Extensive green roofs present a potentially novel approach to wildfire resilience, functioning as ember-resistant surfaces that can disrupt fire propagation. By elevating defensible space principles to the roof level, green roofs could offer a scalable strategy for mitigating wildfire risk.

Learn about this free multidisciplinary guide by the World Green Infrastructure Network, the European Federation of Green Roof Associations, GRHC and Solar Power Europe. It is about designing, installing, and maintaining solar green roof projects with best practices, along with multiple case studies and supportive public policies.

This article provides an overview of the many ways that green (living) walls can help cities mitigate and adapt to climate change challenges. This includes energy savings in buildings, a reduction in the urban heat island, and stormwater management.

The origins, function, strengths and weaknesses of the Green Roof Energy Calculator are described in detail as well as the wish list for its future development.

Although succulent monocultures are the default for many green roofs, rewilding green roofs with wildflowers and grasses can enhance stormwater retention and make them more adaptive to extreme climate events. Learn about rewilding green roofs.

Hailstorms are becoming an increasingly costly threat to buildings, particularly in regions like Texas, Colorado, and the Great Plains but research shows that green roofs are a resilient solution to mitigate hail damage and protect waterproofing.

This proposed federal legislation could direct $100 million to combat extreme heat with community projects like green roofs, cool pavements, and shade structures, prioritizing vulnerable communities and advancing climate resilience across the U.S.

This GRHC Awards of Excellence project features a green roof designed to cover a beach house on New York State’s Long Island, seamlessly integrating it into the landscape. 

The Regional Academic Centers of Excellence are initiating a study on green roof growing media microbes to improve our understanding of their many roles and you are invited to participate.  

The European Water Resilience Strategy emphasizes sustainability but overlooks urban green infrastructure. Cities must be central to water resilience efforts through nature-based solutions like green roofs, permeable surfaces, and water-sensitive urban design.

This episode of Sustainable Futures Designing Green Communities and Buildings sits down with science communicator, policy advocate, and scientist Grace Wickerson of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). Join for a conversation on extreme heat, the importance of science communication, and ways in which FAS is trying to improve our communities.

Integrating bio strips into green roofs enhances urban biodiversity, improves stormwater management, and supports pollinators by creating structurally diverse habitats. This nature-based approach strengthens ecological resilience and reconnects fragmented urban ecosystems in the face of rapid urbanization.

Learn about how the Urban Heat Island and Social Justice are issues which are fundamentally interconnected and how green roofs and walls can help to address both. 

This article follows an earlier article in the LAM about the Green Infrastructure Foundation’s Green Infrastructure Charrette Program. Read about the Charrette held in Chicago and the plans to profoundly improve the neighborhood of West Woodlawn under the leadership of Blacks in Green.

Explore Green Roofs for Healthy Cities upcoming US events, GRIMP trainings, new resources, and more in this article.