Green Roofs

A new movement in improving the environment is the concept of green roofs.

Rooftop gardens lower temperatures and filter the air that passes over them which helps to reduce air pollution. Green roofs last twice as long as conventional roofs and may be used to grow useful vegetables, herbs, and flowers.

According to the Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, "Green roof technologies not only provide the owners of buildings with a proven return on investment, but also represent opportunities for significant social, economic and environmental benefits, particularly in cities."

Find out more about green roof technologies at their website:

www.greenroofs.net

Sounds radical? According to the Winter 2006 issue of Herb Quarterly, in Chicago even Target, Walmart, and McDonald's have green roofs.

Report on Housing

The Metropolitan Housing Coalition produces a yearly report on the state of housing in the Louisville metropolitan area which includes New Albany.

The report looks at 9 measures of housing conditions:

1. Concentration of subsidized housing
2. Housing segragation by race, income, and gender
3. Renters with excessive cost burdens
4. Production and rehablitation of affordable rental housing
5. Homeownership rate
6. Affordability of homeownership
7. Foreclosures
8. Numbers of homeless
9. Use of CDBG funds

The State of Metropolitan Housing Report is available online at the MHC website

www.metroplitanhousing.org