Columbia University Professor Dickson Despommier and his students took existing greenhouse technology as a starting point and are now convinced that vertical farms within city skyscrapers are a practical suggestion.

In their design, energy is generated from a giant solar panel, with incinerators which use the farm’s waste products for fuel. All the water in the entire system is recycled, and the plan’s whole complex sustainable.

This project parallels the fresh foods from urban wastes pilot project currently being undertaken by Central Queensland University, led by Professor David Midmore.
Columbia University’s Professor Despommier told the BBC that advantages of this CBD agriculture include year-round crop production in a controlled environment; minimal exposure to pests (and therefore organic produce); elimination of dangerous agricultural runoff into river systems; and zero food miles, as produce would be conusmed locally.

This is a practical way to address climate change, the report says. The BBC’s Jeremy Cooke reports of a design that incorporates:

a 30-storey building with glass walls, topped off with a huge solar panel. On each floor there would be giant planting beds, indoor fields in effect. There would be a sophisticated irrigation system.

Even if it’s not quite natural…you’re going to get back the rest of the earth Professor Dickson Despommier

And so crops of all kinds and small livestock could all be grown in a controlled environment in the most urban of settings.

That means there would be no shipping costs, and no pollution caused by moving produce around the country.

The report says these types of city farms would free up cleared farmland to be reforested.

June 5, 2007: “Green roofs have really captured many people’s imagination as a beautiful way to fight climate change and save money.” The words come from Steven Peck, Founder and President of Toronto-based Green Roofs for Healthy Cities-North America, which has more than 1,300 members among North American municipal governments and green roof businesses.

“Green roofs deliver more public and private benefits than any other green building technology. This is why we anticipate continued strong growth of the North American green roof industry”, he said.

According to Mr Peck there was 25% expansion in 2006 of the green roof industry of Canada and the United States. In the intensive green roof sector (where larger plants are incorporated into rooftop designs) the expansion was 110% in 2006, he said.

“The green roof industry is growing rapidly in response to the pressing need for cleaner air, better storm-water management, improved energy efficiency an more usable green space in our communities,” Steven Peck said.

Strong growth of North America’s rapidly expanding green roof industry is expected to stimulate similar growth in Australia.

• Pictured: A lack of green urban spaces prompted a group from Dalhousie School of Architecture — Asher deGroot, David Gallaugher, Kevin James, and Jacob Jebailey — to create a whimsical artistic response: a grassed walking-wheel, which hints at sculptural possibilities for turf on every angle. This (and other marvellous photos) was taken by photojournalist André Forget. Pic sourced from Inhabitat.

COMING EVENTS:

1. February 25 and 26, 2008: First biennial “Introduction to Green Roofs” course at Brisbane Technology Park, Eight Mile Plains, Queensland. Register interest with Geoff_AT-nettworx.info
2. February 27 and 28 2008: Second annual “Green Roofs for Australia” conference, at Brisbane Technology Park, Eight Mile Plains, Queensland. Register interest with Geoff_AT-nettworx.info
3. April 30- May 2, 2008: Sixth Annual “Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities” conference in Baltimore, United States – at the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel and Baltimore Convention Center. Information here.

This is expected to develop the City of Brisbane as a centre of excellence in both technologies.

The Brisbane City Council (BCC) this week adopted, unanimously, an action plan based on commissioned reports and its own sustainability studies over the last two years.

Major parts of the action plan are aimed at reducing Brisbane’s use of energy derived from fossil fuels and encouragement of more efficient use of water.  But sensible, practical ways to mesh these aims with creating a new style of built-environment attracted enthusiastic votes for:

•    Urban agriculture for greater food security and reduced cost of living.
•    Green roofs that provide a built-environment attuned to climate change responses.

Both urban agriculture and green roof developments in their widest context were foreseen by BCC councillors as important for improving both living conditions for people during climate change, and to maintain and develop businesses and employment.

Brisbane City Council comprises 25 councillors led by Lord Mayor, Cr Campbell Newman.  It is the largest municipal government in Australia.  As such it provides considerable leadership to all municipal government in Australia.

BCC’s adoption of urban agriculture and green roof technologies in its climate change action plan is expected to trigger similar interest around Australia.

In August 2006 Brisbane City Council appointed a Climate Change and Energy Taskforce to ensure that Brisbane is adequately prepared to respond to and address the challenges of climate change, increasing energy consumption, rising petrol prices and peak oil.

