Two roof top farming concepts for residential buildings shifting towards sustainable communities: an exercise on the case of “Asmarat” with necessary re-adaptation of its architectural rooftop design

Desertification, deforestation, climate change, global warming, and economic instability are leading to serious problems in many countries. Two of these negative factors are the decrease in agriculture areas and food scarcity. This situation caused many countries to reconsider their agriculture polices and think of new solutions. The United Nations also addressed the problem via its “SDG—Sustainable Development Goals” agenda. One of its major goals is the change towards green and sustainable communities that can produce their own food. Rooftop farming in places with suitable climatic conditions was encouraged by the “SDG” and governments of many countries. The paper discusses the potential of utilizing Egyptian residential rooftops for rooftop farming, the Egyptian urban fabric is very dense with residential buildings. Taking the Egyptian “Asmarat” residential neighborhood as an exercise, the study aims to fulfilling the following three goals: 1- On a food security Level: if rooftop farming is extensively applied across all cities and villages in Egypt, a mass production threshold of exporting vegetables and fruits may be reached that will significantly participate in the overall national GDP, 2- On a socio-economic level: rooftop farming will create jobs for informal workers and the jobless, turning an individual from a jobless person to a busy one is the best practical solution for changing behavioral norms from the tendency towards crime, hanging around on the streets, and drug addiction towards a decent and productive society., and 3- On an environmental level.: Large cities suffer from crowds, high building densities, pollution, and scarcity of open green areas. Rooftop farming increases the “Urban Green Space—UGS” of the city, reduce pollution, decrease global warming, and purify the atmosphere.