Life-cycle assessment was used to evaluate the widespread installation of green roofs in a typical urban mixed-use neighborhood. Market prices of materials, construction, energy conservation, storm-water management, and greenhouse gas GHG emission reductions were used to evaluate private and social costs and benefits. Results suggest green roofs are currently not cost effective on a private cos...

California has a new hit: the state's new Academy of Sciences building in San Francisco has been drawing increasing plaudits from both professionals and the public alike. With the strictest of environmental demands, architect Renzo Piano has created a building " that is visually and functionally linked to its natural surroundings, metaphorically lifting up a piece of the park and putting a buil...

More than 1.15 million cubic meters (1.5 million cubic yards) of sediment require annual removal from harbors and ports along Ohio's Lake Erie coast. Disposing of these materials into landfills depletes land resources, while open water placement of these materials deteriorates water quality. There are more than 14,000 acres of revitalizing brownfields in Cleveland, U.S., many containing up to 9...

Background and aims The application of green roof technology has become more common in the central, northwestern and eastern USA, and is now being employed across the southern USA as well. However, there is little research in the literature that evaluated plant survival on unirrigated green roofs in subtropical climates that experience frequent drought and heat stress. Here, we summarize the re...

Green roofs are constructed ecosystems that provide ecosystem services in urban environments. Shallow substrate green roofs subject the vegetation layer to desiccation and other environmental extremes, so researchers have evaluated a variety of stress-tolerant vegetation types for green roof applications. Lichens can be found in most terrestrial habitats.  They are able to survive extremely har...

The temperature of cities continues to increase because of the heat island phenomenon and the undeniable climatic change. The observed high ambient temperatures intensify energy problems in cities, deteriorates comfort conditions, put in danger the vulnerable population and amplify the pollution problems. There are some suggested ways to reduce these issues, among them vegetated roofs are shown...