Melbourne has made a good start in greening our skyline,but we are a long way behind the sorts of cities we like to compare ourselves to.
There are currently about 40 green roofs covering five hectares in the City of Melbourne area. This compares to Toronto which has about 500 green roofs and Munich which has 300 hectares of green roofs.
In 2009,Toronto was the first city in North America to adopt a bylaw to require and govern the construction of green roofs. Munich has had laws that mandate green roofs since the 1990s.
With almost 1 million people in the city on a busy working day,there has never been a greater need for Melbourne to consider what more we can do to create new green space.
Green infrastructure can help with building heating and cooling costs,increase biodiversity,reduce the urban heat-island effect and incidents of flash flooding as plants absorb rain that would otherwise go into storm water.
For the humans of Melbourne,green spaces can play an important role in their wellbeing,through recreation,solitude and opportunities to appreciate nature.
That is why the City of Melbourne has planted more than 18,000 trees since 2012,and delivered almost of six hectares of new green open space.
But more action is needed,especially in the private realm. Currently rooftops across the municipality make up 880 hectares of space.