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Articles on Green roofs

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Allowing residents to remove trees within three metres of buildings or ‘ancillary structures’ could dramatically alter the green infrastructure of dense inner Sydney suburbs like Rozelle. Tom Casey/Shutterstock

Trees can add $50,000 value to a Sydney house, so you might want to put down that chainsaw

Sara Wilkinson, University of Technology Sydney; Agnieszka Zalejska-Jonsson, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and Sumita Ghosh, University of Technology Sydney

Greater urban density is making it harder to preserve, let alone increase, tree cover. It's vital, then, to demonstrate the full value of green infrastructure for healthy liveable cities.
Green roofs, like this one in Sao Paulo, Brazil, have many benefits. Leonardo Ikeda/Shutterstock

How buildings in Johannesburg could benefit from green roofs

Anne Fitchett, University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa needs to develop low-cost housing solutions that are inherently comfortable and environmentally sustainable. Green roofs could be part of these solutions.
The main concern when talking about the liveability of a city like Melbourne should be sustaining the health and well-being of residents. Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock

Seven steps Melbourne can take to regain its ‘liveable city’ crown

Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Instituto de Salud Global de Barcelona (ISGlobal)

Rather than mourn the end of a seven-year reign as 'world's most liveable city', Melbourne could raise its sights to become more liveable, healthy and sustainable for all who live in the city.
Cairns has lots of hard grey infrastructure but much less green infrastructure that would reduce the impacts of the city’s growth. Karine Dupré

Cities can grow without wrecking reefs and oceans. Here’s how

Silvia Tavares, James Cook University and Karine Dupré, Griffith University

Urbanisation is the main reason for rising temperatures and water pollution, but receives little attention in discussions about the health of water streams, reefs and oceans.
Flooding in Sydney last week was the latest example of Australian cities’ lack of resilience to a more extreme climate. Dean Lewins/AAP

Design for flooding: how cities can make room for water

Elisa Palazzo, UNSW

Australia's coastal settlements are highly exposed to the impacts of climate change. Climate-resilient urban landscapes that can cope with large amounts of water need to become the new normal.
The sun sets behind the Statue of Liberty, July 1, 2018. AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File

Coping with heat waves: 5 essential reads

Jennifer Weeks, The Conversation

July is the hottest month in much of North America. Experts explain who is most affected by heat waves and ways to cope with them.
Green rooftops give a backyard feel to smaller housing units in Sydney Author Provided

Australian cities are lagging behind in greening up their buildings

Sara Wilkinson, University of Technology Sydney; Paul J Brown, University of Technology Sydney, and Sumita Ghosh, University of Technology Sydney

Research shows if Australia encourages greenery on buildings, it will reduce temperatures in the city, as well as potential for flash flooding. It also creates new habitats and socialising spaces.
Paris “under water” and other European cities facing drastic climate change should trigger planners to think urban spaces differently. S.Faric/Flickr

When climate comes unhinged, we need to re-think how to build our cities

Dagmar Haase, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ

In the future, Europe will suffer from more heat waves as well as extreme rainfall, presenting new challenges for planners and health care services. Building resilient cities can help.
Aerial view of the Sydney Football Stadium, which is to be rebuilt, and Sydney Cricket Ground. Questions of stadium design to deal with extreme heat are becoming more urgent. AAP

We need to ‘climate-proof’ our sports stadiums

Paul J Govind, Macquarie University

The Australian Open tennis and the recent Ashes Test cricket series show why our sporting stadiums need to be "climate-proofed" to deal with extreme heat.
The potential clean energy sources are all around Sydney, just waiting to be harnessed. Collage by Rocco Furfaro

Sydney’s closer to being a zero-carbon city than you think

Rob Roggema, University of Technology Sydney

Sun, wind, waste biomass, geothermal, tides and waves: all these energy sources in Sydney's backyard add up to a zero-carbon energy solution for the city.
Bees living in cities often have to seek out green space like parks, ravines and gardens. Green roofs could offer them some habitat. (Shutterstock)

Bees in the city: Designing green roofs for pollinators

Catherine Howell, University of Toronto; Jennifer Drake, University of Toronto, and Liat Margolis, University of Toronto

Urban bees deal with what's known as "habitat patches," discontinuous patches of green like gardens, parks and ravines. Green roofs could offer relief to bees dealing with habitat fragmentation.
The Acros Fukuoka eco-building in Fukuoka, Japan boasts one of the world’s most famous green roofs. The GRIT Lab at the University of Toronto is working to bring green roofs to the city and beyond in order to combat climate change. (Shutterstock)

How green roofs can protect city streets from flooding

Catherine Howell, University of Toronto; Jennifer Drake, University of Toronto, and Liat Margolis, University of Toronto

Green roofs could play a critical role in helping cities cope with extreme rainfall events in the age of climate change. The roofs essentially suck up stormwater like sponges if designed properly.

Related Topics

  1. Cities
  2. Cities & Policy
  3. Climate change
  4. Global perspectives
  5. green cities
  6. Green infrastructure
  7. Green walls
  8. Heat wave
  9. Trees
  10. Urban greening

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