Yeonjae KimUWP 2306-04-2015Assignment 2, part3

In most cities, people have limited access to nature. The constructions of the buildings

to develop cities created lots of non-environmentally friendly areas. As a huge part of the

human population is living in developed cities, there are always excessive amounts of

greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide emission. This phenomenon contributes to global

warming, which gets worse as time goes by. Therefore, I promote the urban greening project

to reduce the environmental problems and to let more people to know about the benefits that

they can get from planting. Moreover, people are not used to go outdoors and be active. We

should know that we are a major cause for the environmental issues and, at the same time,

we are also the one that are getting disadvantages by staying indoors. Therefore, I’m strongly

motivated to promote the urban greening project, targeting people in Davis, which can widely

spread the awareness for the seriousness environmental problems and lots of advantages of

living along the nature. You will be able to find out more of the descriptive plans for this

project and be more considerate to the environmental problems that we are facing.

The main goal of this urban greening project is to make the greenhouses, or gardens

on the roof of buildings, such as apartments and business buildings. By creating more green

places in the area that people can easily access, people in the city will get benefits by having

places to relax. More and more people will go outdoors to enjoy the nature and they will get

more chances to communicate with their neighbors.

Moreover, the environment will be the other one that

benefits from this project. It is very important to

solve the existing problems, such as global warming,

air pollution, and health problems, because people

should live along with the nature, so that we should

not neglect the environmental issues. The changes

of the environment definitely will affect human beings; for example, global warming is already

taking a part of global concerns that people are looking for the ways to improve the situation.

The expected result of this green roof project will look like the picture on the left. Even

though I’m not looking for using this kind of professional gardening system to build the green

roofs, the roofs will look like this after several years of planting. As more plants are being

planted, the rooftop of the buildings with the concrete will be protected by the plants, will

absorb less heat, and it will contribute to people to use less air conditioner during the

summer. It can be one of a very important key to the global warming because using less

electricity will cause less usage of fossil fuel plants; thus, the emission of carbon dioxide will

get reduced. As people create their places by themselves, they will have to come out and

spend some time outdoors to take care of their plants. Moreover, if people plant their own

vegetables or fruits, they will get healthy food sources. One thing that affects to this project is

people who are participating to this project. If people become negligent to the project and

stop taking care of the plants, there would be no one takes care of the plants and it will result

city government or the participants of this project to spend money for hiring people to take

care those abandoned plants or throwing those plants away before they mess up the rooftop.

To keep people to be motivated and active with the outdoor activities, I will have to thoroughly

and continuously encourage people to participate or continue this project.

If we have to professionally create the

rooftop gardens, the needed materials are

listed in the picture on the left. I think this

kind of professional planting system is only

needed to the public buildings that are

managed by the government. However, we

can simply go to the flower shops or markets

to get some dirt, baskets, sprayer or a soaking hose, and seeds to start planting. The labor is

the most important thing because people have to

keep their eyes on the plants and take care of them

often.

I will manage this project by reminding people

continuously by talking to the neighbors and visiting

some of the building that people plant for the project. Once people start to join this project,

they have to be responsible for their own plants for sure. However, if more people get

interested to this project over time, the government can promote more events to motivate

people and support people by providing some materials that people need to take care of the

plants. However, whoever starts planting will have to be responsible to care of the project. I

will invite a guest speaker from El Cerrito Urban Greening to grab people’s attention. As

people get to know more about the benefits that they can get from planting, they will be

motivated to actively care about their plants.

Yeonjae KimUWP 2305-23-2015Assignment 2, part4

To briefly summarize the possible outcomes that my project will bring to the community, I can expect lots of things. The short-term effects of the green roofs will vary. People will be more likely to come outdoors. They will be able to communicate with their neighbors and will be able to take time to relax in the small nature on the roof top. Moreover, planting can be an educational material for children who are growing up in the cities and people will be able to create beautiful nature by themselves. They will learn and feel responsibility by planting and taking care of their plants.

The positive long-term outcomes of this project are surprisingly interesting too. The temperature differences with other locations will be gradually solved by the green roofs. As lots of cities are suffering as the “isolate islands”, which refers the overheated locations created by packed buildings that use a lot of electricity, the green roofs will be a key to solve the problem. Moreover, as the average temperature of the city decreases, people will use less electricity. People won’t need the same amount of electricity that they’ve used before. Then, the fossil fuel plants will be running less; as a result, the carbon dioxide emission will decrease and people will be able to breathe the fresh air.. The article, published by the cityofwatsonville, mentioned that “Green roofs filter particulate matter from the air and absorb greenhouse gases. One square meter (10.76 ft2) of grass roof can remove up to 2 kg (4.4 lbs) of airborne particulates from the air every year, depending on foliage type” (Green Roof Report, 2012). Lastly, by taking care of their plants, people can earn something as rewards if people planted their own vegetables or fruits.

Reference

Green Roof Report. (2012). 1st ed. [ebook] Watsonville: CityofWatsonville.org, pp.7-9. Available

at: http://cityofwatsonville.org/download/Public%20Works/Watsonville%20Green%20Roof%20Design

%20Criteria%20Final%20Pt.%201.pdf [Accessed 5 Jun. 2015].