Environmental Benefits of Green Roof Gardens: Reducing Air Pollution and Improving Urban Air Quality

Abstract

Urban vegetation reduction and higher levels of atmospheric pollutants are due to rapid global urbanization, which has altered nature, creating impervious urban built environments. Green roofs, which is the technology used to introduce vegetation into the building surface, have been virtually invented as a solution to enhance urban environmental quality in an alternative and innovative manner. This study aims to examine the possibilities through which Green Roofing systems can help to reduce air pollution and carbon in densely populated cities especially Lahore, Pakistan. Green roofs are said to be the “future lungs” of cities, and how they can create vegetation in highly urbanised building sites, thus reinforcing the bond between built and natural environments is examined. This study explores three green roof sites, based on a comparative isosceles triangle case-study approach: Chicago, USA; Lahore, Pakistan; and Washington, D.C. USA. The results of this study examine the environmental benefits of green roofs that have been reported in relation to the removal of air pollutants, carbon sequestration and the improvement of the urban environment. The results showed the potential of the Green Roof in terms of bringing up vegetational cover and ecosystem service to urban sustainability, especially in a location where the availability of the green space at ground level is limited. The study also covers the viability of green roof technology, highlighting its feasibility as a potential nature-based solution for mitigating environmental stresses in fast-growing cities like Lahore. Finally, the study examines the contribution of green roofs in the context of the “future lungs” of cities and suggests possibilities and limitations in further use in urban areas.