Towards a greener future: Why city planners need to implement green roof policies

Cities have been expanding at an ever faster rate and more than half of the world's population now lives in urban environments. The percentage is predicted to rise up to 70% by the year 2050. This calls for a massive redevelopment of the world's urban areas to accommodate the ...

Perception of green roofs in the media

The visibility of green roofs in media has a great impact on how the public views them and how appealing and realistic they appear to them as an everyday part of life. The more they appear, the more we as regular people feel comfortable with them. It is often hard to grow past ...

FIGHTING DROUGHT – Responsible water management in arid places

There is no unique definition of drought, as we can distinguish between meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, and socio-economic droughts, depending on its effects. We will mainly be focusing on meteorological drought, which is caused by weather events and can be defined ...

URBAN AGRICULTURE - A path to sustainable and self-sufficient cities

The developed world is facing a potential food production crisis as the urban population has already exceeded the rural population. According to estimations, by 2050 only one third of the global population (34%) will be rural, and the remaining two thirds will be urban. This is ...

TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE: How green roofs can prevent flooding in urban areas

Water damage caused by flooding is becoming a serious threat in the developed world. Caused both by extreme weather phenomena due to climate change, and by expanding cities, it is crucial to invest in prevention methods.

A GREENER EUROPE! Green infrastructure in the light of new European environmental directives

In recent years, with ever more apparent climate change and extreme weather phenomena, policy makers have come to recognise the need for change and a clear plan of action to dissuade at least some of the consequences of irresponsible human actions of the past. The values of ...

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRAFFIC – How to incorporate green solutions on roads, railways and highways

Due to the effects of world-wide urbanization trends, the number of human populations exposed to traffic emissions and high-volume railways is rising. Transit-oriented development brings traffic activity ever closer to people’s residences, making them susceptible the effects of ...

URBAN LANDSCAPING – Why greener cities are cooler, smarter and healthier

A recent study of Glasgow by researchers Emmanuel and Loconsole advocated that an increase in greenspace of 20% above the current level could eliminate between a third and a half of the city's expected urban heat island effect in 2050. (1) But why do we need to take action in ...

TACKLING THE URBAN WATER CRISIS WITH GREEN ROOFS

Safe water, water use and access to water are critical global concerns and today has been designated United Nations World Water Day to highlight the water crisis facing billions of people who are “struggling to survive and thrive”.

Green roofs are changing the way we design buildings - an architectural overview

It's not surprising that green roofs are becoming more and more popular as a design tool of many forward-thinking architects, keeping buildings cool in the summer and warm and cozy in the winter. They are also beneficial when it comes to reducing the urban heat island effect ...