Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2008 - (Page 35)

cities. Barriers to such integration include the frequent imbalance of capital cost and accrual of benefits – the benefits to the public of a multi-tasking green roof may be substantially more than to the individual building owner, but the capital costs generally fall on the building owner. Moreover, the potential use of green roof functions may exceed the needs of a single building. For example, I may be able to store far more stormwater on my warehouse roof than I could use on the landscape of my site, but an adjacent property may have water needs exceeding its ability to capture water. Because I have no way to convey water to this third party without becoming a regulated entity, I optimize my roof to treat and release water or hold it for evaporation instead. Similar issues in distributed power have resulted in the creation of ESCO’s (Energy Service Company), private groups that provide the capital for optimization and arrange third party sales, and the creation of micro-grids where neighboring properties are linked. Similar solutions may be available for green roofs. Another lesson from the power industry is that optimizing for different byproducts may improve the financial proforma that supports the basic undertaking of a green roof. Thus, in a cogeneration facility, the sale of steam may make the efficiency of the cogen possible despite the low price of electricity. Similarly, urban farming may be a collateral activity with high value for the economic sustainability of high-performance roofs. Not only are the potential crops valuable, but the increasing focus on urban food production as both a means of addressing carbon reduction and passive survivability makes the very opportunity to grow crops valuable. It appears that expectations that green roofs will fulfill a broad array of sustainable functions are increasing at the same time that there is a growing demand that this performance be achieved without undermining regionally important sustainability goals such as water usage. Achieving these more complex systems may generate increased opportunities, but will require the optimization of roofs for different performance according to the region and the economic drivers. Dan Slone leads the Sustainable Products and Systems practice for McGuireWoods LLP based in Richmond,Virginia,USA.He is on the board of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and serves as counsel for the U.S.Green Building Council and the Congress for the New Urbanism.He represents localities and developers around the country undertaking innovative projects.Finally,he is also the co-author of a new book entitled A Legal Guide to Urban and Sustainable Development for Planners, Architects and Developers (John Wiley & Sons). D http://www.greenroofs.org http://www.greenroofs.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2008

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2008
Contents
From the Founder: A Robust Economy
Letters
Strata - People, Products & Projects: Austin's Hotspot for Habitat & Baltimore Hilton Goes Green
A Green Roof for a County Courthouse
Research Grant for Design Tool
On the Roof With...
A New Vue on Downtown Open Space
Sound Transmission Loss of Extensive Green Roofs
On Target
Optimizing for Sustainability
First GRHC Green Roof Symposium in Florida
Welcome New Corporate Members
Professional Calendar
Experts Reflect on the Value of the GRP

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2008