Expanding Green Roofs in NYC: A Dialogue with the City of Copenhagen

Green roofs promote a number of New York City’s environmental policy goals. They can cut a building’s electricity demand, filter harmful urban air pollutants including asthma-inducing particulate matter, provide disadvantaged communities with access to green space, and significantly reduce storm water runoff. Yet, despite their great potential, to date, green roofs are still few and far between in New York. As City policymakers and private actors contemplate the path forward on green roofs, they could benefit from dialogue with individuals from the City of Copenhagen, which was the first Scandinavian city to adopt a mandatory green roof policy. This upcoming event will provide a forum for just such a dialogue. Key questions to be examined include the decision-making process that led Copenhagen to adopt a green roof mandate, the challenges that have been encountered since then, and the extent of the potential for green roof development in New York City. We’ll also examine early experiences with green roofs in New York City and policy reforms that could effectively encourage their proliferation.

Thursday, April 20th, 6:30 – 8:00pm

NYU School of Law
Lester Pollack Colloquium Room, Furman Hall (9th Floor)
245 Sullivan Street
New York, NY 10012

1 CLE credit offered in the areas of Professional Practice category. The credit is both transitional and non-transitional.

Opening presentations:

• Herbert Dreiseitl, Director, Livable Cities Lab, Ramboll
• Mette Skjold, Partner and CEO, SLA

Panel discussion:

• Rebecca Bratspies, (Moderator) Professor of Law at CUNY School of Law; Director, Center for Urban Environmental Reform
• Jacob Larsen, Director, Climate Change, Water management, Urban drainage, Infrastructure, Orbicon
• Lykke Leonardsen, Head of Resilient and Sustainable City Solutions, City of Copenhagen
• Max Lerner, Sustainability Project Development Coordinator, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
• Alan Steel, CEO, Javits Center

This is event is being hosted in collaboration with the Danish Cleantech Hub.