The blue-green roofs have an advantage over ordinary green roofs that they can absorb and store much more water while the plants continue to evaporate during heat and drought. As a result it stays cooler in the homes and neighbourhood and the houses and their surroundings are thus better protected against heavy rain, drought and heat. Also a wider variety of plants can be grown on these roofs which in turn increases the biodiversity. The roofs will be linked in a network regulating the water level on the basis of the weather forecast. When intense precipitation is expected, the storage is emptied beforehand so that the peak flow from roofs is reduced, limiting the discharge to the sewerage. The coming three years the smart blue-green roofs will be laid on 10,000 m2 roof of social housing buildings on four locations in Amsterdam: van de Bellamybuurt, Geuzenveld, Oosterpark and Kattenburg.
From IVM, Dr Ralph Lasage and Dr Hans de Moel (both from Water and Climate Risk) will be involved, as well as Dr Nicolien van der Grijp (Environmental Policy Analysis). IVM’s main contribution will be to assess the hydrological and ecological impacts of the pilots in the four selected city districts as well as the potential for upscaling city-wide. In addition, IVM will bring in its knowledge about participatory approaches and co-creation of knowledge, and conduct a societal cost-benefit analysis.
Bron en meer informatie: website IVM