Hong Kong has become the city where farms grow their crops in the sky
The Loop is among 80-plus urban farms that can be found atop skyscrapers, public terraces and shopping mall rooftops (Photo: Swire Properties/Hong Kong Urban Farms)
By Matthew Keegan
iNews
Feb 25, 2022
The last place one might expect to find a farm is smack-bang in the middle of a concrete jungle, where giant blocks of steel and glass tower above in every direction. But here in Hong Kong’s bustling Quarry Bay district, a green oasis is to be found 300m above ground on the rooftop of One Island East – one of the city’s tallest skyscrapers.
Called The Loop, it is among 80-plus urban farms that can be found atop skyscrapers, public terraces, shopping mall rooftops and even decommissioned helicopter pads here.
In space-starved Hong Kong, often described as the “vertical city”, building up is the only solution – and this applies to farms too.
“In Hong Kong, people live in shoebox apartments and the urban landscape is very densely packed,” says Michelle Hong (right), co-founder of Rooftop Republic, a social enterprise that builds and manages urban farms in the city.
“But there’s a lot of potential in rooftops, which tend to be overlooked, but are good spaces for growing food because they get ample sunlight.”
