Rooftop Gardens: A Great Escape, or a Means of Segregation?

Rooftop gardens have become a popular retreat for residents living in downtown city high-rises. Photo courtesy of Parody.org

As the popularity of living in downtown high-rises grows, residents have found a substitute for their lack of a yard. Whether used as a place to garden, sunbathe, or entertain friends, rooftops have become the new outside space for downtown dwellers. The Los Angles Times reports that developers have been quick to capitalize on the “skyward trend.” As new condominium-style towers are built, their rooftops have been enhanced with a bevy of amenities; including basketball courts, swimming pools, barbecues, lavish garden walks, and places to relax and enjoy the view.

“There’s a tremendous amount of support for imaginative processes like these, for the kinds of things which might originally have been delegated to the Frank Gehrys of the world,” landscape architect Mia Lehrer, told the Times. Lehrer has already designed a few of Los Angeles’ rooftop havens and says they “create community in the way that parks create community.” But not all industry professionals share her positive view of enhancing these spaces. In fact, some people feel that creating private outside spaces could actually lead to a loss of community.

Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, chairwoman of the urban planning department at UCLA, told the Times, “What concerns me is the increasing tendency to take activities which were for hundreds of years part of the public realm, and privatize them. Then we’ll have parks only being used by low-income and minority people, and affluent people will use private parks.” She fears this segregation will result in a lack of citizenship and a focus on “individualistic interests.” But these developments aren’t slowing. Most residents are eager to have a place to call their own in the fast-paced, hustle and bustle of the city. —Source: Los Angles Times