With more than half-a -million new square-feet of green roofs installed in 2007, Chicago leads in becoming the greenest City in America. "Cities are no longer the enemies of the natural environment," says Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley of the news.

TORONTO, CANADA - With nearly 517,633 new square-feet of green roofs installed in 2007, Chicago is once again No. 1 on this year's Top 10 List of Best U.S. Green Roof Cities from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities' 3rd Annual Green Roof Market Industry Survey of corporate members. This is the fourth consecutive year in a row that Chicago has come in the top spot in the annual survey. The city beats out Wilmington, DE (No. 2 on the list) by more than 300 thousand square feet.

In 2007, 30 percent more green roofs were installed in North America representing a five percent market growth increase over last year's 25 percent. That's good news as more green roofs means cleaner air, cooler cities, reduced energy consumption, beautiful rooftops, less untreated stormwater running into our rivers and streams, and green space for people, plants and animals.

"Chicago's success with the widespread adoption of green roofs begs the question, what are they doing right?" says Steven W. Peck, founder and president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. "I can tell you that the seeds of Chicago's tremendous crop of new green roofs came from the Mayor's office in the form of political will and vision. Proactive policymaking and green roof and wall incentives from the City's planning department plus excellent educational tools continue to act like fertilizer, accelerating and supporting healthy design for a more livable city."

"I'm proud that Chicago is the national leader in green roofs. We built our first on City Hall in 2000. Since then, more than 400 of them, covering more than 4 million square feet, have been constructed, or are planned, on public and private buildings - including new buildings planned at O'Hare Airport," said Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. "Cities are no longer the enemies of the natural environment; they're leading the way in preserving and protecting it. Our green roof program is just one way we are preserving and protecting our natural resources while saving money, creating jobs and improving the quality of life."

Survey methodology and charts available under Media Resources at www.greenroofs.org. Media passes for green roof conference in Baltimore from April 30 to May 2, 2008 available.

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities - North America, Inc. was founded in 1999 as a small network of public and private organizations and is now a rapidly growing 501(c)(6), not-for-profit industry association for green roof experts in North America. Our mission is to increase the awareness of the economic, social and environmental benefits of green roofs and green walls, and other forms of living architecture through education, advocacy, professionalism and celebrations of excellence.

MEDIA:

Steven Peck, Founder & President, GRHC, [email protected] or (416) 971-4494 ext. 233