Could “Living Rooftops” Be Required in Denver?

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A grass roots group called The Denver Green Roof is attempting to get an initiative on the November ballot that would require rooftop gardens to be included on all new construction and existing buildings over 25,000 square feet. According to Brandon Rietheimer, founder of The Denver Green Roof Initiative, rooftop gardens clean our air and sequester carbon, increase a building’s energy efficiency by lowering temperatures of the building, and reduce the urban heat island effect, wherein concrete and buildings make the temperature about five degrees hotter in downtown than other parts of the city. Denver has the third highest urban heat island effect in the nation.