october 2003

The Earth Pledge Foundation

Greening Gotham: The Earth Pledge Green Roofs Initiative
By Colin Cheney & Marisa Arpels

In the 17th century, European explorers who came to the land upon which New York City now stands praised its clean waters, edenic beauty, and abundant natural resources.

Modern day New York doesn't generally evoke the same response. For many, New York appears more like its dark, fictitious counterpart, Gotham. First coined by Washington Irving, and popularized in Bob Kane's Batman, Gotham became New York's alter-ego and represented its public image as a crime-ridden, downright inhospitable place.

In reality, New York is a complex and diverse ecology, balancing all of the benefits and drawbacks of dense urbanization with a rich and resilient natural eco-system. Restoring the vitality of the natural environment while protecting the health and livelihood of New York residents, is one of the primary challenges facing the city today.

Earth Pledge Greenroof, Photo by Heather Sommerfield, Earth Pledge

Earth Pledge, a New York based not-for-profit, is committed to restoring the balance between human and natural cycles in the city - making New York the model of a 21st Century sustainable city.

The Earth Pledge Green Roofs Initiative plays a central role in this restoration, working to transform a barren and abandoned landscape in New York City: its rooftops.

The mission of the Green Roofs Initiative is to promote and facilitate green roof development as an ecologically sound and economically viable solution to clear and present urban environmental problems. Our projects balance a vision for a greener New York with a thorough understanding of the complex needs for pragmatic urban environmental problem-solving. We work actively with each stakeholder community necessary to realize the citywide green roof development necessary to achieving real environmental change in New York City: government agencies, policymakers, building and design professionals, real estate developers, businesses and corporations, grass roots organizations, community leaders, and city residents.

The Earth Pledge Green Roofs Initiative Objectives

1. Investigate and quantify the impacts, costs and benefits of citywide green roof development in New York City;
2. Educate and provide resources to stakeholders in private and public sectors to spur green roof development;
3. Work with all levels of government to create incentives to support and streamline green roof construction;
4. Strategically develop green roofs in areas of New York City under greatest pressure from urban heat island effect, heat stress related death, and stormwater runoff pollution.

The Challenges

Ever since its settlement by Europeans in the seventeenth century, New York's ecosystem has progressively lost its ability to perform two essential functions: absorb rainwater and effluent, and cool and filter the air. Green roofs provide a means for New York, despite its dense urbanization, to restore these functions without altering current land use.

According to an August 28th, 2003 article in The New York Times, an estimated 40 billion gallons of untreated wastewater - 20 percent of which is raw sewage - spill into the city's waterways every year. Funds from a billion dollar citywide combined sewer overflow (CSO) reduction program established to remedy this situation remain unallocated. The Green Roofs Initiative is working with the city to analyze whether government-supported infrastructure of green roofs could be an important part of the city's CSO reduction strategy. Researchers at NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Columbia University have been working to quantify New York City's urban heat island. An estimated 5.5° F hotter than surrounding areas in the summer, New York also experiences high rates of heat stress related illness and death. Earth Pledge has partnered with NASA/GISS and other research institutions to study how vegetated rooftops can contribute to reducing urban temperatures, and reduce the consumption of energy used for summer cooling.

Earth Pledge, led by Executive Director Leslie Hoffman, has chosen to promote green roofs for two reasons. First, green roofs are one of the few literally "green" (living and chlorophyllic) building technologies that can be incorporated into new and existing construction - as demonstrated by the green roof on Earth Pledge's midtown Manhattan offices. Second, they provide a pragmatic solution to specific environmental challenges in New York, while also contributing to a vision of a greener and more beautiful New York City.

Activities

The Green Roofs Initiative is establishing a model for local, environmentally focused green roof development. Our approach is at once visionary and pragmatic, focusing on three areas: education, implementation and study. Our cornerstone projects dovetail with each other to accomplish the central goal of transforming New York's urban landscape in a cost effective, ecologically sound manner.

Implementation: Building Gotham's Green Roofs

Because low and moderate-income communities are generally the most affected by the city's environmental and infrastructural problems, Earth Pledge created the Viridian project. Viridian brings the environmental, health and social benefits of green roofs to low and moderate income New Yorkers. We partner with supportive housing organizations and schools in order to develop green roofs and related programming on their facilities. With more than five projects underway, we are now developing a standardized Viridian package that will allow us to increase our outreach and implementation. In addition, we are working with the Calhoun School to develop curricular materials for an urban environmental/ science class centered around their green roof on the West side of Manhattan. Our current partners include: Lower East Side Girls Club, West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing (WSFSSH), General Theological Seminary and Common Ground.

