Big City Farmers Take to the Rooftops

Space is expensive in Brooklyn, so Gotham Greens built their urban farm on a rooftop.

Gotham Greens from Dark Rye on Vimeo.

Brooklyn may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of gardening. The dense population and high cost of land means there is precious little space for agriculture. But that didn’t stop the urban farm company Gotham Greens from creating a hydroponic greenhouse there. They just had to do it on a roof.

Increasing demand for local food sources has created a market for locally grown greens in dense places like New York City. Gotham Greens was started in New York City, and they are the country’s first commercial scale rooftop hydroponic greenhouse.

Gotham Greens’ plants are organic, free of genetically modified organisms. and about as local as you can get for nearby restaurants and groceries. The farm is currently working on a partnership with Whole Foods to create a rooftop garden at the store’s new Brooklyn location. Watch the video to find out more.


  • Urban hives allow landless city dwellers to create their own honey–and may even provide solutions to colony collapse.
  • It begins with small farms working with natural cycles and ends with fresh food and stronger communities.
  • Scarcity of certified processing facilities is one reason the meat industry is so consolidated—so farmer Bruce Dunlop invented a mobile slaughterhouse.

Share
Share

No items found

Reprints and reposts: YES! Magazine encourages you to make free use of this article by taking these easy steps.
Republish This Article
Related Stories