On 12 March 2007, its Climate Change and Energy Taskforce, led by Professor Ian Lowe,  presented its independent report titled ‘A Call For Action’ to Council. The Taskforce considered comments from an earlier discussion forum last December. Councilors were well- backgrounded on urban agriculture and green roofs (BCC councilors and staff were a major part of the Green Roofs for Australia conference on February 22 and 23, 2007).
A debate on Monday, 30 April, has produced an action plan the BCC will take to its ratepayers for one month of comment before adoption in its final form, probably by June 30, 2007.

Further information: Geoff Wilson, President, Green Roofs for Healthy  Australian Cities, and President, Urban Agriculture Network Australia.  Phone: +61 7 3411 4524 or +61 (0)412 622 779. Email: Geoff @nettworx.info.  Address: 32 David Rd. Holland Park, Queensland 4121, Australia

One of the interesting consequences of Google Earth satellite viewing has been bird’s-eye critiques of architecture. Google Earth, reports the Los Angeles Times, has enabled people to look at cities with ”a new kind of architectural tourism… What’s changing most radically, in other words, is not how buildings look but how we look at buildings.”

From the crow’s-eye view a tangle of urban problems are apparent: a paucity of aesthetic considerations, poorly-planned physical infrastructure, density, congestion, wasted spaces. Most urban issues are invisible: water and waste management, effects of climate change, energy conservation, air quality, and loss of native habitat. Not so in many European and north American cities, where architects, town planners and landscapers are using very visible, simple and profitable solutions to all these problems in what is known as the “fifth façade” and the “forgotten façade”: the rooftop.

These issues were all discussed at the recent Green Roofs for Healthy Australian Cities (GRHAC) conference in Brisbane, where attendees considered ways to merge the ‘black arts’ (engineering) with the ‘green arts’ (landscaping). Another consideration is, of course, the ‘muddy-grey arts’: bureacracy. Luckily, foundation members of GRHAC include urban planners, landscape architects, horticulture experts and engineers. Pictured above is the new committee.

• Back row: Raylene Mibus (Vic, landscape design, horticulture), Sidonie Carpenter (Qld, landscape architect), Josh Kidd (Qld, engineer), Robyn Shaw (NT, landscape architect). Front row: Ben Nicholson (Vic, urban planner), Paul Downton (SA, architect), Geoff Wilson (Qld, founder & president).

Crosss-posted at greenroofs.wordpress.com

This is the aim of a unique and innovative urban organic waste management pilot project led by Central Queensland University (CQU). It starts this month and will continue over three years.

The pilot project will develop most strongly in the Brisbane-Ipswich urban corridor, and include up to two year’s research at Rockhampton. A $210,000 grant from the Commonwealth Government’s Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) provides the main source of funding.

The remainder will be from the university and from cash or in-kind contributions from companies with a business stake in the waste management and food production technology to be developed.

Research and demonstrations will be aimed at:

• Extracting plant nutrients from urban organic wastes via vermiculture for production of vegetables via organic hydroponics, some on rooftops, and sustaining aquaculture through the feeding of worms from the vermiculture.

• Using aquaponics technology in which fish wastes are subsequently used to complement rooftop organic hydroponics using worm liquor.

• Developing business models, plus training and operational manuals, for an urban rooftop microfarm concept that can be repeated for innovative waste management and employment in most shopping strips or shopping malls, isolated communities and mine-sites.

The initiative is believed to be the first globally-important project of its kind.
It is part of the expanding green roof movement now coming to Australia from Europe and North America.

But the pilot project is expected to provide leadership for Australia in “food from the roof” aspects of green roof technology.

Other community benefits of the project will include:

• Reduction of methane pollution from landfill as organic wastes are diverted into recycling into fresh food.
• Provision of fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs, fish and crustaceans around or above retail food stores, restaurants, cafes and food service facilities, and at rural schools and other isolated institutional organisations.
• Reduction of urban air pollution by diesel transport – because fresh food will be created where it is consumed…

The aim is to recycle organic wastes into healthy fresh food within half a kilometre of where such wastes are generated.

The CQU pilot project is the outcome from urban rooftop business development studies by the Brisbane’s Southside Chamber of Commerce in 1999, funded by a $20,000 grant by the Commonwealth Government.

CQU Scholarships are available for students to undertake post-graduate research on various aspects of the pilot project. Project leader is CQU’s Professor David Midmore, while project manager is Dr Brett Roe. Geoff Wilson, president of Green Roofs for Healthy Australian Cities, is the third member of the pilot project group.

The two-day Green Roofs for Australia event on February 22 and 23 at the Brisbane Technology Park, Miles Platting Road, Eight Mile Plains, will have a session of “Food from the roof” at which the CQU project and its green roof business opportunities will be outlined by the project group.

