by Brianna Crandall — May 25, 2015—Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, the green roof and wall industry association, recently announced Washington, DC, as #1 for most green roofs installed in 2014 in its Annual Green Roof Industry Survey. The City of Toronto took the #2 spot.
The Washington, DC, Metropolitan Region saw the installation of 1,207,115 square feet of green roofs in 2014. Washington has adopted rigorous stormwater regulations and other progressive environmental policies and programs that support green roof investment, including rebates of $7-$15 per square foot per green roof installed and credits that reduce stormwater fees. Public investment in green roofs yields multiple public cost-saving benefits, notes GRHC.
For the first time ever, Toronto has ranked second among North American cities, with 775,216 square feet of green roofs installed. The Toronto Green Roof Bylaw of 2009 requiring green roofs on most new buildings has resulted in the permitting of more than 2 million square feet of green roofs.
“It comes as no surprise that the top-performing regions are those that invest directly and indirectly in green roof infrastructure projects to create green space, mitigate stormwater run-off, improve air quality, and moderate the urban heat island effect.” said GRHC founder and President Steven W. Peck, GRP, Honorary ASLA.
In the survey, GRHC also observed a 12 percent reduction in growth rate for green roofs in 2014, which the organization says is largely due to the end of federal stimulus funding, and limitation in data collection.
The full Annual Green Roof Industry Survey can be viewed on the GRHC Web site.
