Cool Roofs in the Dog Days of Summer

Jesus Jimenez reports on the cool roofs initiative in Dallas, which the city has implemented as a mitigation measure to counter the city's urban heat island effect:

Cool roofs are designed to reflect, rather than absorb, the heat and can even help cool the inside of a building, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. Since 2013, the city requires all new construction in Dallas to have cool roofs as part of the Green Building Ordinance.

The city requires new buildings to install roofing materials that reflect solar heat on at least 75% of the roof's surface, have a vegetated roof that covers at least 50% of the area, or a combination of those two features, according to Jimenez. The requirements of the city's cool roof program are defined by standards used by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The article also features some of the famous buildings around the city that have gone beyond compliance with the city's regulations and sought LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, like the Perot Museum of Nature and Science and the Trinity River Audubon Center. Jimenez also looks to New York City and Los Angeles for examples of city programs that go a step beyond Dallas's cool roofs program.