Green Roofs - A Sustainable Tool of Healthier Cities, Applications in Egypt

Abstract

The huge roof areas of buildings in Egypt are currently neglected or occupied by storing unused furniture, building materials & leftovers. these areas are considered a sort of danger to buildings rather than been utilized to create green areas, or social spaces that can be used by people in a better way. Green roofs as an idea could be easily applied, considering the suitable climatic conditions in Egypt among the whole year, this paper is an attempt to explore the idea of green roofs, and its applications in Egypt putting in consideration the huge available roof areas on public or private scale(s), and how these neglected resources could help in making the city healthier through the applications of green roofs, it also shed the light on different applications of green roofs on both scales, urban scale, and buildings' scale. The case of Cairo is suitable for this study, since thousands of buildings do have large roof areas, that are totally accessible, these areas in itself is a an important resource that can be incorporated within the urban fabric, supplying the city with many thousands of square meters of green areas, social spaces and living spaces in a city that vitally still misses a lot of areas with such specifications, networks could be established to link rooftops of some buildings in Cairo, applying green roofs concept may lead to a more healthier city that lacks a lot of green areas.

Keywords: green roof, green architecture, green areas, sustainable design, healthier cities