Abstract :
Green roofs installed on rooftop of buildings in urban communities have multiple environmental, economic, energy and social benefits. They promote the urban sustainability and the well-being of the local residents. The impact of green roofs in buildings, in the environment and in local communities have been studied. Green roofs remove atmospheric pollutants including carbon dioxide, release oxygen, mitigate the urban heat island effect, reduce the energy consumption in buildings, improve the rainwater management, promote urban agriculture, enhance urban green spaces and bring nature closer to local residents. The development of green roofs results in many benefits in the buildings that have been constructed as well as in the broader community. Their construction is financially subsidized in several countries due to their multiple external benefits. In the era of climate change and of sustainable development construction of green roofs in urban environments has multiple positive impacts. Therefore, local and municipal authorities should promote their construction in public and private buildings. The current work emphasizes the benefits of green roofs and it could be useful to policy makers, to public and municipal authorities as well as to architects, construction companies and buildings’ owners who should promote their development in urban communities.
Keywords :
Benefits, climate change mitigation, green roofs, rainwater management, urban agriculture, urban heat island effectReferences :
- Li, Y. & Babcock, R. Green roofs against pollution and climate change. A review, Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 34 (4), 2014, pp. 695-705. ff10.1007/s13593-014-0230-9ff. ffhal-01234839
- Yang, J., Yu, Q. & Gong, P. Quantifying air pollution removal by green roofs in Chicago, Atmospheric Environment, 42(31), 2008, pp. 7266-7273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2008.07.003
- Seo, Y-B., Dinh, T-V., Kim, S., Baek, D-H., Jung, K. & Kim, J-C. CO2 removal characteristics of a novel type of moss and its potential for urban green roof applications, Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment, 17(1), 2023, 22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s44273-023-00022-9
- Cai, L., Feng, X-P., Yu, J-Y., Xiang, Q-C. & Chen, R. Reduction in carbon dioxide emission and energy savings obtained by using a green roof, Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 19, 2019, pp. 2432-2445. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2019.09.0455
- Bass, B., Krayenhoff, S. & Martilli, A. Mitigating the urban heat island with green roof infrastructure, Urban Heat Island Summit, Toronto, Canada, 2002.
- Lehman, St. Low carbon districts: Mitigating the urban heat island with green roof infrastructure, City, Culture and Society, 5(1), 2014, pp. 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccs.2014.02.002
- Sahnoune, S. & Benhassine, N. Quantifying the impact of green-roofs on urban heat island mitigation, International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, 8(2), 2017, pp. 116-123. http://dx.doi.org/10.18178/ijesd.2017.8.2.932
- Ragab, A. & Abdelrady, A. Impact of green roofs on energy demand for cooling in Egyptian buildings, Sustainability, 12(14), 2020, 5729. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12145729
- Maiolo, M., Pirouz, B., Bruno, R., Palermo, S.A., Arcuri, N. & Piro, P. The role of extensive green roofs on decreasing building energy consumption in the Mediterranean climate, Sustainability, 12(1), 2020, 359. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12010359
- Amos, C.C., Rahman, A., Karim, F. & Gathenya, J.M. A scoping review of roof harvested rainwater usage in urban agriculture: Australia and Kenya in Focus, Journal of Cleaner Production, 202, 2018, pp. 174-190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.08.108
- Semeraro, T., Aretano, R. & Pomes, A. Green roof technology as a sustainable strategy to improve water urban availability, Materials Science and Engineering, 471, 2019, 092065. DOI 10.1088/1757-899X/471/9/092065
- Hui, S.C.M. (2011). Green roof urban farming for buildings in high-density urban cities, in the Haiman China World Conference, 18-21 March 2011, Haiman, China.
- Walters, S.A. & Stoelzle Midden, K. Sustainability of urban agriculture: Vegetable production of green roofs, Agriculture, 8, 2018, 168. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture8110168
- Appolloni, E., Orsini, F., Specht, K., Thomaier, S., Sanye-Mengual, E., Pennisi, G., et al. The global rise of urban rooftop agriculture: A review of worldwide cases, Journal of Cleaner Production, 296, 2021, pp. 1-13. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126556
- Butler, C., Butler, E. & Orians, C.M. Native plant enthusiasm reaches new heights: Perceptions, evidence and the future of green roofs, Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 11(1), 2012, pp. 1-10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2011.11.002
- Berardi, U., GhaffarianHoseini, Amir & GhaffarianHoseini Ali. State-of-the-art analysis of the environmental benefits of green roofs, Applied Energy, 115, 2014, pp. 411-428. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.10.047
- Moller Francis, L.F. & Bergen Jensen, M. Benefits of green roofs: A systematic review of the evidence for three ecosystems services, Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 28, 2017, pp. 167-176. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2017.10.015
- Vijayaraghavan, K. Green roofs: A critical review on the role of components, benefits, limitations and trends, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 57, 2016, pp. 740-752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.12.119
- Suszanowicz, D. & Wiesek, A.K. The impact of green roofs on the parameters of the environment in Urban areas – Review, Atmosphere, 10, 2019, 792. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10120792
- Arabi, R., Samiei, A. & Khodabakhshi, S. Benefits of green roofs; a review paper, Sustainable Architecture, 68, 2014, pp. 22222-22228.
