Filling empty Chicago rooftops with plants seemed a little strange six years ago when Mayor Richard Daley installed a garden on the roof of city hall. But now more than 200 buildings in Chicago boast rooftop gardens, and the trend is spreading.
Chicago's roofs are the greenest by far -- at least in America -- where more than 2.5 million square feet of the city's blank roof space has been converted into gardens. Though they have long been installed in Europe, rooftop gardens are relatively new to the states. And as Chicago's city council has just recently approved a pilot program to match developer funds for installing rooftop gardens, their numbers are sure to rise.
"The idea is simple: bring back some of the organic material displaced by buildings, streets, and parking lots. Advocates tout benefits that range from reducing the urban "heat island" effect - which makes cities several degrees warmer than surrounding areas and can translate into millions of dollars in energy costs - to lengthening the life span of a roof, providing community garden or recreation space, and contributing to a building's energy efficiency."
" 'Cities are just going to keep getting hotter," says Steven Peck, president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. "So you take away hot surfaces and turn them into air conditioners. Green roofs do that very, very well.' "
FULL STORY: Plants, grass on the rooftop? No longer an oddity.

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

Alabama School Forestry Initiative Brings Trees to Schoolyards
Trees can improve physical and mental health for students and commnity members.

NYC Outdoor Dining Could Get a Re-Do
The city council is considering making the al fresco dining program year-round to address cost concerns from small businesses.

HSR Reaches Key Settlement in Northern California City
The state’s high-speed rail authority reached an agreement with Millbrae, a key city on the train’s proposed route to San Francisco.
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