The Advantages of Having Rooftop Gardens
Pros
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Green roofs absorb heat and act as insulators for buildings, reducing energy needed to provide cooling and heating.
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By lowering air conditioning demand, green roofs can decrease the production of associated air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
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Vegetation can remove air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions through dry deposition, carbon sequestration and storage.
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Rooftop gardens improve human health and comfort by reducing heat transfer through the building roof and lower heat stress associated with heat waves.
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They can reduce and slow stormwater runoff in the urban environment and also filter pollutants from rainfall.
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Green roofs can provide aesthetic value and provide homes for many species.
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Cons
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The structure and weight of a roof garden can cause problems for the overall building.
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Soil and planting pots are both heavy whether you create a soil planting bed in your roof garden or use pots, you are significantly adding to the weight placed on the roof structure.
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Patio slabs and furniture add even more weight on the roof. Most building roofs will require proper reinforcement before a roof garden can be grown safely.
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High roof gardens may suffer problems with high winds damaging plants and young seedlings.
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A roof garden places a heavy strain on a building's water supply.
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If no water outlet is available on the roof, you will have to either install water in the roof garden or carry water from inside the building. A traditional land garden can drain freely, but a roof garden will require an expensive drainage system.
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If a building has a roof garden insurance companies will charge a higher premium than they would to cover the same building without a roof garden.
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Roof gardens may be more dangerous than typical gardens because there is a risk of falling.
© 2015 by The Apple Cores: Where the Food Begins
Produced by Briony, Hayden, Jake, Oceania, Tate