Social impact of green roofs

Abstract

Green roofs are recognised as contributing towards building-related energy efficiency. Since roofs account for 20–25% of all urban surface areas, it is not surprising that such a green system can offer a sustainable solution to decreased energy consumption. The current literature on green roofs mostly focuses on the eco-benefits of such structures. A handful of research papers1 have theorised that as green roofs become more prevalent, there will be associated social outcomes for an urban community. However, empirical work in this space is minimal. This research addresses this gap and contributes to the literature by providing insights into city dwellers’ social experiences when using a green roof space. This study identified a green roof space in central Sydney, Australia: the Alumni Green at the University of Technology Sydney. The roof, containing a garden, a concrete open space and a raised grass area amounting to 1,200 m2, is above parts of the university’s library and classrooms, and is easily accessible by staff, students, and members of the public. Two members of the research team conducted surveys on site. Some green-roof users were also contacted via email. Over 128 individuals began the survey, although after removing responses that were incomplete or containing errors, 104 responses remained. The findings revealed that users, most commonly, relaxed or socialised on the green roof, with exercise a far less frequent activity. Further, those who frequented the green roof once a week or more reported significantly greater social well-being and attachment to place than those who visited less. Likewise, those who visited the green roof for periods of 30 min or more also reported greater social wellbeing. There were no significant differences between frequency and length of use and users’ perspectives on the green roof’s economic, physical, collective identity or environmental impacts. These present findings have implications for urban and landscape designers, as they reveal that green roofs have similar social and place-attachment benefits to those observed of green spaces in the literature. Given that green roofs can fit in places that parks or other open spaces often cannot, their implementation should be encouraged to promote social well-being and place attachment.

Users’ Perceptions of the Contribution of a University Green Roof to Sustainable Development

“…That is, students were more likely to perceive the social benefits as greater, while those with more knowledge of the green roof rated the environmental benefits more highly. Students may perceive the social impact more positively than non-students because they were more likely to use the roof for social purposes [9], invoking notions of socialisation and peer interaction. While it is intriguing that those with knowledge of the green roof did not perceive both the environmental and social impacts of the green roof as greater than those with less knowledge, this could be for a few reasons.…”

“…First, as the narrative around the green roof promoted by the university predominantly focused on its environmental features and performance [23], those who have knowledge of this narrative may then be more focused on the roof's contribution to the environmental SDGs rather than social. Second, as the majority of the sample used the space for social purposes [9], more people may have been aware of the possible social impacts than environmental, thus reducing the role of knowledge.…”

“…For instance, green spaces, green roofs, and green walls have all been implemented within university contexts [6,7]. Green infrastructure has been observed to reduce energy and water use [8], minimise waste [8], protect biodiversity [6], and increase the social wellbeing and attachment to place of students [9]. These benefits align with several SDGs, including 3 (good health and wellbeing), 10 (reduced inequalities), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), 13 (climate action) and 15 (life on land).…”

Public attitudes and preferences for green rooftop technologies in the US: a choice experiment

“…Previous focus group discussions had found that about 25% of participants had an incorrect or alternate definitions or ideas of a GR. Further, most recent literature using a contingent valuation survey found that 84% of the respondents visited the GR under study but only 40% were aware it was a GR (Nguyen et al 2022). To address the issue of participants potentially having a misunderstanding of what a GR is, we considered it important to provide information on GRs to ensure that respondents had a consistent understanding of them.…”

Quantifying the impacts of green roof design factors on microclimate regulation: A case study in Washington, D.C.

“…Professionals and decision-makers need quantitative results to prove the expected effects of GR to the public [20,[27][28][29]. Also, due to the emphasis on social sustainability, more and more GR are designed to be accessible to the public [30][31][32]. However, most existing literature and research only analyses the benefits of inaccessible GR.…”