Community and Social Justice Aspects of Rooftop Agriculture

This chapter examines the community and social justice aspects of rooftop agriculture (RA), focusing on cities in the Global North. The goal is to provide an overview of the social aspects of diverse RA typologies and the potential community and social justice effects, from the individual level to the city scale. We show that, like urban agriculture overall, RA may have multiple benefits in the urban setting (such as improving community food security, providing educational opportunities, or fostering neighborhood participation). However, we argue that, like urban agriculture overall, RA is not in and of itself a sustainable or socially just practice. The chapter discusses these dynamics with examples from several Global North cities. We conclude with generalizable policy, funding, and design recommendations for RA that advances community well-being and social equity goals. While focused on the Global North context, the principles behind these recommendations are also applicable in Global South regions.