Green Roofing it UP

After taking a trial course for MCG (an environmental literacy course targeted at adults in the inner city to educate them on practical and sustainable water use) I couldn’t stop thinking about green roofs.

As a component of the course, we discussed LID practices: Low Impact Development practices. With LID, development is focused on low impact stormwater management where design attempts to mimic a site’s predevelopment hydrology by using design techniques that infiltrate, filter, store, evaporate, and detain runoff close to its source. This principle promotes treating stormwater through cost-effect landscape features to reduce the need for costly infrastructure built to transport and treat run-off. These landscape features, known as Integrated Management Practices (IMPs), are the building blocks of LID. Almost all components of the urban environment have the potential to serve as an IMP. This includes not only open space, but also rooftops, streetscapes, parking lots, sidewalks, and medians. LID is a versatile approach that can be applied equally well to new development, urban retrofits, and redevelopment / revitalization projects.

This all relates to the larger subject of horticultural infrastructure, but for now I’m keeping the discussion limited to green roofs. (As part of my internship I get to produce a research paper on hort. infra., so more to come soon). Green roofs are ANCIENT , GREEN, and provide an immense benefit to urban scapes around the world.

Consider these important statistics regarding greening up your roof: http://tiny.cc/hj6kc. Here we see that a green roof lasts an average of 30 years longer and uses only 70-80% of the energy consumed by a conventional roof. When applied correctly, greenroofs do all of the above:

Ø Clean and retain rainwater

Ø Reduce the overheating of cities (Urban Heat Island Effect)

Ø Add beauty to the concrete jungle

Ø Lower air temperatures

Ø Improve air quality

Ø Lower heating and cooling bills

Ø Extend the life of the roof membrane (2 to 3 times!)

Get it, GreenRoofs.

for more info, check out: http://www.lidstormwater.net/ and

http://www.artic.edu/webspaces/greeninitiatives/greenroofs/main_map.htm