Amsterdam streets get Roof Ranger

For convenience, already drawn a picnic table in the plans. And the roof of the garage in the courtyard behind the main road bears sure enough three trees. It will not come presumably, but anything better than this endless strip of asphalt where resident Mara Workman looking at now. "Hundreds of households going for a hundred times better view."

It rests since yesterday a new crowdfunding platform. Workman has then taken the initiative to create a garden on rooftops in the courtyard behind her apartment. With the crowdfunding website Rooftoprevolution.nl they can easily look for allies in the area.

saving
Together, they lay for example raise money to persuade the owner of the roof. Planting of the roof can also be advantageous for the owner. The roof goes up to two times longer and gives a saving on heating bills.

But the yield is above all for the local community: a better view, the greenery captures fine dust off, prevents flooding after heavy rain dampens sound. Furthermore, it reduces CO2 emissions and more biodiversity in the city.

Benefit
For the owner, it remains an investment. "There has, of course, a kind of benefit attached to, whether financially or through the goodwill he gets close," Workman said.

Either way, the owner of the roof on which it faces, is not yet accepted. But even before that Workman is getting help through the website. Which not only does to crowdfunding, but also to crowdsourcing. An expert volunteer to assess their timbers, called to report.

View
"We want to make it tangible," says Suze Gehem behalf Rooftoprevolution.nl. "How do you measure the benefit of a nicer view, or what it does for the cohesion in the neighborhood?" At the same time, the web site allows at a glance the costs transparent, depending on the question of whether the roof whole trees have to wear, or only with sedum is coated. In addition, the grant will be counted immediately giving the city of Amsterdam for green roofs.

With such an accessible platform can go fast, they think of Canals Green and Healthy City, the organization behind the website. Amsterdam is more than two thousand football fields on flat roofs fallow. The last decades, many courtyards fallen prey to develop, garden sheds and storage. These roofs they hope to bring back en masse as the new nature. Hence people recovering a courtyard in honor given the honorary title dakboswachter. Gehem: "We believe that every nature needs a forester."

So working people of Pretorius Street East on a green roof for the supermarket in their courtyard. But the Schinkelhavenkade, Admiralengracht the Leidsekruisstraat and Westzaanstraat residents have signed on Rooftoprevolution.nl.

http://www.telegraaf.nl/  By: Bart van Zoelen Pen Photo: Rooftop Revolution