Green Roofing Systems the Need of the Hour in Egypt 1 From 7

 

Over 50 % of the world’s population currently lives in O urban areas.

This is expected to increase to 70% by 2040.

In order to keep pace with urbanization, most towns and cities have turned into a jungle of concrete structures.

Vacant lands are utilized to the hilt for constructing buildings without paying much heed to the need for greenery, parks or open space apart from what is mentioned in the building codes.

Urban green spaces are integral components of urban ecosystems, contributing to enhanced environmental quality, quality of life and sustainable urban development.

Scientific evidence has emphasized the critical nature of green areas within urban social- ecological systems to ameliorate the negative effect of urbanization on climate change and environment.

Tangible and intangible benefits provided by these green assets are often taken for granted by the public and some city authorities.

From the global perspective, although there are wide variations both in coverage as well as per capita availability of green spaces, cities renowned for their urban green spaces often have 20 to 40 ok average of total geographical area and 25 to I00 meter square urban green space percapita.

The World Health Organization recommends that 9 meter square green open space per dweller should be the minimal norm for a city. Gandhi agar has 162 meter square per dweller green space, Chandigarh

has 54 meter square, Delhi has 21 meter square and Bangalore has 17 meter square and Chennai has about 0.46 square meters per city, dweller.

In such a situation, “green roofs” can to some extent offset this impact.

Apart from providing a refreshing contrast to the harsh shape, color, and texture of buildings, studies have also found that green roofs can be effectively used for energy savings, improving surrounding air quality, reducing carbon emissions and controlling storm water run-off.