As our lives are increasingly urbanized, we long more and more for nature. As ecological and climatic devastation ravage the world, nature needs our attention more than ever. Urban agriculture can help with both problems. Major cities like Toronto are taking advantage of this alternative form of farming to transform neighbourhoods, communities, and condominiums. This offers great work opportunities in the trades and uplifts spirits for the millions of Canadians living in concrete jungles.

With more and more condominiums sprouting up, developers and residents are looking to utilize space for greenery. Toronto has a Green Roof By-Law that requires new developments bigger than 2,000 square meters and with more than six stories to have a green roof. This is roofing covered in vegetation and soil. It requires engineering and contractors to carefully build it with a waterproofing membrane to ensure the condominium structure is not at risk for damage. These green roofs can help reduce air pollution, reduce excessive heating in homes, and absorb rainfall to help prevent excessive water drainage. More and more buildings are looking to use this as an attractive feature for buyers and to build their community.

People living in cities turn to community gardens for a number of reasons. It gives them sense of comradery with their neighbours and provides access to affordable and healthy food. Research has shown that these gardens help to improve the quality of life for neighbourhoods and reduce crime. Urban farming offers some work opportunities. More importantly, it is often used in programs to help teach children about environmental and farming matters to encourage the future generation of tradespeople in agriculture. Some urban farms also have workforce training. These are helpful reminders for urbanites as to where their food comes from and the efforts required to bring it to their plates.

Postsecondary schools have increasingly created entire programs revolving around food studies. Universities and colleges are establishing gardens on rooftops and other empty lots of land. For example, Seneca has a partnership with Ripple Farms, a company focused on aquaponics farming, to provide educational programming to students. This has led to a growing push for container gardens and other farming projects to take over empty city spaces, parking lots, and underused hydro corridors. Government and private grants have slowly helped make this a reality, but there is still much work to do. There is a plethora of bureaucratic red tape and rejections of projects due to a lack of understanding of urban agriculture and its benefits. It is more important than ever to spread awareness of the importance of agriculture. Along with this will come growing appreciation for farming, greater employment opportunities, and a whole new generation of agricultural workers.

Food cultivation has sustained human civilization for millennia. We may have shifted our major populations to metropolitan regions, but we still depend on the hard work of those in agriculture to sustain us. Urban agriculture offers great opportunities for employment, bonding of communities, and a better understanding of where our food comes from and how it gets to our kitchen. From green roofs to community gardens to urban farms, cities are doing more to help its citizens and nature. These are crucial steps in helping millions of people and the planet.

Sources:

Da Silva, Michelle. “Urban agriculture initatives are sprouting up in new Toronto condos.” Now. https://nowtoronto.com/lifestyle/real-estate/urban-agriculture-condos/

Friedmann, Charlie. “How to feed a hungry city.” The Globe and Maihttps://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/new-urban-agriculture-projects-in-toronto-are-struggling-to-take-root-as-public-awarenesslags/article36835601/

Plumer, Brad. “The real value of urban farming. (Hint: It’s not always the food.).” Vox. https://www.vox.com/2016/5/15/11660304/urban-farming-benefits