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Apr 24, 2008 1:31 pm US/Central
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Chicago Ranks No. 1 For Green Roofs
City Leads Top 10 List For 4th Year
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
For the fourth year in a row, Chicago is topping the list of cities with the greatest amount of space devoted to green roofs.
The city installed about 517,633 new square feet of green roof space in 2007 alone, and thus earned the number one spot on the Top 10 List of Best U.S. Green Roof Cities from the group Green Roofs for Healthy Cities.
Chicago topped the second place finisher, Wilmington, Del., by more than 300,000 square feet, the group said.
Nationwide, there were 30 percent more green roofs installed in 2007 compared with 2006, the group said.
Planting vegetation on roofs can benefit air quality, cool the environment, reduce energy consumption and help treat storm water, the group said.
Mayor Richard M. Daley said in a news release he was proud of the city's efforts to go green.
"I'm proud that Chicago is the national leader in green roofs. We built our first on City Hall in 2000. Since then, more than 400 of them, covering more than 4 million square feet, have been constructed, or are planned, on public and private buildings – including new buildings planned at O'Hare Airport," Mayor Daley said. "Cities are no longer the enemies of the natural environment; they're leading the way in preserving and protecting it. Our green roof program is just one way we are preserving and protecting our natural resources while saving money, creating jobs and improving the quality of life."
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