Contributions of Vertical Greening to Micro-Climate Control: Exploratory Case Study in a Residential Environment

Growing plants on buildings, known as vertical greening or green walls, supports the (re)integration of greening into the urban fabric and promoting adaptation to heat stress. This exploratory study reports the rapid evaluation of a vertical greening prototype installed on a residential building in Akure, Nigeria. Field measurements were made on a building with the green wall installed and on a typical building (control) without the green wall. This aimed to establish micro-climate contributions (temperature moderation) of the vertical garden. Up to 2.88 °C maximum temperature and 0.7 °C minimum temperature reduction were recorded during a 45-day field measurement campaign between September and October 2021. It can be concluded that the vertical offers temperature moderation. Future studies are needed to fully establish the scale of thermal control and other ecosystem services through vertical greening. Furthermore, policy initiatives should seek to promote vertical greening as part of green infrastructure in the densifying urban fabric within African cities.