- Specht, K., Siebert, R., Hartmann, I., Freisinger, U.B., Sawicka, M., Werner, A., Thomaier, S., Henckel, D., Walk, H. & Dierich, A. Urban agriculture for the future: an overview of sustainability aspects of food production in and on the buildings, Agriculture and Human Values, 31, 2014, pp. 33-51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-013-9448-4
- Wolf, D. & Lundholm, J.T. Water uptake in green roof microcosms: Effect of plant species and water availability, Ecological Engineering, 33, 2008, pp. 179-186. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.ecoleng.2008.02.008
- Tan, C.L., Tan, P.Y., Wong, N.H., Takasuna, H., Kudo, T., Takemasa, Y., Jesslyn Lim, C.V. & Valerie Chua, H.X. Impact of soil and water retention characteristics on green roof thermal performance, Energy and Buildings, 152, 2017, pp. 830-842. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.01.011
- Bus, A. & Szelagowska, A. Green Water from Green Roofs—The Ecological and Economic Effects, Sustainability, 13, 2021, 2403. https:// doi.org/10.3390/su13042403
- [25] Yan, J., Yang, P., Wang, B., Wu, S., Zhao, M., Zheng, X., Wang, Z., Zhang, Y. & Fan, C. Green Roof Systems for Rainwater and Sewage Treatment, Water, 16, 2024, 2090. https:// doi.org/10.3390/w16152090
- Li, D., Bou-Zeid, E. & Oppenheimer, M. The effectiveness of cool and green roofs as urban heat island mitigation strategies, Environmental Research Letters, 9, 2014, 055002. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/5/055002
- Odli, Z.S.M., Zakarya, I.A., Mohd, F.N., Izhar, T.N.T., Ibrahim, N.M. & Mohamad, N. Green roof technology – mitigate urban heat island (UHI) effect, MATEC Web of Conferences, 78, 2016, 01100. https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/20167801100
- Hofmann, M.M. & Renner, S.S. Bee species recorded between 1992 and 2017 from green roofs in Asia, Europe, and North America, with key characteristics and open research questions, Apidologie, 49 (3), 2018, pp. 307-313. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13592-017-0555-x
- Colla, S.R., Willis, E. & Packer, L. Can Green Roofs Provide Habitat for Urban Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae)? Cities and the Environment. 2(1), 2009, 4. http://escholarship.bc.edu/cate/vol2/iss1/4.
- Yuliani, S., Hardiman, G. & Setyowati, E. Green-roof: The role of community in the substitution of green-space towards sustainability development, Sustainability, 12(4), 2020, 1429. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041429
- Burszta-Adamiak, E. & Fialkiewicz, W. A review of green roof incentives for the expansion of green infrastructure in European cities, Scientific Review – Engineering and Environmental Sciences, 28 (4), 2019, pp. 641–652. DOI 10.22630/PNIKS.2019.28.4.58
- Wooster, E.I.F., Fleck, R., Torpy, F., Ramp, D. & Irga, P.J. Urban green roofs promote metropolitan biodiversity: A comparative case study, Building and Environment, 207(A), 2022, 108458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.108458
- Batista, G., Pastore, E.M., Mauri, L. & Basilicata, C. Green roof effects in a case study of Rome, Energy Procedia, 101, 2016, pp. 1058-1063. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2016.11.134
- Monna, S., Juaidi, A., Abdallah, R. & Itma, M. A comparative assessment for the potential energy production from PV installation on residential buildings, Sustainability, 12(24), 2020, 10344. https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410344
- Yao, H. & Zhou, Q. Research status and application of rooftop photovoltaic generation systems, Cleaner Energy Systems, 5, 2023, 100065. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cles.2023.100065
- Hayter, S.J. & Kandt, A. Renewable energy applications for existing buildings, in 48th AiCARR International Conference Baveno-Lago Maggiore, Italy, September 22-23, 2011.
