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Green Roofs

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Summary

Berlin is one of the greenest cities in Germany. Besides parks, lakes, allotment gardens and street trees, planted roofs give nature a boost in the capital. These green roofs are not only beautiful, they also serve important purposes: in summer, water evaporates here and cools down the surrounding area, creating a better climate. During heavy rainfall, green roofs prevent the sewer system from flooding by retaining the water. They also provide shelter for animals.

In Berlin, 18,368 (3 percent) of a total of 604,865 buildings are decked out with green roofs or partial green roof areas that are larger than ten square metres. In total, 400 hectares of roof areas are green (3.9 percent). Our inventory data, which you can access here, confirms this. This data also supports both rainwater management concepts in urban areas and funding programmes for future greening of suitable roofs.

“Multispectral remote sensing data”, resulting from an aerial photography flight over the city, was used to record the green roofs of the capital. The bird’s eye view allows for a spectral differentiation of the types and materials covering the roofs. The processed orthophotographs essentially form the statistical base for a two-fold green roof survey, supplemented by data on building or roof outlines.

Gain comprehensive insights into our data analyses, maps and work results concerning Berlin’s green roofs here.

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