Rooftop gardening and environmental sustainability

Dr Matiur Rahman and Shishir Reza :
Urbanization is one of the most transformative trends of the 21st century. Cities are the main force behind sustainable economic growth, development and prosperity in developed and developing countries.
Urbanization is happening at a rapid pace in developing countries. Fifty-four per cent of the world’s population (about four billion people) lives in urban areas. By 2030, two billion people will move to cities, putting unprecedented pressure onthe environment, infrastructure and resources, especially water, soil, etc.
Rooftop gardening is a unique concept nowadays. Through rooftop gardening, homeowners will likely use less insulation in their roofs and less energy to heat and cool their homes. Studies have shown that a rooftop garden can reduce cooling costs by 25 per cent in the summer months alone. Green roofs are energy-efficient, reduce heat and use less energy for cooling or heating, thus providing significant cost savings.
Rooftop gardening burns less crude oil with fewer greenhouse gases, which is excellent for everyone. To encourage people to set up such a garden, Dhaka’s two city corporations may decide to reduce the holding tax if a family starts a roof garden.
The many benefits of roof gardens in urban areas are inclusive and sustainable for the public, private, economic and social sectors and the global environment. An eco-friendly roof garden can produce oxygen which is an excellent way to ensure sustainable cities and communities. Integrating city corporations, community people, and agricultural extension networks creates a platform for converting solid waste to organic material for use in rooftop gardens in Dhaka.
Although Bangladesh attempts to address some urban environmental crises, no measures will adequately address these challenges without identifying the underlying causes nationally and addressing them locally. We need a significant push from within the government to make our cities liveable.
Decentralization of power, empowerment of local governments and establishment of more city councils, can be helpful in the first step. To make Bangladesh a developed country, our urban centres need to be transformed into global cities by 2041. This will require further research towards a sustainable urban planning strategy that best suits our towns and communities.
The principle of intelligent urbanism states that there is a level of human settlement intensity at which consumed resources will be replaced by creating an ecological balance with the fulfilment of the natural cycle of the seasons.
Smart urbanism-driven opportunities in urban areas are primary education, skill development; primary health care, drinking water safety, solid waste disposal and hygiene; urban facilities such as storm drainage, street lighting, roads and sidewalks; entertainment and recreation; transport, energy, communication; joining the public; finance and investment processes; urban open space where goods and services can be produced; and basic economic infrastructure.
Suppose we explore sustainable urbanization through smart urbanism theory. In that case, we must face disparity between rich and poor, insecurity and social unrest, expansion of resources and demand for services for safety and security. Lay disability needs to be addressed. In urban areas of Bangladesh, many people lack access to potable water, electricity, gas, drainage, roads, beggar-free footpaths, etc. We must be greening the transport system and freeing multi-stories buildings.
The planetary crisis for rural and urban areas is increasing daily due to global warming and climate change. Global urbanism demands environmental security, heritage preservation, people-oriented appropriate technology, infrastructureefficiency, time-based land use planning, access to social security, transit-oriented development, administrative decentralization, people’s participation, regional integration, and coordination among humangroups. Human development and institutional integrity are needed for sustainable cities and communities.
Bangladesh has become a middle-income country. When valuing human development or collective welfare. In this context,rooftop gardening is essential to address urban environmental, social and climate crises through behavioural change. These can be contemplation (awareness of the problem), preparation (intention to take action), action (the practice of the desired behaviour), and maintenance (sustainable behaviour change).

(The writers are researcher and
environmental analysts).