Green Roofs Npr

This absorption of stormwater also improves local water quality.

Green roofs npr. Instead they re like green skins layers of vegetative matter that grow directly on. And then there s what scientists call the heat island effect which basically means that cities are significantly warmer than the surrounding areas. Can you collect water runoff from a green roof. In the most basic sense green roofs are a layered combination of vegetation and membrane over a building that can help insulate and provide water management.

Green roofs are also known as vegetative or eco roofs. A green roof is a roof that has grasses or plants all over it and the idea is not new. Many of them can t take foot traffic. Then we imagined what the city could be like if all of its roof space was green.

Green roofs for healthy cities grhc is the north american industry association for the green roof and wall sectors. Although there are no precise definitions of them an extensive green roof has a shallow growing medium usually less than six inches with a modest roof load limited plant diversity minimal watering requirements and is often not accessible. Large enough green roofs such as commercial vegetative roofs may even reduce the risk of local flooding during heavy rain. Npr s ketzel levine reports.

Commercial green roofs are not roof gardens. A green roof also helps control storm water runoff and retention. They fall into three main categories extensive intensive and semi intensive. Npr s chris arnold reports.

But now some of those roofs are going green. Modern systems help mitigate the heat island effect create habitats filter pollutants sequester carbon and even increase agricultural and amenity space. We took a field trip to the largest green roof in new york city. Green roofs have become natural fits for many public buildings as well thanks to large scale environmental and financial benefits such as energy efficiency storm water management sound insulation and the development of habitats for birds and other urban creatures.

The increased urbanization of towns and cities has resulted in less green space and more impervious surfaces. With green roofs that water instead of going into the drain and polluting the environment ends up just evaporating the atmosphere through the leaves of these plants.