Exploring Rooftops, in Florida and Zanzibar

Venturing Out | Reminder #B5
Explore unused parts of your community, and consider ways to make them useful.

I’m trying to fire up a horticultural development program, and I need rooftops. Rooftops offer ideal growing environments: sunshine, easy drainage, and distance from pests. Indeed, rooftop is more valuable to me than indoors or farmland. Yet, rooftops cost less. So much so, that I secured 2600sqft of rooftop essentially for free. Why is that?

Well, ‘lemme rant about Gainesville’s "anthropology of space," that is, how its culture understands, modifies, uses, and values the space it occupies.

• Infrastructurally, Gainesville is a mid-sized college town, with tree-shaded urban areas, surrounded by farmland and wildlife preserves.
• Environmentally, Gainesville suffers from Florida’s punishing sunshine, rains, and semitropical humidity. Yet, it sits too far inland to enjoy much sea breeze.

The resulting culture doesn’t really see its urban areas as places to grow food, and it values indoor spaces with air-conditioning and no leaks. Rooftops offer neither of these benefits, and remain largely out of sight. Therefore, rooftops rarely get used. One landlord stammered at the thought of renting his rooftop, and didn’t even know what to charge. This knowledge proves useful during negotiations.

For those native to places like Gainesville, it’s easy to take unused rooftops for granted. So let me put things in perspective, with commentary from one of my readers, a property-developer and anthropologist-of-space, named Lauren Kent:

"Quite interestingly rooftops are an important part of life in Stone Town, Zanzibar – it is ridiculously hot and humid there. However, if you climb two or three stories high you will find the most wonderful of sea breezes blowing all through the day and night. This is the express reason why the houses were built to the height they are, and why there is almost always a way to the top – otherwise people would not have survived living there. This is where people escape to at the hottest times of the day. This is where women meet before Eid to be decorated with heena and piko (I joined the women when I was there, getting ready for Eid celebrations), where laundry and washing is done, and where food is eaten."

What do people do with their roofs, where you’re from? What’re some other unused, or under-used, parts of your community? Of course, any other thoughts are welcome, too. I put a lot of thought into these posts, and I sure do love it when people leave comments. Even short, stupid ones. So be awesome, and click here to say something. No registration nor email required. Yay, free speech!

ONLY 25 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN AWESOME ENOUGH TO COMMENT. THIS IS NOT ENOUGH!

Mónica C says:

I live in the NW of Spain, the rooftop in the city is normally a small warehouse,in the rural zone exist buildings like little houses of stone in where the rooftop is so much important because here there are so much humidity ,also it has a long legs of stone ,all for keep the grain. It´s called HORREO (this little house of stone). Also the rooftop in the rural zone is used for dry CHORIZOS,JAMÓN SERRANO,LACÓN(made with parts of the pig) and others tipical spanish foods and of my area , with very good taste of course!specially the ham(jamón serrano).Greetings.

Ashkuff says:

Sounds like a beautiful place to live! Thanks for sharing.

Mónica C says:

I was talking about the roof(under the roof)sorry !I didn´t understand rooftop word.there are not many rooftops here because we have a very wet and rainy weather.

Ashkuff says:

Hey, no need to apologize! Technical detail: in English, we call the “roof under the roof” a “ceiling.” The “roof on top on the building” is a “rooftop.”

Lanfia Toure says:

Rooftops in most parts of West Africa and Central Africa aren’t always accessible but when they are, they are ideal locations for family, friends and neighbors to dry beaten corn, cassava, meats, hides and clothes.

Ashkuff says:

Exactly the kinda cross-cultural perspective I love to hear! Thanks, Lanfia. I can guarantee you, nobody in Gainesville, FL is drying beaten cassava or hides on their rooftops. Lol.

Vivi says:

Bravo on your collaboration Ashkuff & Lauren
Paradoxically I have never lived in a double storey house, nor on the top floor of any building, and until I started scuba diving and parkour, I was afraid of heights …. yet I’ve always felt drawn to explore the highest part of a building or tree
Since moving to a rural area seven years ago my level of environmental awareness has grown – I’ve read about, experimented with, discussed and abandoned so many eco-ideas … and still the idea of rooftop gardening intrigues me the most. Although we’ve not gone that route here (our buildings’ rooves are insubstantial and wouldn’t support any extra weight or moisture) we’ve utilised the eaves of the roof to hang recycled pipes in which we grow our herbs ……. www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbi.....38;theater

Lauren Kent says:

You do parkour! That is fantastic, if there was ever a sport that embraces urban space, that is it. I also dabble in parkour as three of my capoeira crew peeps are also traceurs. And once again the rooftop, or the highest point of some built part of the urban landscape is the centre of attention – you are either trying to get to the top, jumping from top to top, or jumping off of the top/roof back down to ground level.

I wonder why roofs in Florida are so…blegh? People need to begin to think laterally and see what we can do with the built environment.

Ashkuff says:

I think Gainesville, FL’s rooftops usually go unused because of the weather. Rooftops here aren’t much good for anything except growing plants, but nobody sees urban areas as places to grow food.

