An exploration of the benefits, drivers and barriers that affect the adoption of green roofs in urban Britain

Pryce, M

Abstract

In urban areas surfaces are sealed by stone, concrete, and
tarmac and there is a limited network of green areas.
Consequently urban areas have higher temperatures, lower
atmospheric humidity, and higher air pollution. By adopting
green roofs in sufficient numbers in cities the quality of the urban
environment could be significantly improved by cooling and
improving the moisture content of the air, by extracting CO2 and
pollutants and by attenuating rain water run-off. In Germany and
Switzerland there is a well established and successful green roof
industry that has developed steadily over many years. In
contrast there are few green roofs in the UK. Yet the potential is
huge, an estimated 20,000 hectares of existing urban roofs in
the UK could be vegetated with little or no structural modification
(Corus: 2001). Furthermore, roof gardens and terraces could
offer an increasingly valued green space in cities where
populations are growing and where it is becoming difficult to
afford land on the ground.
This qualitative study aims to discover why recent existing urban
green roofs were adopted and how this uptake was affected by
the perceived benefits and barriers set out in the report. The
study tests a possible research design, which could be used to
explore the main research themes and questions. To explore
these themes and potential designs the research uses the
exploratory case study method. Three very different buildings
with green roofs were used these are all situated in British cities
and were all built between 1999 and 2004. The buildings include Greenside Place in Edinburgh, BedZED in London and the
National Wildflower Centre in Liverpool. The drivers for the
adoption of each green roof match the theoretical drivers and
benefits, as do the barriers. Where the green roofs have been
adopted, no known, significant barriers exist. Although the roofs
are not entirely problem free, for example, some plants on the
roofs have suffered in the exposed conditions, on the whole, the
studied roofs are well received and considered successful by
stakeholder members.

Citation

Pryce, M. An exploration of the benefits, drivers and barriers that affect the adoption of green roofs in urban Britain. (Thesis). Salford : University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Oct 3, 2012
• Award Date: Jan 1, 2006