A living roof can lighten your mood

Living roofs have the potential to do a number of wonderful things for the environment—they create habitats for local birds, they control harmful stormwater runoff and, by alleviating the urban heat-island effect (and the intense need for air conditioning), they reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

But, for a moment, putting global warming and carbon dioxide levels aside, we ask: What will putting a garden on your roof do for your mental/emotional state? Well, that might just depend on where you live. If you live in rural New Hampshire, chances are, it won't do much more than make you feel good about youself and your generous contribution to the environment. On the other hand, if you live in Detroit, it might just save you a few visits to your favorite psychologist's couch. According to Linda S. Vasquez, one of the foremost experts on green roofs, rooftop gardens have ecological, economic, aesthetic and psychological advantages.

The rationale is relatively easy to follow: People are generally happier when surrounded by beautiful things. In an urban environment, those same people are commonly deprived of beautiful/natural landscapes. Rooftop gardens can restore beautiful, green scenery to urban settings—and, as the argument goes, that will make city-folk all over the world much more pleasant.

Which begs the question: What other green building techniques are good for the psyche as well as the environment? Well, for starters, the appropriate placement of windows can increase daylight in our indoor environments, which is good for energy efficiency as well as our mental state. Do you have other examples? Please share!

Image Fran Priestly, www.sxc.hu