Barranco, Lima (FUA), Peru
City population: 11391137
Duration: 2015 – ongoing
Implementation status: Ongoing
Scale: Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Project area: unknown
Type of area: Building
Last updated: March 2025

Barranco, the smallest district of Metropolitan Lima, is suffering from serious environmental problems that are affecting its inhabitants. Environmental degradation is a consequence of the increase in large buildings (real estate boom), which reduces green space areas and causes a deficit of vegetation in the district. Additionally, there are high levels of air pollution due to car traffic, which has been accentuated by the lack of green areas in the area, which affects the environmental quality and the population's quality of life (1). Additionally, the district doesn't have more free public areas where new green areas can be created. Due to these combined pressures, the local government has looked for alternatives, considering private areas, which have a high potential to implement green roofs and vertical gardens, which can contribute to face Climate Change as a mitigation strategy and improve the quality of life (1). The Green Roofs and Green Walls strategy is proposed to build citizen culture, nature appreciation, landscape, and ecosystems (2, 3). The aim is, therefore, to encourage the inhabitants of the district to progressively install green roofs and walls, employing an economic incentive in the taxes paid to maintain public green areas (4). The programme is oriented to generate environmental benefits such as the reduction of air pollution, acoustic insulation, thermal comfort, and increase of green areas (m2) per inhabitant, and social benefits such as the improvement of the living conditions and health of the inhabitants of the district (1, 3), the promotion of social relations (1), the aesthetic improvement of the city, and the possibility of producing food for self-consumption, as there is support in the implementation of hydroponic systems in the green walls and roofs (1, 3). Its implementation focuses on new, under construction or existing residential, commercial, office or lodging buildings (3).

Green roof with palms
Green roof with palms
Toledo Choquehuanca, J. https://repositorio.lamolina.edu.pe/bitstream/handle/20.500.12996/5504/toledo-choquehuanca-jose-jesus-martin.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Nature on buildings (external)
  • Green roofs
  • Green walls or facades

Key challenges

  • Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
  • Climate change mitigation
  • Environmental quality
  • Air quality improvement
  • Noise reduction
  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Regeneration, land-use and urban development
  • Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
  • Health and well-being (SDG 3)
  • Improving physical health
  • Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
  • Social interaction
  • Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
  • Economic development: agriculture

Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)

  • Climate-Related Hazards
  • Heat stress & Extreme temperatures
  • Environmental Degradation
  • Air pollution
  • Land use and Socio-economic change
  • Rapid urbanization
  • Unequal availability and access to public green spaces

Key priorities

Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation)

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Creation of green roofs and walls, Strategy, plan or policy development, Creation of city-wide or neighborhood climate adaptation or mitigation strategies/programs

Project objectives

- To improve air quality (1, 2, 3) - To recover and embellish roof spaces that harmonise with the district's coastal landscape (2, 3) - To include environmental values as a transversal element of the urban development policy (2, 3) - Regulate the construction of green roofs to ensure that they are built appropriately and are sustainable over time (3) - Implement a strategy to mitigate the effects of climate change by improving the city's environment and microclimate by increasing greenhouse gas buffer zones and reducing heat with consequent energy savings while enabling infiltration and accumulation of rainwater, delaying its arrival in storm drains and allowing evapotranspiration of stored water (3) - To build a citizen culture of appreciation for the environment, the landscape and the ecosystem and, in the medium term, become a factor of district identity to be replicated by other districts (3) - To improve the living conditions and health of the inhabitants of the district (1, 3) - To promote social relations (1) - To facilitate spaces for food production for self-consumption (1)

Implementation activities

The installation of green roofs and green walls on both new and existing buildings must adhere to the guidelines outlined in the District's regulations while also complying with the National Building Regulations (3). Before initiating it, a structural assessment is mandatory for project approval (3). Successful implementation necessitates careful consideration of waterproofing, drainage systems, plant selection, and irrigation infrastructure. Ongoing maintenance of these green areas is crucial, requiring at least two inspections per year (3). Garden promoters are responsible for the upkeep of irrigation systems, regular inspections, vegetation management, and promoting biodiversity within the green spaces (3). The Municipality plays a pivotal role in supporting this initiative by providing technical advice and training to project stakeholders. Additionally, it oversees design review, conducts periodic inspections, manages new applications, and coordinates incentive distribution with funding agencies (3)

Climate-focused activities

Climate change adaptation:

  • Implement green walls or roofs to lower indoor temperature and provide insulation

Climate change mitigation:

  • Increase the availability of green urban space for carbon storage (street tree cover)
  • Install vertical or horizontal artificial surfaces that help with carbon storage and cooling

