Inhabitat » GREEN ROOFTOPS CONFERENCE IN BOSTON

May 8, 2006

GREEN ROOFTOPS CONFERENCE IN BOSTON

by Gretchen

This week the City of Boston will become a focal point of the green roof industry. Boston, which ranked 4th in the 2004 top ten of green roofed cities, is co-hosting the 2006 Annual International Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference, Awards and Trade Show.

The conference is organized by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC), a not-for-profit industry association working to promote the green roof industry in North America, and will take place May 11-12 at the Hynes Convention Center. Additional workshops and seminars will be offered May 10 and May 13 at the Sheraton Boston Hotel.

“Boston is proud to host this year’s Green Roofs Conference ,” Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said. “Our city is committed to sustainability through high-performance green buildings and green roofs will be an important component in meeting LEED standards, slowing climate change, and keeping our environment clean and healthy for the future of our cities.”

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities’ mission is to increase the awareness of the economic, social, and environmental benefits of green roof infrastructure across North America and advance the development of the market for green roof products and services. This year’s conference will feature more than 40 speakers from around the world and 75 exhibitors.

Inhabitat will be attending the conference, so check back next week for news and updates from the front lines of green roofing!

If you’d like to attend the conference yourself, online registration is open until 5pm TODAY. You may also register in person at the convention center beginning Wednesday morning.

6 Responses to “GREEN ROOFTOPS CONFERENCE IN BOSTON”

Gary Says:

May 9th, 2006 at 2:24 pm

Dear Gretchen:

Re: Green Rooftops Conference in Boston

For those who do not know, the picture you featured is Chicago’s City Hall. I love the city of Boston, but they need not get credit for such a great roof garden as that of Chicago’s City Hall. As you may also know, Chicago’s Mayor Richard M. Daley is one of the “greenest” mayors in the country. He is responsible for planting hundreds of trees and flowers down teh center of main boulevards. It’s quite a welcomed spectacle year round. We also have more green roofs and green buildings than the picture featured. As Sping blossoms, for such major metropolis my city is incredibly green and beautiful. Come for a visit to the City of Big Shoulders to see our BIG gardens. The newest, Millenium Park, beckons.

~Gary, Chicago, IL

P.S. I am not an employee of the City of Chicago. I just love my city. It’s agreat place to live.
P.S.2 I enjoy inhabitat.com a great deal. Keep up the good blogging!

skimble Says:

May 9th, 2006 at 8:44 pm

Everything Gary said!

Boston is great, but Chicago is what’s in that picture.

Sarah Says:

May 9th, 2006 at 8:54 pm

Hey, all you astute readers…It’s true, this is Chicago in the picture, and the conference is in Boston, but the event is about green roofs all over the place — design, development, implementation, and case studies from all over North America (including Chicago!). This image from Chicago tends to make frequent appearances in discussions of green roofs, as it’s one of the best ones out there. More people should take photos of green roofs in their cities and put them online! Then we’d diversify the crop.

Thanks, nonetheless, for being so perceptive!

The Dirt Says:

May 11th, 2006 at 6:39 pm

Hey! Love green roofs? Check out the newest green roof to come on line in Washington, DC. The American Society of Landscape Architects dedicated its green roof on April 26, the bithday of Frederick Law Olmsted, the founder of landscape architecture. The roof is primarily extensive, but has some intensive plantings as well, and was designed by landscape architect Michale Van Valkenburgh, FASLA. You can find out all about it here:
http://www.asla.org/land/050205/greenroofcentral.html

Want to see it live? Check out the green roof webcam:
http://www.asla.org/land/050205/greenroofwebcam.html

Oh, and there are PLANTS under that grate!

matt Says:

May 22nd, 2006 at 6:24 am

As progressive as boston is, I just don’t see the green roof taking off. The seasons are too vicious. We have arctic winters that last six months, and the summers scorch all that remains. Its a nice thought, but maybe the solar panel would be more practical.

Gretchen Says:

May 22nd, 2006 at 1:57 pm

Thanks for your thoughts, Matt. Of course we’d love to see more solar panels AND green roofs in Boston. I’d also just like to point out that Chicago, a city with weather patterns perhaps equally as severe as Boston’s, is the current US leader in green roof coverage. So, I’m still optimistic!

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