Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Summer 2020 - 31

environmental justice neighborhoods, where disproportionate
environmental burdens have impacted communities of people
of color and lower income households. Simply focusing on
stormwater and greenspace could potentially further the disparity in green roof distribution based on the metrics we used, as
greater need was identified for these variables in some areas that
already have more green roofs, such as downtown and midtown
Manhattan. Spatial scale of analysis also has a clear influence.
With the smaller NTAs, prioritization can be conducted in a
more targeted way, helping ensure that communities in areas of
the city with the greatest need for green roof benefits can see
them locally. Notably, CDs vary in population and area, and
large ones in particular can have substantial environmental and
demographic variation. Thus, policies enacted at this scale could
be implemented in ways that don't benefit those whom they
were designed to help.
Overall, the work described helps us explore some, but not
all, of the options for prioritizing green roofs in NYC. This
builds on previous examples of green infrastructure prioritization in both applied and academic settings. Other factors can
be incorporated, and the factors we did include can be calculated in different ways to more holistically represent potential
green roof benefits. Such work should leverage partnerships
with local experts, including community-based organizations,
relevant agencies, and academic researchers, to make the best

use of available data and incorporate local perspectives. Furthermore, given that not all buildings can support a green roof,
similar analyses will benefit from a rigorous understanding of
feasibility of buildings to support green roofs. For NYC and
other cities around the world, this is still a significant data gap.
As prioritization efforts are applied, it is also critical to
consider how relevant policies may affect local residents. For
example, if green roofs are incentivized, and seen as an amenity
in needed areas, what approaches can be used to avoid potential
green gentrification? And how can new green roofs be made accessible and usable for communities?
Green roofs are not a panacea for environmental and social
problems, but they are part of the equation for making cities more
livable and enjoyable in a climate-changing world. It is critical
both that we increase them in number and area, and that their
benefits be equitably distributed. We believe work like this can
inform policy and incentive programs to make that happen.
Michael Treglia, Lead Scientist, NYS Cities, michael.treglia@tnc.org.
More information about The Nature Conservancy's work on green roofs in
NYC is available at https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/
documents/NYC_GreenRoofs_Summary.pdf.
Learn more about NYC's Sustainable Roof Laws at
https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/Sustain
ableRoofLaws_12.12.pdf.

GREEN ROOFS & LIVING WALLS
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LIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR / SUMMER 2020 / 31

https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/NYC_GreenRoofs_Summary.pdf https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/SustainableRoofLaws_12.12.pdf http://www.sempergreen.com

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Summer 2020

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