September 2006 • Features
How Green is Your City?
By Martin C. Pedersen, Lisa Chamberlain, Alec Appelbaum, Michael Silverberg & Sierra Gonzalez
“The Green Roofing of America” certainly has a nice ring to it, but the idea remains more wishful thinking than reality. True, there are more green roofs in operation than ever before, but the bulk of new construction is built without any environmental considerations at all. Still, in this era of dwindling resources and rising temperatures, it’s worth noting that even the most banal green roof (think grass) offers real and lasting benefits. Like hybrid cars, green roofs look to us like an ecological no-brainer: an obvious solution to intractable problems. Our civic role model is Chicago, where the number of green roofs is reaching a robust critical mass. In hopes that the rest of us may follow its inspired lead, consider these projects a kind of instruction manual for healthier cities.
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