Life@Urban Roofs
Urban areas are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, for instance by flooding after rainfall or extreme heat. The Life@Urban Roofs project in Rotterdam seeks to mitigate these effects by stimulating the transformation of impermeable surfaces on urban roofs into green and blue (water storage) roofs.
The challenge is to convince private property owners to invest in such roofs. Notably, green and blue roofs are not necessarily financially attractive. By developing multifunctional roofs, combining green, blue, yellow (energy generation), and red (economic functions like a rooftop bar), the attractiveness can be improved. Investors such as housing corporations or other social institutions also have non-financial goals. In the project, a social cost-benefit analysis is developed that maps the financial and social aspects.
Expected are an additional 20,000 m2 of green infrastructure, 950 m3 of additional water storage, and 745,000 kWh of annual sustainable energy production. Moreover, an international partnership with the city of Vejle in Denmark makes it possible to replicate the example that is being set in Rotterdam.
This project falls within the scope of EU and national policies to mitigate the effects of climate change. It also meets the Rotterdam Climate Initiative, which has the ambition to have a clean, green and healthy city in which sustainability contributes to a strong economy.
Consortium
- Municipality Rotterdam
- Foundation Arosa
- De Rotterdamsche Vastgoed Maatschappij B.V.
- Foundation Gebouw De Heuvel
- Trivestor Beleggingen B.V.
- Vejle Kommune
- Foundation Vestia
