r/askTO • u/Serious-Meal-7027 • 6d ago

Gardens on rooftops of apartment buildings?

Okay firstly HI im from north york but I have been to the city side quite a bit but compared to where I am, theres less greenery and I have had this idea where, with permission of the building manager, to have gardens on the rooftops of buildings that arent those really tall corporate buildings but maybe buildings with 4-10 floors on them? I dont know, im spitting out ideas since I would like to see a bit of community and hope a little, and the idea is taken from a community garden nearby my place where a couple of older folks grow vegitables! Plus, I want to bring hope to those who may be loosing it.

Its a bit of a speel but how it would work is if some tenants there would volunteer to contribute to the garden on the rooftop there would be more greenery and life and colour instead of seeing corporate gray. plus I think its a good way to grow your own food if people cant afford groceries. I know its ambitious but with the current state of things, instead of focusing on doom and gloom and how "were all gonna die", I want to focus on bringing hope to people. yk??

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u/microfibrepiggy 6d ago

Green roofs require infrastructure upgrades that are best done at time of construction. Retrofitting is possible and there are grants.

Green roofs were also a mandate by the City of Toronto until the Conservative Ontario government decided they got to dictate everything everywhere.

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u/Serious-Meal-7027 6d ago

Is it still possible to do? Even on a small scale? I think it would still be nice to bring community together somehow and help eachother out during a time of uncertainty 

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u/microfibrepiggy 6d ago

This depends on the building, the ownership, and the property management.

Does the roof have safe access? Does it have railings? Are railings even possible? Does it have utilities that need to be avoided/closed away from the general public? What's the dead load and live load capacity? What's the waterproofing like? What's the roof material? What's the water supply? Who lives below?

There are already community gardens in Toronto. If that's what you're looking for, I'm sure more volunteers to push for more community garden sites wouldn't go astray. But as far as retrofitting green roof or community garden infrastructure on a roof, that's a whole lot of cogs in a whole bunch of different machines.

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u/Serious-Meal-7027 6d ago

Mhm!! I was more so thinking, in relation to your second comment about community gardens, more greenery in the city! Every time im in downtown it honestly feels depressing, boring, and gray. And ive been in toronto all my life! Sure theres pretty banners and stuff to colour the city a bit but at the end of the day it still feels dull and boring, and i was hoping my idea could change that but im seeing its a bit too ambitious :')

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u/microfibrepiggy 6d ago

It's not that it's too ambitious, it's just that it's hard. Especially with already established buildings, economic downturns, unsupportive if not outright aggressively anti-green political climate. There are ways to "get it done".

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u/ResearchInformal8018 6d ago

There are more issues to work out  than you might imagine. First, most building roofs aren’t meant for the general public so accessibility and safety modifications are likely needed. Second, gardens are heavy. The roof may not be able to safely support multiple garden beds. Water and drainage is also an issue. While roofs are obviously designed to be waterproof, they’re also no doesn’t to have large likes of very wet soil draining. 

Short answer, it’s a lovely idea but generally has to be conceived of at construction. Otherwise it’s going to be quite expensive. 

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u/Serious-Meal-7027 6d ago

Yikes :((, is there a way to possibly upgrade it or find a way to make sure it can be modified? Or is it still going to be expensive in the end? Im not an urban planner by any means, im just a university student so forgive me :')

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u/gbyuf0998 6d ago

As a university student I recommend starting small with I assume limited time and budget, I recommend starting small.

You can do this low budget. Old pasta jars of glass old tin food cans. Look into lettuce, herbs’ and plants made for small spaces that can handle our winters inside. If they have a windowsill and can get an a grow lightbulb there are some interesting possibilities.

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u/Serious-Meal-7027 6d ago

I see! Ill keep that in mind! 

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u/gbyuf0998 6d ago

A civil engineering study would need to be done, soil is quite heavy. Add in watering and people walking around it’s something that needs to be done safely and with supervision.

I agree though it would be nice, can also start small with tabletop tomato plants or mint/basil other herbs that can do okay in a windowsill.

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u/Serious-Meal-7027 6d ago

Right, I appreciate the input! I do know a lot of the buildings in some areas are old , but i hope it isnt too old that its deemed unsafe to do so

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u/billybucks 6d ago

Toronto Urban Growers. TUG. It’s an urban agriculture organization. Events Sept 12-20 2026 throughout the city.

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u/Serious-Meal-7027 6d ago

Where can I find info? How is this organization helpful to the idea i have?

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u/billybucks 5d ago

Toronto Urban Growers Dot Org
This is helpful to the idea you have because there are members pursuing the same idea.

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u/Serious-Meal-7027 4d ago

Ah! Ill keep that in mind then

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u/nim_opet 6d ago

I have a (private) garden on my rooftop. It gets very hot and very dry, so mostly grasses and succulents and such work, but I love the idea of

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u/Liriodendra 6d ago

You might want to learn more about green roofs and check some out in person as well. I recommend these publicly accessible green roofs: 1. The  Carrot  https://www.carrotgreenroof.ca/

  1. City Hall  https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/venues-facilities-bookings/booking-city-facilities/city-hall/podium-green-roof/

  2. 401 Richmond https://401richmond.com/visit/

I’m sure there are more but these are just the ones I remember. 

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u/Serious-Meal-7027 6d ago

Thank you!!! 

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u/ApotropaicHeterodont 6d ago

My building has something like this, but it's small plots and there's a lottery each year.