Why Building Owners Are Investing in Green Infrastructure
August 08, 2017 by BFC
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Food Program
Rooftop Gardens
Guest Author: Alex Richardson, staff writer at Aquicore
Below is an excerpt from the blog post “Why Building Owners Are Investing in Green Infrastructure“, originally posted by Aquicore.
Throughout the warmer months, employees at DC-area anti-poverty nonprofit Bread for the City take time out of the day to relax, eat lunch, or teach classes on the roof of their building, surrounded by nature. Bread for the City has one of the hundreds of green roofs in Washington, D.C., that the city is encouraging as an alternative to traditional “gray” water management infrastructure. Green infrastructure isn’t just another way to comply with building codes or qualify for incentives, though; there is a host of peripheral benefits that make it an attractive option.
It’s easy to understand the intangible benefits up on Bread for the City’s roof, surrounded by greenery. The tomato vines in one patch are a tempting shade of red. Next to them, bees are buzzing in a patch of flowers not far from the currently out-of-use bee colonies. Cacti, eggplants, and dozens of other crops round out the display.
“Staff eat lunch up there, do yoga up there sometimes, we have open hours in the garden,” Kristen Kozlowski, associate director of development for Bread for the City, told Aquicore. “It’s a beautiful, safe, green space.”
As beautiful as green roofs are, there would be fewer without policies that support them and other green infrastructure. Understanding why cities commit to these policies takes an appreciation of how difficult it is to manage city infrastructure.
Read full post ‘Why Building Owners Are Investing in Green Infrastructure‘ from Aquicore HERE
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