Installing green roofs throughout an urban landscape has optimal efficiency when a community does it for environmental and psychological benefits, and works towards procuring funds for green roof installation as a collective.

Top tip: Green roofs have several benefits, and the goal should be to install it as a collective.

Benefits of green roofs in a community

Studies have projected the benefits of buildings with green roofs to owners and residents, but the benefits to a community are lesser known. It is possible that green roofs might influence cities beyond the building scale.

Although the building-scale impacts of green roofs on natural and technical systems are relatively well understood, the influence of green roofs on socio-cultural systems is still under-represented in research.

The benefits include:

• Reduced combined sewer overflows.
• Reduced urban heat island effects.
• An increase in pollinators such as birds, bees and butterflies.

Other established benefits are the reduction of stress, upliftment, better attention control, a renewed sense of vitality, improved mental and physical health, reduced aggression and crime, improved productivity and creativity, and increased helping behaviours.

Green spaces positively impact the mind

City life can drain mental resources, while views of nature promote relaxation. When employees have access to green roofs, demands on limited mental resources are restored, which is helping them to re-focus and be more productive. Green roofs on a large scale could benefit thousands of employees.

Collective green roof installation

Solid funding schemes are required to ensure collective green roof installation. Succeeding in this can lead to an increase in a communities’ sewer and stormwater bills and a reduction in combined sewer overflows – achieved by green roof installation, thus proving the collective public benefits and investment.

Collective green roof initiatives have the potential to improve the wider urban landscape, leading to healthier cities that are more efficient at responding to climate change.

Full acknowledgement and thanks go to https://blog.urbanscape-architecture.com/ for the information in this editorial.

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