Green roofs and implementing the goals of Smart Growth

Smart Growth is a movement developed by city planners to counteract urban sprawl and inner-city deterioration. This paper explored the use of green roofs as a tangible means to attain the following 4 main goals of Smart Growth: (1) support infill development which refers to the concentration of development in already existing nodes and corridors served by public transit, (2) make cities more liveable, healthy, and environmentally sustainable, (3) create new green space and habitat for biodiversity preservation, and (4) support efficient and green infrastructure. It was suggested that few technologies provide such a wide range of opportunity as green roofs do to generate tangible social, economic and environmental benefits. Roof space represents 15 to 35 per cent of the total land area in a city. In addition to providing stormwater management, green roofs contribute to a reduction of the urban heat island, bringing nature back into the city. It was noted that generating new accessible and inaccessible green space is consistent with the needs and desires or urban dwellers. The extent to which green roofs can provide public benefits depends on the type of design. Green roofs not only cool the buildings they sit upon, but generate cooling for the surrounding area that can result in reduced energy consumption and improvements in air quality. 64 refs., 2 figs.