5 Awe-Inspiring Urban Gardens

We're the ones who need to travel, not our food. Of course, some foods require rural conditions, but when we can, we should grow close to home. These urban gardens will prove that growing food on rooftops a short subway ride from our homes is not only possible, but excellent for the Earth. 

From this urban farm, you can catch a fantastic view of Manhattan's skyline while enjoying only the most delicious seasonal produce. In fact, they grow over 50,000 pounds of organically cultivated produce per year. Inspired? Of course you are. Good news: Brooklyn Grange provides urban farming and green roof consulting and installation services to clients worldwide.

While you won't feel toasty sunlight on your skin at this urban farm in London, you can witness a true feat: delicious microgreens being grown 108 feet under the streets of Clapham. Think this sounds eco-unfriendly? Think again. "Our hydroponics system uses 70 percent less water than traditional open-field farming," their website says, "and because all the nutrients are kept within the closed-loop system we run no risk of contributing to agricultural run-off."

This indoor farm, located in an office building in Tokyo's business district, really maximizes its potential as an urban farm. "The set-up for each type of crop is different — and in total there are around 100 different kinds of produce," reads a description on UnmissableJapan.com. "The tomatoes trail down from trellises on the ceiling. Seeds are sprouted in drawers, and beans grow up the walls. Perhaps oddest of all are the lettuces: shelves of lettuces are stacked four high, and each shelf is brightly illuminated by its own array of fluorescent tubes."

What used to be an unused parking lot is now a homey community garden in Melbourne. While the produce is delicious, and the 360-degree views of Melbourne's iconic skyline are stunning, it's the friendly atmosphere this garden fosters that makes it so awe-inspiring. They hold members' events like food excursions, barbecues, movie nights, and ping pong competitions.

Robert Shaw, co-founder of this project, was inspired by the gardens he saw in Cuba. "Many people, including city-dwellers, grow their own food in gardens there," he says. "Initially what was interesting to me were the visual contrasts between city/land or grey/green." Crops in Prinzessinnengarten are planted in raised beds made from stacked crates or in rice sacks, and the bar, kitchen, workshop, and storage facilities are located in disused and converted shipping containers.