A means of environmental improvement
Easing heat islands, managing rainwater and restoring ecosystems
Green and soil improve the urban environment on many fronts — easing heat islands, infiltrating rainwater and restoring ecosystems. The farm is a hands-on means of environmental improvement close to home.
337 related cases
Cases where this shows up
UW Biodiversity Green Wall & Edible Green Screen
USSeattle, United States
A demonstration completed in fall 2012 that turned two concrete walls at the University of Washington's Gould Hall into urban habitat, combining a biodiversity green wall, an edible green screen, and rainwater harvesting. Roof-collected rainwater irrigates hop and kiwi vines, demonstrating reduced energy use, heat-island mitigation, and increased urban biodiversity.
sustainability.uw.edu+1
Kampung Glintung Go Green (3G)
IDMalang, Indonesia
Launched in February 2012 by RW 23 leader Bambang Irianto in Malang's Purwantoro area, 'Glintung Go Green (3G)' is a resident movement that transformed a flood-prone, crime- and sanitation-challenged kampung through alley-wall gardens, vertical farming and water-infiltration wells, achieving food security and environmental improvement.
mongabay.co.id+1
DakAkker
NLRotterdam, Netherlands
A rooftop farm opened in 2012 on the Schieblock in central Rotterdam, the largest open-air roof farm in the Netherlands and an educational hub for urban agriculture and climate resilience.
dakakker.nl+1
Jardins Partagés (Main Verte), Paris
FRParis, France
A shared-garden framework based on the City of Paris's 2003 'Main Verte' (Green Hand) charter, under which resident associations run gardens on city plots, committing to public access, events, composting and organic growing to spread social bonds and greenery.
paris.fr+1
CityAdapt inner-city school and community gardens, Kingston (Jamaica)
JMKingston, Jamaica
A project fitting inner-city schools and community sites in Kingston with gardens backed by rainwater harvesting and drip irrigation. It responds to the fact that the city's once-reliable rains have faltered with climate change, making it hard to grow without infrastructure that stores water and releases it slowly. More than JM$14 million (about US$90,000) went into four high schools, the Abilities Foundation and the Greenwich Town community, providing rainwater tanks, hydroponic greenhouses, container gardens and water-purification systems. Since starting in 2018, CityAdapt reports benefiting more than 130,000 people across Jamaica, El Salvador and Mexico.
cityadapt.com+1
Umeda Honeybee Project
JPOsaka, Japan
Launched Osaka's first urban beekeeping on the rooftop of the Yanmar Building in Umeda's Chayamachi district in March 2010. Rather than honey itself, its aim is promoting local greening through bee pollination and providing food and environmental education. It has expanded with an experience-based apiary in Hattori Ryokuchi park.
u-mitsubachi.com+3
Supporting research
Sustainable urban agriculture: Practices and future strategies for resilient cities
A review paper surveying sustainable urban agriculture and gardening practices against a backdrop of rapid urbanization linked to climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. It covers composting, rainwater harvesting, rooftop gardening, hydroponics, aquaponics, and vertical farming, and discusses the role of integrated pest management, smart irrigation systems, and urban agroforestry. The review states that integrating nature-based solutions — urban farms, vertical gardens, and green roofs — into the urban landscape can lessen environmental problems such as poor air quality, flooding, and the urban heat island effect, and that urban horticulture plays an important role in food security, biodiversity, and environmental sustainability.
Bharti Gautam, Neha Negi, J. Mohan et al. · 2025 · International Journal of Advanced Biochemistry Research
東京都環境局「緑化計画書制度」
Tokyo's Green Plan System, based on the Tokyo Ordinance on Protection and Recovery of Natural Environment, requires development and building projects on sites of 1,000 sqm or more (250 sqm or more for national/local government sites) to meet a minimum greening standard. It cites heat island mitigation, air purification, and rainwater infiltration as goals, and publishes wall-greening guidelines and rooftop greening performance data.
東京都環境局 · 2025 · 東京都環境局
Review of the Benefits of Green Roofs
This review emphasizes the multiple environmental, economic, energy, and social benefits of green roofs installed on urban buildings. Green roofs are reported to remove atmospheric pollutants, release oxygen, mitigate the urban heat island effect, reduce building energy consumption, improve rainwater management, and promote urban agriculture. Their construction is financially subsidized in several countries due to these benefits, which contribute to urban sustainability and resident well-being.
Consultant Engineer, 107B El. Venizelou str., 73132, Chania, Crete, Greece, John Vourdoubas · 2024 · International Journal of Current Science Research and Review
Ecological benefits of roof gardens and the difference of roof gardens in different regions
This paper examines the ecological benefits of rooftop gardens in response to rapid urbanization and its associated environmental problems. Rooftop gardens were found to improve air quality, store rainwater, mitigate the heat island effect, and protect biodiversity. These benefits alleviate urban air pollution, water resource stress, urban heat island effect, and ecological destruction, with numerous existing applications confirming their feasibility for future cities.
Qingxian Lin · 2024 · Applied and Computational Engineering