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March 2010
guest feature
article
Top Down Greening:
Green Roofs on the
Rise
By Adam Henige
Originally Published in the Capital Steel Blog,
February 4, 2010
Reprinted with Permission, Updated March 7, 2010
Several
recent trends indicate that our urban and suburban skylines might be
evolving in the years to come. According to an analysis of
internet search data over the last year, the popularity of green roofs
is on the rise.
Green roofs? Plants, even trees, on a roof? To the
uninitiated, vegetation on a building’s roof or exterior walls is
usually an indication of neglect and decay, but in the case of green
roofs that is emphatically not the case. The web site of the
Department of Horticulture at Michigan State University describes green
roofs as “growing plants on rooftops, thus replacing the vegetated
footprint that was destroyed when the building was constructed”
(Michigan State University [MSU], n.d.). Green roofs are
classified as intensive or extensive, based on what types of vegetation
are involved and the intended purpose of the space. ‘Intensive’
green roofs use a wide variety of plants including trees and shrubs, and
are often open to the public as urban parks or gardens.
‘Extensive’ green roofs utilize low maintenance plants and are usually
not meant to be used by the public. Whether intensive or
extensive, benefits of these roofs include water run-off management,
insulation, lowering city temperatures, and creating a habitat for
wildlife.
As the cynical among us would expect, the benefits of green roofs are
not solely ecological, but economical as well. More effectively
managing storm water run-off benefits the environment, certainly, but
also helps prevent flooding, erosion and sewer system overloads that are
both expensive and hazardous. Green roofs also last longer than
traditional roofs, as they are protected from the "ultraviolet radiation
and the extreme fluctuations in temperature that cause roof membranes to
deteriorate” (MSU).
An analysis of search engine data*
for 2009 clearly demonstrates a rising trend in the general public’s
awareness and interest in green roofs. Looking at these estimates
for a cross section of the most popular general roofing terms and green
roofing terms performed on search engines, there was growth in both
areas, but by November the monthly search volume had grown only 51
percent for general roofing terms while green roofing terms had grown
155 percent. Over the course of the year, searches for green
roofing terms rose steadily, with the greatest share of annual searches
coming in the final quarter of the year while general roofing searches
had basically reached a plateau - green related terms showed more
sustained growth, only dipping in December, but still showing nearly
twice the search volume from January (based on research by Netvantage
Marketing, 2010).
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Green
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General
Roofing Monthly Search Volume Estimates |
This data is
even more striking when the recent economic recession is taken into
consideration. In an article for builderonline.com, Brooke
Rainwater of the American Institute of Architects is quoted, noting that
“the downturn has had a devastating effect on construction generally,
but sustainable building design continues to maintain and improve its
market share” (Sullivan, 2009).
Both green roofs and green walls have enjoyed ever increasing media
exposure. Living walls were included in Time Magazine’s annual
list, “The Best Inventions of 2009.” The New York Times published
a story in November of 2009, detailing the growing interest in green
wall products produced by a New York sheet metal fabricator (Velazquez,
2010). As public awareness of both green walls and green roofs
increases through such mainstream publications, we can expect to see
continued evidence in internet search data of the steadily growing
interest in these emerging eco-technologies.
Recent economic developments make the future look bright for the green
roof and green wall movements, and the industries that support them.
Linda Velazquez, of the website Greenroofs.com, states in her article
“2009 Top 10 List of Milestones and Accomplishments” that “The American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) has prompted a gigantic
increase in federal green spending, providing new money to all levels of
government, aimed at stimulating the economy, promoting job growth, and
lowering energy costs, providing an unprecedented opportunity for
advancing green building and sustainability efforts in the U.S.”
Growing
infrastructure and public interest should make for a very interesting
year for green roofing in 2010.
Adam Henige
References
*Search
data obtained from Bing’s Ad Intelligence tool for 2009 and normalized
based on search engine market share.
Belson, Ken. The New York Times. The Business of Green: The
Rooftop Garden Climbs Down the Wall. (2009, November 18). Retrieved
January 29, 2010, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/19/business/energy-environment/19WALLS.html?_r=1
Sullivan, Jenny. Builder. Green Cities on the Rise. (2009,
November 12). Retrieved January 29, 2010, from
http://www.builderonline.com/green-building/green-cities-on-the-rise.aspx
Velazquez,
Linda. Sky Gardens Blog. 2009 Top 10 List of Milestones and
Accomplishments. (2010, January 21). Retrieved January 29, 2010, from
http://www.greenroofs.com/blog/2010/01/21/2009-top-10-list-of-milestones-and-accomplishments/
MSU Department of Horticulture Green Roof Research Program. (n.d.) What
is a Green Roof? What are the Benefits of a Green Roof? Retrieved
January 29, 2010, from
http://www.hrt.msu.edu/greenroof/#The%20future%20of%20green%20roofs%20in%20the%20United%20States
Adam Henige is a Managing Partner at
Netvantage Marketing. He is a regular contributor and blogger
for several online blogs and publications, including
American Chronicle and
Capital Steel & Wire.
Contact
Adam at: Office: 517.580.3752; Fax: 517.913.6010; or email him at
ahenige@netvantagemarketing.com. Visit Netvantage Marketing
here.
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