Towards a green sustainable strategy for Mediterranean cities: Assessing the benefits of large-scale green roofs implementation in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece, using environmental modelling, GIS and very high spatial resolution remote sensing data

The green roof potential in Thessaloniki approximated 17% of the gross built areas of the city, which means that there is a strong potential for green roof retrofit. Depending on the vegetation type installed in an extensive green roof, C stocks in Thessaloniki can increase by 2.5 times, while the dynamic energy simulations suggested that in certain city blocks reduced heating and cooling consumptions up to 5% and 16% respectively could be achieved. In regard to rainwater retention, implementation of green roofs in Thessaloniki is estimated to contribute in rainwater retention by almost 45%, allowing more than half of the rainwater precipitation to be reserved at the 50% of the city blocks.