- Suszanowicz, D., Ratuszny, P. & Wrobel, R. The potential of roofs in city centers to be used for photovoltaic micro-installations, Materials Science and Engineering, 564, 2019, 012128. DOI 10.1088/1757-899X/564/1/012128
- Bot, K., Aelenei, L., da Gloria Gomes, M. & Silva, C.S. A literature review on building integrated solar energy systems for facades-photovoltaics thermal and hybrid systems, Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability, 7, 2022, 7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/rees/2021053
- Pandey, S., Hindoliya, D.A. & Mod, R. Experimental investigation on green roofs over buildings, International Journal of low Carbon Technologies, 8(1), 2013, pp. 37-42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ijlct/ctr044
- Jia, S., Weng, Q., Yoo, C., Xiao, H. & Zhong, Q. Building energy savings by green roofs and cool roofs in current and future climates, npj Urban Sustainability, 4, 2024, 23.
- Atienza-Marquez, A., Munoz, F.D., Hernandez, F.F. & Cejudo Lopez, J.M. Domestic hot water production in a hospital: Energy audit and evaluation of measures to boost the solar contribution, Energy, 261, 2022, 125275. DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2022.125275
- Rowe, D.B. Green roofs as a means of pollution abatement, Environmental Pollution, 159(8-9), 2011, pp. 2100-2110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2010.10.029
- Dimitrijevic, D., Zivkovic, P., Brankovic, J., Dobrnjac, M. & Stevanovic, Z. Air pollution removal and control by green living room systems, Acta Technica Corvinensis – Bulletin on Engineering, XI, 47(1), 2018. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360547031_Air_Pollution_Removal_and_Control_by_Green_Living_Roof_Systems#fullTextFileContent
- S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2018). Estimating the environmental effects of green roofs: A case study in Kansas City, Missouri. EPA 430-S-18-001. www.epa.gov/heat-islands/using-greenroofs-reduce-heat-islands.
- Viecco, M. Vera, S., Jorquera, H., Bustamante, W., Gironas, J., Dobbs, C. & Leiva, E. Potential of particle matter dry deposition on green roofs and living walls vegetation for mitigating urban atmospheric pollution in semiarid climates, Sustainability, 10(7), 2018, 2431. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072431
- Reza Seyedabadi, M., Eicker, U. & Karimi, S. Plant selection for green roofs and their impact on carbon sequestration and the building carbon footprint, Environmental Challenges, 4, 2021, 100119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envc.2021.100119
- Getter, K.L., Rowe, D.B., Robertson, G.P., Cregg, B.M. & Andresen, J.A. Carbon sequestration potential of extensive green roofs, Environmental Science and Technology, 43(19), 2009, pp. 7564-7570. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es901539x
- Kuronuma, T., Watanabe, H., Ishihara, T., Kou, D., Toushima, K., Audo, M. & Shindo, S. CO2 payoff of extensive green roofs with different vegetation species, Sustainability, 10(7), 2018, 2256. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072256
- Konopka, J., Heusinger, J. & Weber, S. Extensive urban green roof shows consistent annual net uptake of carbon as documented by 5 years of eddy-covariance flux measurements, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 126, 2021, e2020JG005879. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JG005879
- Simpson, C.H., Brousse, O., Mohageri, N., Davies, M. & Heaviside, C. An open-source automatic survey of green roofs in London using segmentation of aerial Science data, 15, 2023, pp. 1521-1541. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1521-2023
- Green roofs in Basel, Switzerland: combining mitigation and adaptation measures, Climate Adapt. Retrieved from https://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/en/metadata/case-studies/green-roofs-in-basel-switzerland-combining-mitigation-and-adaptation-measures-1
- Ndugwa, R.P. (2008). Average share of the build-up area of cities that is open space for public use for all, by sex, age and persons with disabilities, UH- Habitat for a better urban future. Retrieved from https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/files/meetings/iaeg-sdgs-meeting-08/9b_11.7.1_UN%20Habitat_tier%20reclassification%20Nov%202018_final.pdf
- The sustainable development goals report 2021, Goal 11, Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, UN Statistics Division. Retrieved from https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2021/extended-report/Goal%20(11)_final.pdf
- Vourdoubas, J. Net-zero carbon emissions residential buildings in the island of Crete, Greece. Are they feasible? American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology and Sciences, 96(1), 2023, pp.166-187.
- Vourdoubas, J. Creation of net zero carbon emission residential buildings due to energy use in Mediterranean area. Are they feasible? Civil Engineering Research Journal, 10(1), 2020, 555777. http://dx.doi.org/10.19080/CERJ.2020.10.555777