Green Roofs Policy Task Force

As numerous municipalities around the world have demonstrated, governmental support is essential to accomplishing widespread green roof development. To this end, Earth Pledge has engaged in an open discussion with governmental officials in both administrative and legislative agencies about the efficacy of green roofs in New York City. Our Green Roofs Policy Task Force brings together federal, state, and municipal stakeholders to discuss the potential for government involvement in green roof infrastructure development in New York. Meeting quarterly, this forum allows us to answer important questions about green roofs from a range of government agencies and to explore options for incentives and demonstration projects.

Green Roof Kitchen Garden

Earth Pledge Kitchen Garden by Balmori Associates Photo Courtesy Heather Sommerfield, Earth Pledge

In Spring 2002, Earth Pledge constructed a Green Roof Kitchen Garden atop its midtown Manhattan offices to serve as a centerpiece for its programs. The green roof was developed as part of the renovation of Earth Pledge's office, a 1902 Georgian Townhouse, which showcases sustainable materials and technologies contributed by over 70 companies. Earth Pledge and landscape designer Diana Balmori partnered to design the roof, which currently features a semi-intensive plot and an extensive plot. The northern plot is devoted to annual vegetables, including heirloom tomatoes and eggplants, and perennials such as bee balm, lavender and sage, taking advantage of its "semi-intensive" depth of 8-12" of substrate. The southern plot, with a depth of 2-4" of growing medium, has been converted to a more typical "roof meadow" style green roof, featuring several varieties of sedum. The roof utilizes an American Hydrotech & ZinCo system. Herbs and flowers were also planted in parapet planter boxes around the perimeter of the roof to increase the amount of growing area. Learn more under Projects.

A large variety of ornamental flowers, herbs and vegetables adorn the Earth Pledge Kitchen Greenroof.  Photos by Heather Sommerfield, Earth Pledge.

Research: Hard Numbers for a Tough Crowd

Reliable, localized information on green roof performance is critical to the question of whether green roofs can contribute to a cost-effective solution to New York's environmental challenges. To effectively argue for government support of green roofs as a best management practice for the city, there is a need for data at the building level, and projections of green roof infrastructure function over large areas of the city. Earth Pledge created the New York Ecological Infrastructure Study (NYEIS) to respond to this need. We are working with leading research institutions with extensive experience in interdisciplinary problem solving to evaluate the impacts, costs, and benefits of green roof development in New York City. Our partners include NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Columbia Earth Institute, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, Gaia Institute, Hunter College/CUNY, HydroQual, Inc./ Com Carto, and SR+T Architects.

Education: Informing and Inspiring Stakeholders

On October 15th, Earth Pledge will launch Greening-Gotham.org, a web-based project that will serve as the clearinghouse for New York City-specific green roof resources. The site will set forth our vision for transforming New York City's landscape through the development of green roofs, and list public figures, organizations and companies that support our mission. The second phase of GreeningGotham.org, to launch in early 2004, will contain a comprehensive "how-to" guide for building a green roof in New York, detailing information on plant selection, relevant building codes and permitting information, and all that one needs to build a green roof in NYC. A selection of case studies of New York metro area green roofs will also be included, in addition to a list of qualified local design and building professionals, and green roof system manufacturers and providers. Please visit www.greeninggotham.org, and sign onto our vision for a greener New York.

Green Roofs: Ecological Design and Construction

Continuing in the tradition of its acclaimed Sustainable Architecture White Papers, Earth Pledge is creating a sourcebook for green roof design: Green Roofs: Ecological Design and Construction. The full color, 200-page book will showcase the use of green roof for urban ecological restoration in cities and buildings around the world. Using clear, accessible language and hundreds of color photographs, Green Roofs will inform and inspire designers, building owners, policy makers, and the public. To be published in the fall of 2004 by Schiffer Books, Green Roofs will be an essential resource on municipal and building applications of green roofs.

Symposia, Workshops and other Events

Beauty & Function on the Greenroof; Photo by Heather Sommerfield, Earth Pledge Foundation

The Earth Pledge Green Roof Initiative holds regular events as part of its effort to educate New Yorkers about each aspect of green roof infrastructure development in the city. We have held symposia for the general public, sold-out workshops for building and design professionals, and forums for government officials.

In November, we will host "The Business Case for Green Roofs," a symposium targeted at the corporate real estate community in the New York region. Recognizing that the business and real estate communities are an essential piece in widespread green roof adoption in New York, Earth Pledge will demonstrate how green roofs can improve bottom-line and provide valuable PR to companies such as Ford Motor Company that develop green roofs at their facility.

Colin Cheney is the Earth Pledge Green Roofs Initiative Director and Marisa Arpels is the Green Roofs Policy and Development Coordinator.  For more information on the Earth Pledge Green Roofs Initiative, and green roof development in the New York metro area, please visit us at www.GreeningGotham.org, and www.earthpledge.org.

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