Page 42 - UmRio Sustainability - Action Plan

RECOMMENDED INITIATIVES

In addition, green roofs can help address the ongoing struggles with flooding that
favelas face with increasingly intense rains by reducing runoff. Concrete roofs are
impermeable, and water pours into streets or alleys when it rains. According to Lucas
Camargo da Silva Tassinari, a green roof can help reduce water runoff anywhere from
25-60% (Tassi et al., 2014).

Green Roof Favela (Teto Verde Favela) began in 2014 and provides a road map for
creating a green canopy in favelas to help reduce urban heat island effects and provide
some relief for favela residents during extreme temperatures. They have expertise in
plants native to Brazil, thrive in the tropical climate, and can withstand extreme
temperatures. Over the years, they have researched and continuously adjusted the
types of plants and systems necessary to install on favela roofs (Cassiano et al., 2016).
In partnership with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), their early research
found that temperatures on homes with green roofs were as much as 40 degrees
Fahrenheit lower than those without green roofs (Cassiano et al., 2016).

Design Teto Verde-Morro do Castro (Green Roof Morro do Castro)

There is not one type of green roof best suited to all homes, and favelas provide unique
challenges due to the informal way communities have evolved and developed. For
example, buildings need to be structurally sound to install green roofs since they require
several layers, each serving a different purpose. One layer may provide insulation while
another layer provides drainage, etc. This adds a unique challenge to installing green
roofs in favelas where each home could be built of different materials. The first step for
UmRio’s Sustainability Coordinator would be to secure the help of an engineering
student, perhaps from their existing partnership with UFRJ, and conduct research on
UmRio’s program participant homes to understand better the type of construction
materials with which houses have been built. This will aid in informing what kind of green
roofs will be most appropriate for Morro do Castro.

BUILDING COMMUNITY SUPPORT
One of the most essential elements of installing green roofs is using a collective
approach. A few homes with green roofs will not make much difference, but, as Marcelo
Kozmhinsky, a Brazilian specialist in sustainable landscaping, stated, “When we talk about
green roofs, we think about one house. But that’s not enough. When you start to imagine

a street, a block, a neighborhood, and a city or a community as a whole with several
green roofs, then you have something. Because it’s about the collective. It benefits
everyone” (Kozmhinsky, 2016). Installing green roofs for an entire street or community
will also require significant funding that would need to come from private donations,
corporate sponsorships, or the government. Finally, given that the area of Morro do
Castro is controlled by gangs, there will need to be awareness around this change in
rooftop structures and covers.

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