Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, the Toronto-based green roof industry association, is pleased to announce the results from its Second Annual Industry Survey of corporate members’ completed green roof projects in 2006. The survey indicates a growth rate of more than 25 percent over 2005, representing more than 3 million square feet installed in 2006. For intensive green roofs that typically incorporate larger plants, the growth rate was 110 percent in 2006.
“The green roof industry is growing rapidly in response to the pressing need for cleaner air, better stormwater management, improved energy efficiency, and more usable green space in our communities,” says Steven Peck, founder and president at Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. “Green roofs have really captured attention as a beautiful way to help fight climate change and save money. Green roofs deliver more public and private benefits than any other green building technology, so we anticipate that strong growth will continue into the future,” he adds.
The City of Chicago, which has policies in place to support green roofs and urban greening, implemented the most square feet of green roofs in 2006 of any city, followed closely by Washington, D.C. “My goal is to make Chicago the greenest, most environmentally friendly city in the nation, and we are leading by example in our green roof development,” says Mayor Richard M. Daley. “With over 1 million square feet of green roofs completed in Chicago and another 2 million in development, our city has truly embraced this practice as a way to help conserve Chicago for future generations.”
This 2006Top 10 Cities List, from the top down, by total square footage installed, includes:
- Chicago, IL.
- Washington, D.C.
- Wildwood Crest, NJ.
- Dulles, VA.
- Kansas City, MO.
- Phoenix, AZ.
- Milwaukee, WI.
- New York City, NY.
- Portland, OR.
- Columbus, OH.
Evidence of the rapidly growing industry is reflected in the steadily increasing number of delegates to the 5th Annual Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference, Awards, and Trade Show being held in Minneapolis April 29 through May 1, 2007. More than 80 exhibitors featuring the latest in green roof products and services are featured in the sold-out trade show. The complete survey results and methodology are available at (www.greenroofs.org), as well as conference details.
Green roof infrastructure involves the use of technologies that incorporate drainage/filtering systems, quality waterproofing, root-repellency, engineered growing media, and plants. The benefits of green roofs include a reduction in stormwater run-off, better heat and sound insulation, energy savings, improved air quality, and reduction in the urban heat island. Other benefits include increased park space, improved aesthetics, community gardening, and biodiversity.
This information was provided by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (www.greenroofs.org), a rapidly growing, not-for-profit industry association based in Toronto. Its mission is to increase the awareness of the economic, social, and environmental benefits of green roof infrastructure across North America and rapidly advance the development of the market for green roof products and services.
