Boston Green Roof

The City of Boston hired Arrowstreet to review emerging Green Roof technologies as part of Mayor Menino’s broad efforts to increase the sustainability for the City in general as well as the City’s buildings in particular. This highly imageable sustainable technology is widespread in Europe and is catching a strong wave here in the States, but there are many important design and practical matters to address.  The City (and the State, which provided partial funding with the intent that the results would benefit the Commonwealth broadly) has been very enthusiastic in receiving the report and have actively encouraged us to spread the word.
Arrowstreet’s key contribution has been to articulate clearly the situations where Green Roofs are beneficial and at the same time show those situations where imagined benefits can be more effectively achieved through less expensive alternatives such as “coolroofs’ (reflective, but not planted).  Green Roofs have a broadly perceived value which relates to a desire to take better care of our green-scapes in our cities even as they become more densely built.