A Technical Review on Blue and Blue-Green Roofs

Increased development of greenfield areas to tackle housing shortages, combined with increased rainfall due to climate change has created drainage issues within urban areas, this has increased pressure on existing drainage infrastructure and has intensified the need to consider the use of sustainable drainage systems on new and existing grey infrastructures, i.e. buildings, roads, and pavements. Blue and blue-green roofs are widely considered a means of improving sustainability and flood resilience in urban areas for all new construction. This paper reviews such systems from a technological point of view and provides insight into their potential and the challenges of their buildability in the UK construction.