Change your roof - stay cool in a hot City

During the hot summer months a busy city can become unbearably hot. The concrete and tarmac just seem to bounce back the suns rays and the air temperature can be considerably hotter than in the countryside. You see people start to flock to the parks and fountains, the ice creams come out along with the frisbees and generally the whole pace of life starts to slow down.

So if you live in the city but want somewhere private to cool down what are the options?

Well you could build your own roof garden as a starter. You could plant your own sod and try to grow it in which case you might need to find sod prices or be looking for cheap sod prices. But the better choice comes from the use of synthetic grass. The cost of synthetic grass varies but it is the best choice in places where it may be difficult to grow the real thing.

Although there are examples from the earlier part of the 20th century, it was not until the 1960’s that the use of roof gardens began to literally grow upwards. As well as having an amenity value, a roof garden offers substantial environmental benefits - for instance:

1. It can lower the temperature above a building, often substantially. Basically a city can raise the atmospheric temperature by reflecting sunlight - a phenomenon sometimes referred to as 'the urban heat island effect'. Having a green roof helps counteract this.


2. Insulation - a roof garden can help keep a building cool in summer and warm in winter, so fuel bills are reduced.


3. Wildlife - even on high rise apartment blocks a green garden can provide a stopover for tired birds and attract insects with plants.

So you can see that not only can you keep cool but you can also help the environment and wildlife. The article goes on to describe 2 ways to prepare a roof garden:

The “Heavyweight” Route
This involves layers of waterproof membrane, constructing drainage channels if needed and then laying natural turf over the top. Of course, you could venture into hydroponics to try and minimise the weight and there are special soil mixtures available to help but basically you are looking at a lot of weight , a lot of installation work and possibly even strengthening the roof.

and

The "Lightweight" Route
Use planter pots, tubs and bedding to carry your plants and lay astroturf. This way you will have less maintenance and the whole project will be easier to construct. Not only that, but all the worries about how you compost grass cuttings 10 stories up won't even cross your mind!

So the next time you are in the city wondering how to keep cool, look up and see the roof gardens above your head!