Green Roofs and Other Nature-Based Solutions in Barcelona: Environmental Benefits, and Physical and Mental Well-Being

Abstract

Green roofs are an urban-oriented class of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) that have gained traction over the last years. Their multiple benefits target environ-mental and social domains, both separately and at their intersection level. This chapter reviews how in its twenty years of research history, the Barcelona-based Interdisci-plinary Group on Building Science and Technology (GICITED) has addressed these solutions as one of its main objects of study. The interdisciplinarity of the team has been proven adequate to approach such multidimensional field from different perspectives, diving into deep technical and analytical studies without renouncing to the subtle nuances of social systems. Here we present a historical chronology that allows the current green-roof trend to be put into context. Then we review the main corpus of our research in this field, from the interaction with industry and the advancement of technical knowledge to the more recent social reappraisal of these green solutions. We emphasise how our sharp but narrow focus has expanded in scope to progressively become a wide socio-environmental awareness, where green roofs are understood under the umbrella of a rich spectra of issues associated with them. Finally, far from stagnating, we conclude with several climate and biodiversity-driven concerns that will inevitably take the leading role in any serious Nature-based research.