Toronto had the most square footage of green roofs installed out of all North American cities in 2016, followed by Chicago, Washington D.C., and Seattle, according to the 13th Annual Green Roof Industry Survey. Montreal, Vancouver and Quebec City were also on the list of top 10 metropolitan regions.

“It’s no small feat that Toronto has been recognized as the leading city for green roof installation in North America,” said Jennifer Keesmaat, chief planner for the City of Toronto. “Our Green Roof Bylaw, in effect since 2010, has resulted in a new roof-scape for Toronto, cooling the city, helping to mitigate water run off, while also adding beauty and biodiversity. A whole new industry has been spawned as a result of this initiative: it’s a win win win!”

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC), the North American green roof and wall industry association who administers the annual survey of its corporate members, also announced that the industry grew by double-digits in 2016.

The North American green roof industry experienced an estimated 10.3 per cent growth in 2016 over 2015. The survey results also point out that there were several new municipalities reporting green roof construction in 2016. Members recorded 889 projects in 40 US states and six Canadian provinces, installing 4,061,024 square feet of green roofing.

“A year of firsts also saw Seattle (this year’s host city for the CitiesAlive: 15th Annual Green Roofs & Wall Conference, September 18-21, 2017) breaking the top five in green roof installation in 2016,” noted GRHC Founder and President Steven Peck.

Information from the survey is used to identify the shape and state of the North American green roof market and provide support for policy outreach efforts in municipalities across the United States and Canada. The survey also provides intelligence on green roof installation hot-spots, and tracks the size, source and variety of green roofs that have been installed.