Graduation Semester and Year

2010

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Landscape Architecture

Department

Landscape Architecture

First Advisor

David Hopman

Abstract

Green roofs are not a new technology. The first recorded green roof was the Hanging Gardens of Babylon built by King Nebuchadnezzar for his wife Amyitis who missed her lush homeland (Osmundson 1999). However, since the late 1990s, the term green roof has taken on ecological and social significance beyond its seemingly simplistic description. The term has become an epithet for the reduction of pollution and urban heat islands, for large scale mitigation of storm water run-off, and for maximum utilization of urban land (Cantor 2008). This research examines perceptions about extensive green roofs held by developers, city officials, architects, and landscape architects in the North Texas region. These professionals offer a set of characteristics that make them uniquely important to the decision making process in the areas of finance, public policy, and design and building practices. Everett Rogers states in his book Diffusion of Innovations (2003), that an innovation will have a higher rate of adoption if it is perceived to have a relative advantage over existing strategies, if it is compatible with existing beliefs and values, if it is not perceived as being too complex, if it can be tried on a small scale first, and if it can be seen in place and working in other situations. To gather perceptions of extensive green roofs in North Texas, qualitative methods were employed. Interviews were conducted with key stakeholders and decision makers in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Transcripts of the interviews were analyzed according to Rogers' (2003) theory regarding the diffusion of innovations. The data showed that stakeholders perceived extensive green roofs as being appropriate for use in North Texas. Concerns were raised regarding plant selection, weight requirements, initial cost, city codes, and aesthetics. Developers and city officials indicated their concern for the performance of green roofs in the extremes of the North Texas climate, while architects and landscape architects spoke of the multitude of benefits and appropriateness for this region. Overall, perceptions of extensive green roofs were favorable, but a lack of adequate research and concerns over cost issues were frequently cited as barriers to implementation.

Disciplines

Architecture | Landscape Architecture

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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