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https://reasonstobecheerful.world/zurich-turned-rooftops-into-climate-shield/>
"From the top of Zürichberg hill, the panorama reveals a city wrapped by lake
and forest but insulated in a basin where heat collects. On hot summer days,
the center of Zürich, Switzerland’s largest city, warms like a bowl, with
street surfaces radiating heat well into the night, amplifying the growing
pressures of climate change.
Yet this vantage point also reveals a solution: A patchwork of green roofs
softens the cityscape.
Zürich has spent more than three decades transforming its rooftops into living
infrastructure, an approach that may hold lessons for cities worldwide.
Zürich’s green-roof mandate dates back to 1991, when the city began requiring
vegetation on all new or renovated flat roofs. It was a remarkably prescient
step. Today, according to a study by Zürcher Kantonalbank, one of the largest
banks in Switzerland, up to 12 percent of roofs in some neighborhoods are
vegetated, and roughly 40 percent of the city’s flat roofs now support plants.
Yet the same study underscores that the potential remains vast: In some
districts, more than half of all flat roofs are suitable for greening,
especially gravel roofs that can already support additional load.
The need is urgent. Switzerland is warming at roughly twice the global average,
and a 3°C (5.4°F) increase scenario is expected to translate into a temperature
increase of up to 5.7°C (10.3°F) in the country. That means more heatwaves,
more “tropical nights” and intensified flood-and-drought cycles.
For Dr. Stephan Brenneisen, head of the Urban Ecology Research Group at Zurich
University of Applied Sciences, the city’s early actions helped seed an entire
field. Widely known as the “father of green roofs and biodiversity,” Brenneisen
has been studying, designing and advocating for these habitats for more than 30
years. His career began with beetles and spiders, and in some ways it still
revolves around them. “Green roofs,” he says, “are important to cool our cities
and provide a living space for nature.”
“Beside this," Brenneisen adds, "they make us able to give back nature a part
of its space while constructing a building.”"
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