FURTHER INFORMATION ON SCHOLARSHIPS: Inquires should be directed to Professor David Midmore, Foundation Professor of Plant Sciences, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton , Queensland 4702. Phone: 074930 9770; Email: d.midmore@cqu.edu.au Website:: http://www.pirc.cqu.edu.au/

Already, several European countries have developed green roof technology to a high level of efficiency and reasonable cost, while North American municipal governments, especially in Chicago and New York, are discovering similar financial and environmental benefits from well-engineered rooftop gardens (New York’s Rockefeller Centre is a landmark example).

Now this northern hemisphere advance guard is scenting green roof business opportunities in Australia’s native plants.  Why the sudden interest?

Explains Geoff Wilson, Brisbane-based president of Green Roofs for Healthy Australian Cities, “Overseas green roof technology advances signify important community, corporate and individual responses to the prospect of climate change”.

With the threat of global warming, green roofs provide reduction of ambient temperatures in cities, caused by the “heat island effect” of buildings and roads.  A recent study commissioned by the City of Toronto estimated that a mere 8% of green roofed buildings can reduce a city’s “heat island effect” by up to 2 degrees celsius.

Additionally, rooftop gardens generate significant air cleaning and water cleaning effects.  Green roofs likewise enable slower runoff of rainfall at peak times, enabling drainage infrastructure to cope without massive and costly upgrades.

Key to all these benefits is, of course, the greenery itself.  It must be drought-hardy, low-maintenance and attractive to the eye.  Says Wilson, “Drought-hardy greenery means less costly rooftop maintenance, and Australia’s hardy native vegetation is ideally suited for roof-top gardens”.

An agribusiness journalist since 1957, Geoff Wilson is a keen believer in Australia’s “extraordinarily diverse and weather-hardy plant gene pool’s ability to help defeat runaway climate change effects”.

As Australia’s representative on the recently-formed World Green Roof Infrastructure Network of 15 national organizations, Geoff envisages Australian global greenery supply businesses with a capacity to range from Tasmania and Victoria’s relatively cooler climates,
to the dry arid zones of South Australia and Western Australia, to the tropics of Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Despite the export opportunities for Australian vegetation, Wilson cautions that Australia is still some years behind the main game when it comes to servicing its own market.  Local developers, architects, urban planners, horticulturalists and building owners are failing thus far to capitalise on significant profit prospects posed by the aesthetic, environmental and fiscal benefits of green roofs.

Native flowering plants could support horticultural and roofscaping businesses in addition to providing a riot of delightful, restful colours across CBDs and sun-dried suburbia. Big payoffs would also include reduced fossil fuel energy use, and more efficient water use – two points that should resonate across municipal, state and federal government political levels.

Geoff Wilson concludes, “We should take a good look at these exciting new uses and business prospects for our hardy coastal and inland plants before the Europeans and North Americans swipe our best”.

“GREEN ROOFS FOR AUSTRALIAN CITIES”
is a two-day event held at Brisbane Technology Park, Miles Platting Road, Eight Mile Plains, Brisbane on February 22 – 23, 2007.  It is hosted by Green Roofs for Healthy Australian Cities, and supported by Greenroofs for Sustainable Cities (NZ), and Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (North America).  There will be a Green Roof Pictorial Display of up to 100 posters on some of the world’s best green roof ideas.

Rapid urbanization around the world has meant that  heat island effects  of cities are becoming significant contributors to global warming.  Compared with nearby rural areas, a city s ambient temperature can be from six to 10 degrees C warmer because of heat absorbed and then released from roadways and buildings.

Cr Joe Pantalone, Deputy Mayor of the City of Toronto, said the study of the benefits of green roofs to Toronto also included:

* Direct energy savings of C$12 million a year in buildings from reduced cooling demand in summer.

* Indirect city-savings at peak load demand of C$80 million a year.

* Reduced levels of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, ozone and PM10 particulates and sulphur dioxide   from reduction of  heat island effects  and the trapping of gases and particulates by plants grown on green roofs.

* Reduction of stormwater flows by 12 million cubic metres a year, so that existing drainage infrastructure can cope, and sewage overflow events were less frequent.

* Cost savings of C$79 million a year from reduced capital costs for storm-water management, erosion control and sewer overflows.

Cr Pantalone said the City of Toronto was now encouraging the built-environment industry, especially building owners, to design and implement green roofs.  The City of Toronto was now planning green roof retrofits on many of the city-owned buildings   especially because such retrofits could often be done within existing maintenance budgets, he said.

Other North American municipal governments, especially in Chicago and New York, are finding similar financial and environmental benefits from green roofs.

For further information, contact Geoff Wilson, 07 3411 4524, or 0412 622 779.