11 Jun Green Roofing On The Rise In Major US Cities

According to a Builderonline.com article, a recent survey conducted by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities of its corporate members indicate that the green roofing industry grew by 16.1% in 2009. This correlates with the numerous reports of a thriving market focused on sustainability. While most home markets struggled in the last two years, communities that focused on green practices performed much better.

A green roof is one that consists of layers of vegetation including soil and then some type of vegetation planted. The benefits of these roofs are numerous and include insulation and energy efficiency. They also help society as a whole by producing clean air and reducing stress on the sewer system through storm water retention.

Green roofs are becoming very popular when it comes to new construction and the retrofitting of old buildings. Chicago is the US leader in green roof installation and has made a strong commitment to their implementation back in the early 2000s.

The City Hall building in Chicago was fitted with green roofs and recorded summer temperatures 14 to 44 degrees cooler than a county office building just across the street. This is a significant decrease in temperature and many believe it could drastically reduce energy costs for buildings.

Green roofs are something that I think will become more popular over time. The energy benefits are outstanding and the idea of turning these green roofs into rooftop gardens could be very appealing to commercial real estate. This all promotes a healthy and sustainable lifestyle and I think we will be seeing it adopted on a large scale in multi-family living projects.

Below is a list of the top 10 cities for Green Roofs:
1. Chicago, IL
2. Washington, DC
3. Minneapolis, MN
4. Baltimore, MD
5. Newtown Square, PA
6. New York, NY
7. Redmond, WA
8. Montreal, Quebec (Canada)
9. Quebec City, Quebec (Canada)
10. Milwaukee, WI