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Rooftop Gardens a Green Solution to Los Angeles' Urban Problems

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Rooftop Gardens a Green Solution to Los Angeles' Urban Problems Rooftop Gardens A Green Solution to Los Angeles' Urban Problems Noah Donnell-Kilmer Urban and Environmental Policy Occidental College Senior Comprehensive Project Executive Summary My senior comprehensive project looks at rooftop gardens, specifically their application at affordable housing sites in Los Angeles. I partnered with Esperanza Community Housing Corporation to look into this topic, but also make useful suggestions for all affordable housing groups. Over the course of the initial research it became clear that the issue could not be addressed solely on an individual building level, but that a city-wide approach was also necessary. Thus, this report includes both a guide for affordable housing groups and a comparative case study of Seattle, Chicago, and Los Angeles' rooftop gardening policies. The affordable housing section is a compilation of background research and interviews with local Los Angeles affordable housing organizations. Through this research I map out the challenges and benefits of rooftop gardening for affordable housing sites. From this information, suggestions are made for overcoming the challenges and maximizing the benefits. It is important to note that not all projects and housing sites are created the same, thus not all housing sites will find every piece of this report applicable. Moreover, this guide is not exhaustive and there are certainly more solutions if a groups is creative. The case studies in this report focus on the incentive programs in Seattle and Chicago and how these programs started. Seattle's program focuses on storm-water runoff mitigation and the addition of green space in the city. Both the rooftop gardening culture and green culture in general are a result of Seattle's generally progressive population. In Chicago, the city government completed a study on the heat island effect and how rooftop gardens reduce this effect. Based on their study, the city government created a comprehensive incentives program for rooftop gardening, made possible by Mayor Daley. Finally, based on these two studies, I make recommendations for the City of Los Angeles as to how to best incorporate rooftop gardening into the city programs and codes. 2 Acknowledgements I would like to thank Esperanza Community Housing Corporation for their help and direction with this study. I would also like to thank all those who were more than willing to share their knowledge on the subject. Finally, I would like to thank Professors Gottlieb and Shamasunder, without whom this would not have been possible. 3 Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 5 Methodology .............................................................................................................................................. 6 Background ................................................................................................................................................ 9 History .................................................................................................................................... 9 Benefits ................................................................................................................................. 11 How to: The Parts of a Rooftop Garden ............................................................................... 15 Planting Media ...................................................................................................................... 16 Plant Container ..................................................................................................................... 16 Filter layer............................................................................................................................. 17 Drainage layer ....................................................................................................................... 17 Protective layer ..................................................................................................................... 17 Membrane ............................................................................................................................. 18 Other Considerations ............................................................................................................ 18 Affordable Housing and Rooftop Gardening ........................................................................................... 19 Challenge: Funding ........................................................................................................................ 20 Funding Options ............................................................................................................................. 22 Challenge: Building Structure ........................................................................................................ 23 Challenge: Access and Security ..................................................................................................... 26 Resident Involvement ..................................................................................................................... 28 Planting ........................................................................................................................................... 30 Benefits ........................................................................................................................................... 32 Analysis .......................................................................................................................................... 34 Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 36 General Recommendations ................................................................................................... 36 Esperanza Specific Recommendations ................................................................................. 39 City Incentive Program Comparative Case Studies ................................................................................. 40 Seattle, Washington ........................................................................................................................ 41 Chicago, Illinois ............................................................................................................................. 46 Los Angeles, California .................................................................................................................. 51 Analysis .......................................................................................................................................... 56 Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 59 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 63 Appendix A .................................................................................................................................... 64 Appendix B .................................................................................................................................... 66 Appendix C .................................................................................................................................... 71 Appendix D .................................................................................................................................... 73 Bibliography............................................................................................................................................. 74 4 Introduction Many may ask why I looked at rooftop gardening as opposed to traditional gardening, which is currently a more popular and viable gardening option. I wanted to study a relatively unexplored subject in the popular gardening world and try to understand where the movement is going. I partnered with Esperanza Community Housing Corporation in South L.A. to look into rooftop gardening best practices. From this research I created a guide for them to use while considering rooftop gardens at their affordable housing sites. As I researched rooftop gardening, I saw that in many cities the movement developed through support from the city governments. However, when I looked into Los Angeles' city government assistance with rooftop gardening projects, I found none. I felt like the question the question of how affordable housing sites can benefit from and build rooftop gardens could not be answered without also addressing how Los Angeles city government could incentivize and promote the process. I attempted to answer this question through background research, interviews with local and national rooftop gardening proponents, and a comparative case study of rooftop gardening codes in Seattle, Chicago, and Los Angeles. In his book Roof Gardens: History, Design, and Construction, Theodore Osmundson defines a rooftop garden as, “A roof garden is any planted open space, intended to provide human enjoyment or environmental
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