Green roofs In an effort to minimize the urban heat Island effect, former Mayor Richard M. Daley put forth a plan twelve years ago to make Chicago a greener city by building gardens on top of buildings. These efforts paid off and won the city an excellence award at the four-day CitiesAlive conference which was recently held here in Chicago; the organization Green Roofs for Healthy Cities recognized the Chicago Botanic Garden for its innovative green roof garden at the Rice Plant Conservation Science Center. Chicago is the U.S. city with the most green rooftops; more than 3.5 million square feet atop buildings have been transformed into gardens.
