The potential of green facades (GFs) to enhance environmental justice (EJ) has not been quantified so far. EJ in Berlin, Germany is assessed by the core indicators (1) noise pollution, (2) air pollution, (3) bioclimatic stress, (4) provision of green space and (5) social status. Most of the inner city is rated “poorly” in one or multiple indicators. Based on literature and spatial data, status quo and target values are determined for indicators (1)-(4) for an exemplary, highly burdened quarter in Berlin. It is assessed if and how much GFs could potentially improve current EJ levels. The improvements due to GFs to reach target values are assessed in % for day/night and indoor/outdoor settings. It can be shown that installing GFs would improve statuses of the four indicators to different extents, with the biggest enhancement found regarding indicator (3) for indoors at daytime: 52%. Determining factors for the EJ improvement potential of GFs need to be further assessed. This feasible method for increasing the amount of urban green can be helpful for improving life in highly burdened quarters. Therefore, from the point of view of EJ, large-scale implementation of GFs in urban areas is recommended.

Vertical greening systems (VGS), as proven strategy for adaptation to heat stress, are prohibited for monument-protected buildings and façades. To what extent monument protection effectively limits the implementation of VGS in heat stress affected city centers has not been quantified yet. In this study, the ratio of buildings under monument protection was quantified for Berlin, Germany, using a GIS analysis. It was then compared to a map of potential heat stress. This was done for the entire city and the inner-city area on block-scale.Therefore, maps of the Berlin buildings, monuments and blocks were processed. The ratio of buildings under monument protection was calculated for each block of Berlin. To not deform the outcome, urban green areas were cut out of the maps. Inside the 80 km2 city center of Berlin, which is severely affected by heat stress, the range of monument protection prohibiting VGS in the individual blocks ranges from 0 % to 100 %. However, 25.42 % of the building façades in the city center and 16.20 % for whole of Berlin are protected on average and therefore cannot be greened. Compared to other restricting factors, monument protection does not generally hinder large scale implementation of VGS in Berlin. Nonetheless, 102 potentially heat stress exposed blocks inhabited by 48,122 people cannot be greened due to monument protection. This demonstrates that VGS should be discussed as exception from monument protection that can be justified by a predominant public interest. It also points to the need of minimal invasive and mobile greenery technologies, which would enable heritage-protection conform greening.