Basel’s 1990s Rooftop Garden Initiative Boosts Urban Biodiversity
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📰 The quick summary: Basel’s extensive green roof initiative has created thousands of rooftop gardens that improve biodiversity, cool the city, and provide natural habitats right in the urban environment.
📈 One key stat: Basel averages over 5 square meters of green rooftop space per person, equivalent to a large balcony, making it one of Europe’s leaders in urban rooftop gardens.
💬 One key quote: “Green roofs do a lot of things medium-well … What we need is things that offer multiple benefits. And green roofs are one of the few things that do,” says Dusty Gedge, president of the European Federation of Green Roofs and Walls.
1️⃣ The big picture: The Swiss city of Basel has transformed its urban landscape by mandating gardens on all new and renovated flat rooftops. This initiative began in the 1990s when residents voted to fund energy-saving measures through their bills. The city stands out for its emphasis on using native seeds and plants, creating natural habitats that support local biodiversity rather than just decorative greenery. These rooftop gardens range from small office buildings to vast spaces covering malls, warehouses, and hospitals, creating thousands of elevated green spaces throughout the city.
2️⃣ Why is this good news: These rooftop gardens serve multiple environmental purposes simultaneously. They cool the air during heatwaves, store water during storms, and create natural habitats for wildlife in urban areas. The gardens reduce noise and air pollution while providing peaceful green spaces for city residents to enjoy. By using native plants, these spaces support local ecosystems and create genuine biodiversity zones rather than merely decorative gardens. The initiative proves that cities can effectively create new natural spaces even in dense urban environments.
3️⃣ What’s next: Cities like Hamburg are now working to combine green roofs with solar panels, making both mandatory for new buildings from 2027. The industry is pushing for more cities to update their building codes to require green roofs rather than just encouraging them through subsidies. Experts emphasize that making green roofs mandatory, rather than optional, is key to achieving widespread adoption.
Read the full story here: The Guardian – ‘Green roofs deliver for biodiversity’: how Basel put nature on top
