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The
words "New York City" and "environmental action" are not often used
in the same sentence. After all, this is the city that stopped recycling
(although it has recently resumed a partial program), puts off huge
heat (it's five degrees warmer than its surrounding area) and spews
pollution into the air from millions of cars and thousands of buildings.
Greening Gotham is going to change all that—and that change is
already underway. It's built around the idea of "green roofs," with
the aim of covering all those acres of NYC building tops with soil and
greenery. A major project of the Earth Pledge Green Roofs Initiative,
Greening Gotham has support from the Environmental Protection Agency,
some eco-savvy heavy hitters and the city itself—mayor Michael
Bloomberg has signed on. This high level of support means that a big
shift in the city's attitude toward sustainable living could actually
happen (so much for Big Apple cynicism!).
Collage talked with Colin Cheney, Director of the Green Roofs Initiative,
to learn more.
What's the idea behind Greening Gotham?
We know that greening the roofs of New York will lower the city's temperature,
improve the air quality, and prevent pollution from runoff storm water.
And we know this because of the European experience, where greening
roofs in urban areas has been going on for about 30 years in cities
like Berlin and Stuttgart, Germany. In the U.S., Chicago, Portland and
Oregon are the leaders in greening roofs. Chicago can experience extreme
heat during the summer months — remember the heat wave that killed
so many people a few years ago? and green roofs are part of an effort
to cool the city down. In addition, Mayor Daley has announced that he's
going to make Chicago the greenest city in the country. Portland has
a sewage overflow discharge problem due to heavy rainfall. New York
has both of those problems, as well as an air quality issue. We think
greening some of the 3,900 acres of roofs in Manhattan will make a big
difference.
What is a green roof?
It's different from a rooftop garden that traditionally has planter
boxes and terra cotta plant holders. That's like a garden placed on
a roof. A green roof is an engineered roofing system that allows vegetation
to be grown across as much of the roof as you can. It covers the roof
with lightweight soil which is planted. It not only captures rain water
and absorbs heat, insulates and helps create cleaner air; it actually
protects the roof surface.
Do
you have to prove those benefits to get the kind of big league government
support you're attracting?
When you ask for public money, you need to show proof. That's part of
our job too, to develop those measures. There's a lack of data to confirm
what we all suspect: that green roofs are not just nice to look at but
that they contribute a great deal to a cleaner urban environment.
Is it a question of statistics?
Yes and no. We need the numbers so we can evaluate our progress. But
there are different ways to quantify green space. The pure, hard numbers
don't tell you how green space is used or what exactly the effect is.
We need to show how adding green roofs into the very complex system
of New York City will be a major improvement—and how to measure
it. We have done preliminary studies to show how various stakeholders
would benefit. That's been enough to get us started.
What has the reaction been? There are so many
constituencies in New York, all of them with their own interests and
agendas, which can make it very hard to get something new done.
The reaction has been incredible—very positive. There's been an
exponential increase in interest and support for this movement. We have
engaged with all the groups—policy, research, architecture and
design, and community. We've held numerous educational workshops. We
have a database of design professionals who are on board. We have a
lot of support from government agencies.
What is the Tool Box section you've just launched
on your web site?
It's a complete how-to guide to greening an urban roof, complete with
case studies and resources. We also have a "Take Action" section for
those who want to get permission from their landlord or building owner
to get a green roof on their apartment or place of work.
We hope that green roofs in New York will inspire other groups in other
cities to start similar programs.
How will you know if your program is successful?
We're trying to engage people in thinking about the city imaginatively.
The Green Roof Initiative is an entry point for reconnecting people
to the environment around them. Once that thinking starts, anything's
possible.
For more info: www.greeninggotham.org
www.earthpledge.com
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