Along the Chicago skyline, signature skyscrapers and feats in architecture compel us to direct our eyes to the heavens. These days, however, a growing movement raise their eyes and attention to the roofs. Rooftop gardens, that is.

As usable land for agriculture shrinks, and populations rise, urban development and innovation is tasked with another way to make their city planning dynamic and resourceful. Particularly within cities, land enough for parks alone seems sparse, and so rooftop agriculture is taking seed in Chi-town.

This year, Chicago partnered with Gotham Greens, “ a leading regional producer of hyper-local, premium-quality, greenhouse grown vegetables and herbs,” and established a 75,000 square foot greenhouse above a soap factory in the Pullman neighborhood, and is the world’s largest urban greenhouse to date. Co-founder Viraj Puri has said their goal is to supply local businesses annually with more than a million pounds of leafy greens and herbs.”

Steven Peck is the founder and president of Toronto-based Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, an industry association promoting green roofs.

“There’s a demand for high-quality food in our cities — a consumer demand for it, a social need for it,” he said. “There’s a longing for people living in densely developed cities to reconnect to farming and to nature, to rooftop agriculture.”

Source: Gotham Greens | Yahoo

photo courtesy of Gotham Greens – instagram