Last updated: November 2021
Green roofs were created on vehicles in the Spanish cities of Barcelona, Girona, Córdoba, Valencia. This initiative is based on the project of Marc Grañén, who developed PhytoKinetic a project for the development of moving gardens. (ref 1) The city of Palma de Mallorca was also considering its introduction as a measure of sustainability. (ref 1) The intervention, however, remained in the pilot stage (ref 1 and 4).
PhytoKinetic Green Roof on A Bus
Marc Grañén (Creator and Director of PhytoKinetic), retrieved 08/29/2018
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Nature on buildings (external)
- Green roofs
- Grey infrastructure featuring greens
- Other
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change mitigation
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Environmental quality
- Air quality improvement
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Improving physical health
Focus
Creation of new green areas
Project objectives
-Increase green space in cities.
- Innovate ways for green development in cities. (ref 1)
- Reduction of CO2 emissions (ref 1)
- Biodiversity increase in buses (ref 6).
- Energy efficiency improvement (ref 6).
- Aesthetic improvement (Ref 6).
- Improve people’s quality of life. (ref 2)
Implementation activities
- Studies and calculations for appropriate weight of the deck to be installed on the roof. (water-proof with a thickness of 1.5mm) (Ref 2).
- Installation of stainless steel perforated grill along the perimeter of the bus
- To support rooting, the organic substrate was replaced by multifunctional Urbanscape cultivation substrates from Knauf Insulation. It is a very light substrate with insulation capacity since it has a Sedum blankets that are placed on top as a layer of main vegetation (Ref 2).
- Plants are places according to particular designs.
- A lightweight and sturdy mesh is tightly attached to the inner perimeter and net to ensure nothing moves from its place. In only a few weeks, this mesh will disappear beneath the vegetation, although it still functions as a more important safety mechanism. (ref 1)
- Most of the garden surface is composed of tough sedum plants, which require very little water and can withstand hot and cold temperatures. (ref 4)
Climate-focused activities
Climate change mitigation:
- Increase green urban nature for carbon storage (wetlands, tree cover)
- Install vertical or horizontal artificial surfaces that help with carbon storage and cooling
- Raise public awareness of behaviours, lifestyle and cultural changes with mitigation potential
Main beneficiaries
- Local government/Municipality
- Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)
- Researchers/University
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
- Researchers/university
- Citizens or community group
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Unknown
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The intervention was carried out with the support of the municipality and the public transport system through the collaboration of Marc Grañén with public projects for the instalaltion of the green roofs on buses. (ref 3)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Public regional budget
- Unknown
Type of funding
- Unknown
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Enhanced carbon sequestration
- Environmental quality
- Improved air quality
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Enhanced support of pollination
- Other
Economic impacts
- Reduce financial cost for urban management
- Other
Socio-cultural impacts
- Unknown
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
. Construible. (2016). Cubiertas verdes en vehículos urbanos de Barcelona, Girona y Palma. Madrid: Grupo Tecma Red. Available at : Source link (Accessed 29 July 2020)
2. Anónimo. (2016). PhytoKinetic - Jardines en movimiento, el innovador proyecto de Marc Grañén. Knaufinsulation. 2 mayo. Available at: Source link (Accessed 29 July 2020)
3. ProMateriales. (2015). Cubiertas verdes en vehículos urbanos con Knauf Insulation. Madrid: Editorial Protiendas SL. Available at Source link (Accessed 29 July 2020)
4. Vida más verde. (2013). ¿Terrazas verdes en los autobuses? N.c.: Vida más verde. Available at : Source link (Accessed 29 July 2020)
5. Plataforma Arquitecture. (2015). Jornada de cubiertas verdes en Palma de Mallorca. Palma de Mallorca: Plataforma Arquitecture. Available at: //Source link (Accessed 29 July 2020)
6. Duran, Lourdes. (2015). Jardines sobre cuatro ruedas. Palma de Mallorca: Diario de Mallorca. Available at: Source link (Accessed 29 July 2020)
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7. La Vanguardia. (2015). Barcelona, Girona y Palma ya tienen autobuses con techo verde. Barcelona: La Vanguardia. 5th may. Available at: Source link (Accessed 29 July 2020)
8. Durán Palma, L. (2015). Jardines sobre cuatro ruedas. Palma de Mallorca: Diario de Mallorca. 31st May. Available at: Source link (Accessed 29 July 2020)
2. Anónimo. (2016). PhytoKinetic - Jardines en movimiento, el innovador proyecto de Marc Grañén. Knaufinsulation. 2 mayo. Available at: Source link (Accessed 29 July 2020)
3. ProMateriales. (2015). Cubiertas verdes en vehículos urbanos con Knauf Insulation. Madrid: Editorial Protiendas SL. Available at Source link (Accessed 29 July 2020)
4. Vida más verde. (2013). ¿Terrazas verdes en los autobuses? N.c.: Vida más verde. Available at : Source link (Accessed 29 July 2020)
5. Plataforma Arquitecture. (2015). Jornada de cubiertas verdes en Palma de Mallorca. Palma de Mallorca: Plataforma Arquitecture. Available at: //Source link (Accessed 29 July 2020)
6. Duran, Lourdes. (2015). Jardines sobre cuatro ruedas. Palma de Mallorca: Diario de Mallorca. Available at: Source link (Accessed 29 July 2020)
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7. La Vanguardia. (2015). Barcelona, Girona y Palma ya tienen autobuses con techo verde. Barcelona: La Vanguardia. 5th may. Available at: Source link (Accessed 29 July 2020)
8. Durán Palma, L. (2015). Jardines sobre cuatro ruedas. Palma de Mallorca: Diario de Mallorca. 31st May. Available at: Source link (Accessed 29 July 2020)
PhytoKinetic Green Roof on A Van
Marc Grañén (Creator and Director of PhytoKinetic), retrieved 08/29/2018