One of the issues challenging aspiring farmers dwelling in cities is space (or the lack thereof), people do not always have the luxury of having vacant lots and large lawns. However it is entirely possible to start a small farm for personal consumption and as the videos have shown, for commercial purposes.

In the videos, there are two examples of commercial rooftop farms: one in New York City and another Chicago, both farms are able to supply their produce for consumption in some local restaurants. These examples offer up a look at two different techniques that can be applied to start a rooftop farm: layering water drainage system with a layer of topsoil; using troughs to contain the soils.

If you cannot start a rooftop farm, it is still possible to grow food inside a city apartment. Using hydroponics, people have started window farms, using easily available materials to build their set up. Even though it is not a commercial operation like the rooftop farm, nonetheless it is certainly a proof-of-concept that even city dwellers are capable of growing some food.

The idea of green rooftops isn’t a radically new idea, people have recognised the benefits of having plants on rooftops. For example a green rooftop can insulate the building and lower the interior temperature; it can also act as water storage to prevent huge amount of runoff during a rain event, which could potentially challenge the water drainage system. However from the perspective of improving food safety and security and from the standpoint of sustainability, it just may be worthwhile to start looking at the concept of farming in the city