This volume introduces green roofs or living roofs, a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. Green roofs can serve several purposes for a building, such as absorbing rainwater, providing insulation, creating a habitat for wildlife, and helping to lower urban air temperatures and mitigate the heat island effect. The editors have included profiles of a wide range of green roofs in New York City, including a rooftop farm in Queens, a high school classroom in the Bronx, and Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Visitor Center. They have also provided a history of how the "green roof technique" evolved and information on construction methods, on selecting, establishing, and caring for the plant species that are best suited for living roofs.

Greening the fifth façade /Beth Hanson -- Green roofs past, present, and future / Linda S. Velazquez -- Benefits of green roofs / Beth Hanson -- Green roof and living wall trends / Linda S. Valazquez with Haven Kiers -- A green roof glossary / Tracey Faireland -- Transforming the Big Apple / Beth Hanson -- Cook + Fox Architects -- Brooklyn Heights Carriage House -- Con Edison Training Center -- Brooklyn Grange -- Lincoln Center's illumination lawn -- Bronx Design and Construction Academy -- West Village Loft -- The Brook -- Five Borough Administration Building -- The Solaire -- USPS Morgan Distribution Center -- Regis High School -- Brooklyn Botanic Garden Visitor Center -- The nuts and bolts of construction / Yessica Mariñez -- Green roof horticulture / Edmund C. Snodgrass -- Going native? / Edward Toth and Matthew I. Palmer -- Rooftop container gardening / Meredith Ford -- Bringing a green roof to your school / Elizabeth Peters.