Green roofs and walls can provide a myriad of energy benefits, from moderating heat through the building envelope, to improving solar PV efficiency, to reducing the urban heat island, and more. A new report provides an exhaustive summary and literature review of these benefits and how designers can maximize them on their projects.

In cities, we can reverse climate change trends if we renature urban areas. By interweaving green infrastructure within the built environment, we can tackle some of the effects of human-induced warming locally. At the same time, we can limit further urbanization, which will increase the severity of heatwaves as well as precipitation and resulting runoff intensity.

Climate change (and associated weather impacts) is causing milder winters and as a result, increasing tick populations, particularly in Canada and the Northeastern US. Ticks are showing up not only in the countryside but also in urban areas.

We asked two experts, an architect, Lois Vitt Sale, and a scientist, Wolfgang Amelung - How Does One Design for Maximum Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Performance of Living Architecture. Their responses illustrate the complex nature of this fundamentally important question.

Even outside of hurricane zones and green roofing - all roofing projects can be affected by wind, and uplift must be accounted for in every roof design. The University of Miami’s new Lakeside Village development features several hurricane-strength green roofs.