Paris Leads the Way in France’s Growing Urban Farming Industry

City of Lights is one of the world’s least green major cities; some Parisians want to change that

An employee of urban farming startup Aeromate checks on vegetables and aromatic herbs growing on the rooftop of a building owned by French public transport group RATP as part of a rooftop farming project in Paris, on Aug. 24, 2017. Benjamin Cremel/AFP/Getty Images

PARIS—Sidney Delourme gets really passionate when showing pictures of his ambitious project. For now, it is just a huge rooftop in Paris overlooking rails and old towers with the Montmartre hill in the background, but his drawings show plans for green and wooden spaces.

The 31-year-old is developing a huge urban farm in the heart of Paris, which is often cited for its lack of green space compared to its large population size. A study by MIT’s Sensible City Lab published in January found that Paris is the least green city among 10 major cities studied.