Planning, Designing, and Managing Green Roofs and Green Walls for Public Health – An Ecosystem Services Approach

Abstract

Installing green roofs and green walls in urban areas is suggested to supply multiple ecosystem services of benefit to human health and well-being. In a three-step literature review, we examined current knowledge on the link between public health and green roofs and green walls. A systematic search identified 69 scientific articles on green roofs/walls with a public health discourse. These articles were categorized according to type of health path covered (reduction of temperature, air pollution, noise or environmental appraisal) and coverage of issues of relevance for strategies on planning, design/construction, and maintenance of green roofs and green walls. Articles identified through the structured search were complemented with reviews (with no explicit public health rationale) covering reduction of noise, temperature, or air pollution and environmental appraisal. Other relevant studies were identified through snowballing. Several of the articles provided guidelines for optimizing the effect of green roofs/walls in supporting ecosystem services and maximizing well-being benefits to support health pathways identified. These included specifications about planning issues, with recommended spatial allocation (locations where people live, sun-exposed for maximum ambient temperature reduction) and with physical access needed for environmental appraisal. Recommendations regarding design parameters covered substrate depth (deeper generally being better), plant choices (more diverse roofs providing more services), and maintenance issues (moist substrate positively correlated with heat reduction).

Seasonal variation in preference for green roof vegetation

“…In this study, observed differences in perceived values were largely driven by aesthetic features, where restorative effects were significantly correlated with colour and attractiveness, indicating the powerful impact colour has on human experiences. This observation is supported by a recent review (Ode Sang et al, 2022) which highlighted the importance of visual characteristics for delivery of positive preferences, and especially the visual feature colour, which was found to be important in supporting cultural ecosystem services.…”

“…According to Vanstockem et al (2018), positive preferences for aesthetic qualities are related to a combination of sedum and herbaceous species in sedum-dominated vegetation. Visual characteristics related to vegetation structures on green roofs do seem to have an impact on aesthetic judgement, where natural meadow-like vegetation is more associated with positive preferences compared with lower-growing succulent vegetation (White and Gatersleben, 2011;Lee et al, 2014;Ode Sang et al, 2022). Important visual characteristics for delivery of cultural ecosystem services and positive preference for green roofs are structural variation, species diversity and composition, and visual features such as colours (e.g.…”

“…Important visual characteristics for delivery of cultural ecosystem services and positive preference for green roofs are structural variation, species diversity and composition, and visual features such as colours (e.g. Vanstockem et al, 2018;Ode Sang et al, 2022). Flower colours in meadow-like green roofs have been shown to increase restorative effects compared to sedum-dominated green roofs with a colour palette of mainly red and brown shades (White and Gatersleben, 2011).…”

Pro-Environmental Transformation of Cultural Institutions through Sustainable Infrastructural Projects: A Case Study of Poznan

“…Recent research on this subject has shown that, among the eco-solutions used in cultural institutions, we can find the correction of the thermal performance of buildings [46,47], installation of insulation layers [46], installation of solar panels on the roofs to reduce carbon emissions [48], ecological retrofitting works with numerous benefits, such as energy consumption's reduction, a cut in CO 2 emissions, the reduction of pollutions, and many others [49]. Focus has been on improving energy performance by using sustainable materials and renewable energy [41], improving the thermal efficiency of buildings by equipping them with a thermal plant with a heat exchanger and heat pumps, using geothermal water as a renewable source of heating [50], the adaptive and sustainable reuse of cultural and heritage buildings [50], installing green walls and roofs as ecological solutions [51,52], improving energy efficiency in buildings [53][54][55], and others.…”

Promoting stress and anxiety recovery in older adults: assessing the therapeutic influence of biophilic green walls and outdoor view

“…These studies consistently emphasize a positive correlation between improved psychological and physiological responses and the connection to nature ( 23 ). For instance, the outdoor views and green walls positively influence behavior and emotional states through visual stimuli ( 24 ). Moreover, research has consistently identified a significant association between outdoor view and mental health ( 25–28 ).…”