Main beneficiaries

  • Private sector/Corporate/Company
  • Citizens or community groups

Governance

Management set-up

  • Government-led

Type of initiating organisation

  • Local government/municipality

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

- Barranco Municipality: initiator of the project (1) - Public servants and/or civil servants with expertise in roofs and green walls of the District Municipality of Barranco and other municipalities, and experts and/or specialists in the installation of roofs and green walls belonging to the private sector: Implementing actors of the project (1) - Regional Government, Barranco Municipality, NGOs (not specified) and Private sector (not specified): financing actors (3)

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown
... a national policy or strategy? Yes (Article 2, section 22 of the Political Constitution of Peru, enshrines the right of every person to peace, tranquillity, enjoyment of free time and rest, as well as to enjoy a balanced and adequate environment for the development of their lives (2). Article 10 of the Preliminary Title of Law Nº 27972, Organic Law of Municipalities, requires municipalities to promote local development, in coordination with the regional and national levels of government, to promote the best living conditions for their population, that is, to raise the quality of life, an indicator that is closely linked to the quality of the environment (2). Article 191 of the Political Constitution of Peru determines that municipalities have political, economic and administrative autonomy in matters within their competence. The invoked norm provides among other environmental tools, those classified in numeral 3.2 and 3.4) of Article 80º as exclusive functions of the municipalities of respect for the environment, adding green areas and gardens to the place (2). Article 5 of Supreme Decree Nº 043-2006- PCM defines programmes as functional structures created to address a problem or critical situation or implement a specific public policy, within the scope of competence of the entity to which it belongs (2).)
... a local policy or strategy? Yes (In 2012, the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima promoted the implementation of green roofs and walls as part of its public policy; thus, Ordinance 1628-MML approved the Metropolitan Environmental Policy, establishing within its policy guidelines on green areas, to promote incentives for the provision of private green spaces such as green roofs, green walls, green schools and green homes (1). With this framework, the ORDENANZA Nº 427-MD was established, to foster the implementation of the green roofs and walls programme in the district of Barranco (2).)

Type of enablers

Governance innovations (such as public private partnerships)

Financing

Total cost

Unknown

Source(s) of funding

  • Corporate investment
  • Private funding by citizens
  • Other funding sources are unclear

Type of funding

  • Tax exemption
  • Other funding types are unknown

Non-financial contribution

Unknown

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Climate change
  • Lowered local temperature
  • Expected lowered local temperature
  • Environmental quality
  • Improved air quality
  • Expected improved air quality
  • Reduced noise exposure
  • Achieved reduced noise exposure
  • Green space and habitat
  • Increased green space area
  • Expected increased green space area

Economic impacts

  • Reduce financial cost for urban management
  • Expected reduce financial cost for urban management

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Social justice and cohesion
  • Improved liveability
  • Expected improved liveability
  • Improved access to urban green space
  • Expected improved access to urban green space
  • Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
  • Expected increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Improved prevention of respiratory problems
  • Expected improved prevention of respiratory problems

Type of reported impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Unknown

Presence of indicators used in reporting

No evidence in public records

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

Yes

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs

Lack of social acceptance, Economic impacts, High maintenance costs

References

1.
Amenábar Villacorta, A (2021). Estudio de Caso: Ordenanza N° 427-MDB –Programa techo y muro verde en el distrito de Barranco, 2020. Accessed on August 15, 2024, [Source link];
2.
El Peruano. Diario Oficial (2015). 2-03-06-2015.pdf. p. 61-62 Accessed on August 16, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Municipalidad Distrital de Barranco (2015). Decreto de Alcaldía N006 - 2015. Accessed on August 15, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Medrano Marin, H. (2021). Techos verdes: los nuevos pulmones que emergen en lo más alto de la ciudad. Accessed on August 15, 2024, [Source link];
5.
Martín Toledo, J. (2022). TECHOS VERDES EN LIMA: IMPLEMENTACIÓN Y MANTENIMIENTO PARA SU SOSTENIBILIDAD Y SUS BENEFICIOS EN LA CIUDAD. Accessed on August 16, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Instituto Nacional de Estadística Informática (2020). Planos Estratificados de Lima Metropolitana a Nivel de Manzanas 2020 . Accessed on August 16, 2024, [Source link];
Geranium, sage and marygold green roof
Geranium, sage and marygold green roof
Toledo Choquehuanca, J. https://repositorio.lamolina.edu.pe/bitstream/handle/20.500.12996/5504/toledo-choquehuanca-jose-jesus-martin.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Plant (S. kimnachii) in a Green Roof in Barranco
Plant (S. kimnachii) in a Green Roof in Barranco
Toledo Choquehuanca, J. https://repositorio.lamolina.edu.pe/bitstream/handle/20.500.12996/5504/toledo-choquehuanca-jose-jesus-martin.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
naturescapes bannerInformation about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.