A Green Roof Case Study in the Urban Context of Milan: Integrating the Residential and Cultivation Functions for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Green roofs are increasing in popularity because of both their pleasant appearance and their positive effects for the urban ecosystems and the building indoor climatic conditions. Though this technology has already been applied all over the world, it is still commonly considered of difficult application and management. Easy and fast approaches for green roofs must therefore be examined and encouraged in order to increase their number to counterbalance urban overheating. This thesis case study aimed to represent a prototype of a green roof integrated with a residential function in order to achieve an easy management of the cultivation area. The project was designed in terms of sustainability and was analyzed for its social, environmental and economic impacts, pointing out the numerous benefits that can be derived by the combination and juxtaposition of humans and native plants. The proposed solution is favorable in terms of a sustainable development: it aspires to be reproduced and extensively applied to other facilities of a city as a solution for the overheating and overpopulation of contemporary cities.

Rooftops for Whom? Some Environmental Justice Issues in Urban Green Roof Policies of Three North American Cities

“…55 , 56 , 57 , 58 Furthermore, green roofs also have a huge issue of being hard to implement on old buildings or rowhouse roofs. 59 Green roofs require a flat roof that must be able to support twenty-eight pounds per square foot. The average city's rowhouse roofs cannot withstand the weight especially extensive green roofs.…”

“Green structures” for effective rainwater management on roads

“…As it is shown by the authors, green structures are the biotechnical mechanisms for rising environment-safety of buildings, which can connect technogenic and natural environment in cities. They can solve different problems (Andenaes et al, 2021;Bohan Shao, 2021;Bortolini et al, 2021;Fantozzi et al, 2021;Giacomello et al, 2021;Iffland et al, 2021;Juricic et al, 2021;Kaewpraek et al 2021;Lijiao Liu, 2021;Procaccini et al, 2021;Tkachenko, 2018;Tkachenko et al, 2019a;Tkachenko et al, 2019b;Tkachenko et al, 2020;Tkachenko et al, 2021;Yongjun Pan, 2021) including rising energy efficiency, sanitizing the interiors, exteriors and make them more comfort etc. We consider them as one of the most effective natural solutions for rainwater management, which should be used more widely on different types of city roads.…”