Due to an effect called the “urban heat island,” temperatures are often ten degrees higher in cities than in surrounding areas due to the heat absorption and retention of materials like asphalt and concrete. As cities grow and develop, they need to make good decisions about their infrastructure, because these decisions often last for 30 or 50 years or longer. In the context of more frequent heat waves and more extreme heat, it’s important to understand how these urban design interventions can be effective.
The MCGM has proposed the strategy to mandate rooftop gardens for all new developments on plots over 2000 sq m and I say this is a welcome move to compensate for the lack of green cover and open green spaces in our city.
The policy draft focuses on the need of rooftop gardens for biodiversity conservation and its a welcome move. The interesting part of the draft policy is that developers must have vertical gardens during the construction phase of the project, facing on the main road to reduce Ai and noise issues. The policy guidelines have been given in-principal approval, and they will be made official after consultation with stakeholders and the DP department. The policy mandates large projects to provide podium gardens with native tree varieties with shallow root systems, and medium-sized canopy can accommodate while also ensuring structural stability and safety. This is a welcome move and I’m sure will add value to the aesthetic and environment of our city of Mumbai.
The draft has been given in principle approval by the Hon. Municipal Commissioner Shri Chahal ji and it has been sent to the D.P. department of MCGM for review and I’m being told that McGM is also going to share the detailed draft with CREDAI-MCHI for a review.
The draft policy states that such rooftop gardens will be mandatory for all development projects above 2000 sq m so it will definitely be an add on to the green spaces that typically exists in bigger development projects.
Vertical gardens Can be developed with growing plants up and in small footprints and with basic and appropriate framing structures which should not be a big problem. Developers of bigger projects have already have developed rooftop gardens which requires top quality water proofing techniques and irrigation methods. With an eye for detail and selection of plants and execution technologies it should be rather seen as an encouraging move to improve the micro environments.