Green Roofs in Urban Landscapes

Performance evaluation of green roofs in urban runoff reduction

Urbanism directly affects the hydrological cycle. One of the ways to manage runoffs in urban areas that is considered nowadays is green roof creation. Green roof is mainly created in humid and semi-humid areas, and efficiency of green roofs in arid and semi-arid areas has attracted less attention. In the current study, to evaluate the effect of green roof in arid and semi-arid to reduce runoff,...

Do green roofs provide habitat for bats in urban areas ?

As the world population continues to increase, with more than 50 percent of people now residing within cities, remaining natural and semi-natural habitats within urban areas play an increasingly important role for people and wildlife (Mortberg and Wallentinus, 2000; Benedict and McMahon, 2002; Jim, 2004; Town and Country Planning Association, 2004; Bierwagen, 2007; Gill et al., 2007; Tratalos e...

Hydrologic Restoration in the Urban Environment Using Green Roofs

Loss of natural soil and vegetation within the urban environment can significantly affect the hydrologic cycle by increasing storm water runoff rates and volumes. In order to mitigate these modifications in urban areas engineered systems are developed, such as green roofs, to mimic and replace functions (evapo-transpiration, infiltration, percolation) which have been altered due to the impact o...

Positive effects of vegetation: urban heat island and green roofs.

This paper attempts to evaluate the positive effects of vegetation with a multi-scale approach: an urban and a building scale. Monitoring the urban heat island in four areas of New York City, we have found an average of 2 °C difference of temperatures between the most and the least vegetated areas, ascribable to the substitution of vegetation with man-made building materials. At micro-scale, we...

Green Roofs as Urban Ecosystems: Ecological Structures, Functions, and Services