Picking strawberries or herbs for dinner while watching the dome of the Invalides? It’s a dream come true! For the past few years, the rooftops of the capital have been transformed into vegetable gardens. Agricultural areas are springing up on top of Haussmann-style buildings, creating a new rural horizon on the Paris skyline. Urban agriculture, which appeared in the mid-2000s, is now booming.
Initially introduced in New York and Singapore in response to a lack of space, the phenomenon has spread to France and gained momentum in Paris. Where start-ups and innovative companies are multiplying projects for urban vegetable gardens and farms on the rooftops of the capital and its outskirts. While the initial idea of these new perched gardens was to bring green back into the city, as the green facades have made possible, they go further by providing restaurants, culinary craftsmen and the general public with fresh produce.
These urban vegetable gardens may differ in format or the species grown there, but what they all have in common is that they develop local production that is as environmentally friendly as possible and offer the establishment of ultra-short distribution channels. Conceived as places for sharing and conviviality – some even operate on a community model – they help to create real social links while being able to play an educational role. Old, forgotten species are revalued, and nature trails are created. Combining healthy food and agricultural initiation, the metamorphosis of Parisian rooftops sketches out what could well be the skyline of the city of the future.
Stroll in the heart of four top vegetable gardens with Acumen !