Greenest Roofs in North America
Who has more green roofs than anywhere else? Washington, D.C., according to Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, which measures square footage of green roofs in across North America.
The Top 10:
- Washington, D.C.
- Toronto, Ontario
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Chicago, Illinois
- New York City, New York
- Denver, Colorado
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Montreal, Quebec
- Seattle, Washington
- Boston, Massachusetts
D.C. boasts the installation of 1,207,115 square feet of green roofs in 2014, according to a press release, and has adopted public policies and programs that support green roof investment, including rebates of $7-$15 per square foot per green roof installed and credits that reduce stormwater fees.
Toronto is the first Canadian city to crack the top five, thanks in part to The Toronto Green Roof By-Law that requires the installation of green roofs on most classes of new buildings and requires public buildings to install green roofs.
The study cites the public benefits of green roofs, including stormwater management, improved air quality, urban food production and moderation of the urban heat island effect, among others.
In an interesting shift, the 2015 study is the first to show that more green square footage was installed on private projects than public – nearly 2.3 million square feet on private vs. 1.7 million on public.
Kathryn Hamilton, CAE, is Vice President for Marketing and Communications at NAIOP Corporate.
