol 47:583–591
Speak AF, Rothwell JJ, Lindley SJ, Smith CL (2012) Urban particulate pollution reduction by four species of green roof vegetation in a UK city. Atmos Environ 61:283–293
Srinivas N, Rao SR, Kumar KS (2009) Trace metal accumulation in vegetables grown in industrial and semi-urban areas- a case study. Appl Ecol Environ Res 7(2):131–139
Swiader JM, Ware GW (2002) Producing vegetable crops, 5th edn. Interstate Publishers, Inc, Danville
Thornton A (2009) Pastures of plenty?: land rights and community-based agriculture in Peddie, a former homeland town in South Africa. Appl Geogr 29:12–20
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2009) Green roofs for stormwater runoff control: EPA-600-R-09-026. USEPA, Washington, DC
Uncommon Ground (UG) (2010) Accessed 19 Mar 2013. http://www.uncommonground.com/
Vagneron I (2007) Economic appraisal of profitability and sustainability of peri-urban agriculture in Bangkok. Ecol Econ 61:516–529
van Averbeke W (2007) Urban farming in the informal settlements of Atteridgeville Pretoria, South Africa. Water SA 33(3):337–342
VanWoert ND, Rowe DB, Andresen JA, Rugh CL, Fernandez RT, Xiao L (2005) Green roof stormwater retention: effects of roof surface, slope, and media depth. J Environ Qual 34:1036–1044
Warncke D, Dahl J, Zandstra B (2004) Nutrient recommendations for vegetable crops in Michigan. Michigan State University Extension Bulletin E2934
Whittinghill LJ, Rowe DB (2012) The role of green roof technology in urban agriculture. Renew Agric Food Syst 27:314–322
Widome R, Neumark-Sztainer D, Hannah PJ, Haines J, Story M (2009) Eating when there is not enough to eat: eating behaviors and perceptions of food among food-insecure youths. Res Pract 99(5):822–828
Witmer L, J Brownson (2011) An energy balance model of green roof integrated photovoltaics: a detailed energy balance including miroclimatic effects. 40th ASES national solar conference 2011, SOLAR 2011, Raleigh, NC, 17–20 May 2011
Wong NH, Tay SF, Wong R, Ong CL, Sai A (2003) Life cycle cost analysis of rooftop gardens in Singapore. Build Environ 38:499–509
Wong NH, Tay SF, Chen Y (2007) Study of thermal performance of extensive rooftop greenery systems in the tropical climate. Build Environ 42:25–54
Yang Y, Zhang FS, Li HF, Jiang RF (2009) Accumulation of cadmium in the edible parts of zix vegetable species grown in Cd-contaminated soils. J Environ Manag 90:1117–1122
Ye J, Chuanyin L, Zhaod Z, Yuqi L, Shixiao Y (2008) Heavy metals in plants and substrate from simulated extensive green roofs. Ecol Eng 55:29–34
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Whittinghill, L., Starry, O. (2016). Up on the Roof: Considerations for Food Production on Rooftops. In: Brown, S., McIvor, K., Hodges Snyder, E. (eds) Sowing Seeds in the City. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7453-6_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7453-6_23
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-017-7451-2
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-7453-6
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)