I can’t get the idea out of my head that we are missing a chance to have more locally grown stuff by not utilizing our air rights. Air rights usually apply to the space above buildings, which could be an office building or a condo development. Or even a house if you put on the right roof (as Elaine Reese from Columbus pointed out though, here in Ohio, flat roofs would have to be designed to withstand snow, if it’s a regular house).
George Nemeth of BFD brought up some creative and wonderful ideas about increasing the numbers of urban gardens by making use of vacant city spaces in east Cleveland neighborhoods. Since I have been thinking about how to best use air rights and rooftops, George’s ideas seemed transferable to higher locations (the BFD post highlights a discussion that took place at a roundtable sponsored by Real NEO).
This article from the Gardner’s Supply Company website looks at the advantages to a rooftop garden.
“Urban residents across the world are starting to look up, and turn a plentiful resource into a solution: green roofs. A green roof is a roof that is also a garden, from a simple container garden to a roof covered with several inches of soil (on top of a waterproof barrier) and a meadow. ”
Apparently it helps lessen the heat that collects on the top of buildings by creating a barrier. Does this mean it has an energy use benefit? For sure it is supposed to absorb CO2 emissions. This article lists a lot of benefits like giving urban birds and butterflies a refuge.
There is a condominium in Vancouver called Freesia. The builders offer a cool upgrade. For an additional $2k or so, you can add a rooftop garden to your condo. Now this is not a new concept, apartment buildings (back in the day) were built with patio and gardens in mind and I know for a fact we have some in Shaker Heights. Maybe other places?
Back to the Garden Supply rooftop garden article: “if you increase the number of green plants in a city, the temperature will actually fall. According to an EPA computer simulation, increasing greenspace in Los Angeles by 5 percent could lower summer temperatures by 4 degrees. Those lower temperatures would decrease smog by 10 percent and save $175 million in energy costs. “
Granted, our gardens wouldn’t be operational 12 months out of the year, but still…..anticipating a few naysayers because of our climate, here is an article from Time published in 2006 about the greening of Chicago’s rooftops.
“The city first drew real attention to its greening efforts, when it planted a lush garden on the rooftop of City Hall. Now, be it McDonald’s, Wal-Mart or the Apple store, businesses wanting a relaxation of density building rules or financing to help construct new offices are being convinced to plant so-called green roofs. The result: the city has planted or negotiated the construction of over 2 million square feet of rooftop gardens, more than all other U.S. cities combined. “
As they say in this article, it’s not about tree-hugging, they see it as common economic sense. And the article quotes the Mayor of Green Bay who said they were going to model some of the ‘green’ programs in that Wisconsin city. If it can be done in those climes, why not here? Peace Out -3C
3 responses so far ↓
1 Elaine Reese // Jul 14, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Excellent topic. Not only would these rooftop gardens help cool the building, but they certainly offer a great stress reliever to city life.
Elaine Reese’s last blog post..Going green on your roof
2 Gloria O'Neil-Savage // Jan 29, 2012 at 5:37 pm
Community Gardens make sense in many ways. I approached our local community development corporation here years ago about working with the Airport sound insulation program to obtain the windows that were being replaced. (Doors too for that matter)
I am in the Kamm’s area. The problem that arose was that the lots belonged to people who did not want to sell. I wondered if the real problem was the actual use, and if the previous approach to the empty lot owner was to develop it for the city in a way the owner didn’t agree with.
The other obvious idea is to make sure all public schools have a vegetable/herb garden that would become part of the school curriculum. It makes a lot more sense to get students involved in understanding the development of good soil/nutrients/minerals and the associated costs along with solar and water needs. With a good supply of heirloom seeds, the cost involved on all aspects related to the final yield would make a much better math class with a tangible relationship to the student and the community. The relatedness and reconnection to the earth and food/nutrients is missing on every level now. Since the airport was tearing out old windows, they could be re-used to build some greenhouse effects, while teaching the value of material goods.
3 Carole Cohen // Jan 31, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Thanks Gloria, and I really like two of your ideas (each school having a garden and recycling the airport windows in this way). For that matter, there could be a broad awareness through a PR program that could alert other commercial facilities about the window re-use as well.
We have a Re-imagining Cleve garden in my section of West Park but it seems not to be used to it’s fullest capability. You remind me that I want to contact them and ask them about it.
Thanks again for your comments!
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