Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Winter 2015 - 17


York Metropolitan Region. In
2015 the NPCC released its
latest report which provided
updated climate change projections and future coast flood
maps for New York City (see
figure above). The localized
climate risk information developed by the NPCC is then
used by the City's Climate
Change Adaptation Task Force
(CCATF) to understand the
risks in different sectors such as
Energy, Transportation, Policy,
Water and Waste, and Communications. Each of these has
a sector working group which
utilizes the climate information provided by the NPCC
for their adaptation planning,

and the CCATF issues a report
to the Mayor every two years.
The work of the task force
includes the agencies, authorities and private stakeholders
responsible for implementing
required changes.
WHAT'S IN THE LATEST REPORT?
Our mean annual temperature
has increased by .3°F per decade since 1900 in the New York
Metropolitan Region, totaling
3.4°F. By the 2050's we project
an increase by 4.1°F to 5.7°F
and by 5.3°F to 8.8°F by 2080's.
That will make New York a lot
hotter in the future and measures we take to cool the city,
like green roofs, will help us en-

dure future heat extremes.
Precipitation has already increased approximately .8 inches
per decade to date, and the
year to year variability is more
pronounced. The projected increase is 4 to 11 percent increase
by 2050 and 5 to 13 percent
increase by the 2080s. Intense
precipitation results in significant flooding in many areas of
the city.
Sea level rise has averages 1.2
inches per decade since 1900 for
a total of 1.1 feet, nearly twice
the observed global rate over a
similar period. Sea level rise is
projected to rise 11 to 21 inches
by the 2050's, 18 to 39 inches by
the 2080's, and high estimates
suggest up to 6 feet by 2100.
The frequency and intensity of
coastal flooding will increase
from sea level rise alone, regardless of any change in extreme
storms.
WHAT MEASURES ARE BEING
IMPLEMENTED TO MAKE NEW
YORK MORE RESILIENT?
New York City implements
many measures to enhance resiliency from modifying building
codes to ecosystem-based adaptations. Green infrastructure is
a multi-purpose infrastructure
solution for climate adaptation, versus single-purpose
engineered resiliency. We need
to focus on understanding the

many benefits of green roofs
and other resiliency measures
at a scale of individual buildings
and neighborhoods. For example, if 25 million square feet of
green roofs are installed in New
York, scientists can study what
areas within the city will receive
the greatest benefits.
WHERE DO YOU GO FROM HERE?
New York City is a leader in sustainability and climate change,
and many other cities are following its example. Through
the Urban Climate Change
Research Network (UCCRN),
more than 550 scholars and
practitioners from 100 developed and developing cities collaborate to share information
about urban climate change
mitigation and adaptation.
Cities are learning from one
another to implement solutions.
UCCRN has over 100 case
studies online of city actions
and we are seeing that green
roofs are well represented in the
database.

FIND OUT MORE

Visit www.UCCRN.org for
more information.
The NYC Climate Report
can be found at
http://goo.gl/9Ys49U

Northeast Green Roof Experts

GREEN ROOFS, LLC

9 Olive Square
Somerville, MA 02143
office: 617.764.1310
fax: 617.207.4341
info@recovergreenroofs.com
www.recovergreenroofs.com

Call us today
for a free consultation

Private Residence
Winchester, MA
Extensive Green Roof

450 Artisan Way
Assembly Row
Somerville, MA
Mixed-Use Roof Terrace

Fenway Farms
Boston, MA
Rooftop Farm

Harvard Business School
Class of 1959 Chapel
Boston, MA
Extensive Green Roof

1,300 sq. ft

6,100 sq. ft.

7,000 sq. ft

1,000 sq. ft
http://www.UCCRN.org http://www.goo.gl/9Ys49U http://www.recovergreenroofs.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Winter 2015
