Review and Critical Analysis of International UHI Studies

Planning issues for new builds, the roof would be incorporated into the designs at inception stage
by the developers and architect and therefore objections are unlikely to be raised.
Planning issues for retrofit, either private or state owned, as long as the roof does not affect
neighboring buildings, or raise objection from its tenants it will not be deemed as a major
material planning issue.
Several guidebooks have been published to educate the public and building owners about green
roofs and some governments offer financial incentives for their installation [197]. Germany,
Austria, Switzerland, Japan and now Toronto, Canada have by‐laws which mandate green roofs
on all new residential buildings of over six stories and buildings with above 2,000m 2 gross floor
area [198]. Germany have the most formal arrangement incorporating green roofs into building
codes and nature conservation acts and Porto Alegre, Brazil have set up a building code for green
roofs where ground space is limited, New York has also set up a pilot incentive scheme for green
roofs [199].
Cool roof standards, programs and incentive schemes are prevalent across the USA championed
by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Cool Roof Rating Council. They are less
common however in Europe where the technology is less well known and little research has been
conducted [200].
Potential Barriers
Problems may arise when painting the roofs a light color as some building materials are not
adaptive to painting, also if the material has to be renewed regularly then it may be costly and
unattractive to building owners [112]. In an adaptation planning exercise in Montreal white and
green roofs were identified as one of the most expensive mitigation measure tested [101]. Also for
New Build a choice of light colors would be preferable as architects and developers are known to
prefer an option so as to compliment the overall design [112].
Another barrier for cool roofs exist as they can create issues that affect the public, these include
increased glare and visual discomfort, particularly for sloped roofs. Therefore detailed planning
is required to minimize these effects [112].
Barriers identified in a recent paper as to why Europe is behind in promoting cool roofs were
attributed to a lack of awareness due to minimal legislative frameworks, as a result of a lack of
awareness there is limited experience, resulting in a lack of incentive schemes and public
skepticism due to people thinking that cool roofs will significantly increase their heating bills in
the winter. This paper by researchers at the University of Athens presents the Cool Roofs Project
which will be run across all countries within the EU and aims to remove these barriers through
the implementation of an action plan that targets a change in behavior, and promotes and
transforms the cool roof market [200].
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