Ashkuff says:

Parkour is getting so freakin popular, these days!
I tried it myself, just a few weeks ago.

I tried viewing the photo you posted, but got an error message.
(looks disappointed)

anonymous says:

I totally agree with the weed plant idea, we once had our friends smoke some weed
on our balcony , and with in a week we had a tiny liitle plant grow inbetween our tiles , so having a roof top garden sounds like a great idea…go Lawren…..

Ashkuff says:

For the record, I totally discourage this kinda thing, because it’s illegal where I’m from. However, if its legal where YOU’RE from… totally doable.

Thanks for commenting!

Sauley says:

Wow, comment pressures! But seriously, I enjoyed this post and it’s got me thinking about rooftops now. Are there climates where this doesn’t work? And what about all the pointy-roofed houses we have?

Ashkuff says:

Well, because I need FLAT rooftops, I imagine rooftop gardening might get tricky in snow-prone areas. It’d be difficult to grow under a pile of snow, after all!

I probably wouldn’t use a point rooftop. I’d probably just stare at it resentfully, wishing it was flat. (Laughs Out Loud)

Piesmiter says:

It’s super cool that you have such well-traveled and super-educated readers! Just like me! Right.

I’d heard before that in areas around the Med and Africa sleeping on the roof was popular for the breezes and whatnot – but it’s great to have someone who knows first hand!

Being a Floridian, I’ve always noticed the flat roofs all around. Up north and in snow-prone areas the roofs are more angled to shed snow, and I always thought flat roofs looked odd, but I never considered growing food on them.

By the way: Just because you posted it, I ended up visiting Lauren Kent’s website, which was pretty cool. I wanted to know what an anthropologist of space was. I vote for more guest articles!

Ashkuff says:

Oh, hey! Did you see her article about the Writer’s Grotto at shortnsheshe.blogspot.com/2012/06/change-of-space.html ? You’re still dreaming of becoming a writer, right? I thought you’d dig it.

Lauren Kent says:

Rooftops only work as space to be used if they are flat and open and, well, designed to be used as a place to do laundry, sleep atop, grow food etc – the angled, closed, tin ones wouldn’t work as everything would slide off of it. If I understand Al properly, the rooftop that he is using will be a platform to plant food plants in container – he shant plant the plants directly into the cement Thanks for the good feedback Piesmiter re my blog. Twas great writing the bit I did! Thanks guys!

Mimi says:

Only rooftops we really have are in the CBD (central business district)
Also, most rooftops are cemented, how do you work around that? The public will assume that you’re going to utilise the space without much capital input.

I have never seen a rooftop farm, maybe my lack of visual is contributing to my speticism.

How will it work?

Ashkuff says:

Concrete is ideal, actually, because it’s usually steel-reinforced and very sturdy. Healthy plants get big, and big plants can heavy, after all!

Here’s a particularly pretty picture of a rooftop farm: www.google.com/imgres?um=1.....5,s:0,i:91

Difference between theirs and mine: I’m growing hydroponically, not in containers of soil; I’m growing a LOT MORE plants in a smaller area; and I’m different types of plants.

Mimi says:

Okay, okay so hydroponic agriculture is cool. It’s kinda perfect for rooftop “gardening.”

It entertains all the shortfalls, land, soil, pest control blah blah.

However, oh wise one, it sounds pretty expenxive and requires know how. Money and skill.

Is that available?

P.S. So Americans like tomatoes, hmm how interesting.

Ashkuff says:

I won a couple months of R&D from a client, and pretty much became a hydroponics expert over the Summer. Lol. Now, I’m trying to convince them to invest in equipment.

Personally, I don’t really like tomatoes.
Unless they’re on bruschetta or something.

Nevada says:

We tried a small rooftop garden twelve years ago. The lack of running water was a problem. We switched to growing fewer veggies in pots. Now we have 1/4 acre and currently have a square foot garden. With this method you can grow a large amount of food in a small area. Pests (central FL region) are still an issue. We are looking into hydroponic gardening. We’re also researching farming our own tilapia.

Container gardening works well in urban areas (patios, balconies, window sills). Many veggies grow well in containers (tomatoes, broccoli, lettuce, etc.). Rooftop, backyard, or window, there’s nothing more wonderful than eating the food you’ve grown yourself.

Ashkuff says:

Oh, wow, I feel your pain. Keeping the water running is shaping up to be one of our biggest problems, too. Most pumps aren’t powerful enough to lift water two stories; most pumps cannot provide a decent stream for +100 gullies; pumps are the only electricity-consuming component of the whole operation.

Glad to hear you found success with planters, though!

jesse wilde says:

In New York City, roof tops are a way to get away from the maddening crowd, and grow your own piece of Eden. But watch out how close your molecules get to those transmitting antennas – that’s at least sumpin’ Terry Malloy didn’t have to worry about back in the day.

Ashkuff says:

Ah, yes. I remember NY. Thing that struck me, as a a Floridian, was how the urban areas didn’t seem to have any tree coverage at all.

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