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Bus Shelter Green Roofs

Green roof retrofits for bus shelters along Bus Route 28 will help reduce extreme heat and stormwater impacts for commuters.

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In August 2024, the City completed the installation of green roofs on thirty bus shelters along the 28 bus route. Green roofs, also called living roofs, are covered with plants on top of a waterproof layer. Adding green roofs to bus shelters along busy and hot streets can help reduce extreme heat, provide direct shade at bus shelters, help reduce flooding from heavy rain, and improve plant pollinator biodiversity. 

The Installation process

bus shelter green roof collage 5

(1) Installing the green roof deck frame onto the bus shelter. (2) Securing the deck frame to the bus shelter. (3) Installing the sedum plant mat on the deck frame. (4) Adding the sedum plants. (5) Close up plants on a bus shelter green roof. (6) A 28 bus driving away from a stop with a newly installed green roof.

bus shelter green roofs locations

Frequently Asked Questions

frequently asked questions

Route 28 is one of three free routes that connect Boston with neighborhoods like Mattapan, Roxbury, and Dorchester, and since fares were eliminated in August 2021, it has been the most popular route in the MBTA system. Over half of riders on free routes, including Route 28, are classified as low-income, a community that is disproportionately affected by climate impacts, including urban heat island effects. Route 28 also intersects with numerous temperature hot spots. Implementing green infrastructure such as bus shelter green roofs along Route 28 can improve climate, transit, and public health outcomes for commuters who rely on it.

Extreme heat risk is an urgent climate and public health related hazard that claims more lives than any other natural weather event in the United States. In the last decade, Boston experienced more high heat days than any other in the past 50 years. Additionally, the growing intensity and frequency of intense storms is a pressing issue that triggers significant impacts on both infrastructure and communities. The city's aging and often undersized drainage systems struggle to handle intense rainfall, leading to inundated streets and property damage.

Bus shelter green roofs provide shade to commuters on hot days; they also serve as drainage systems to prevent flooding. Lastly, they provide a haven for native pollinators, allowing local biodiversity to flourish.

The green roofs will be installed throughout August of 2024 and will stay for three years.

The Office of Climate Resilience is leading the effort in collaboration with the Environment Department, the Office of Property Management, the Office of Green Infrastructure, the Transportation Department, the Mayor’s Office, the MBTA, and JCDecaux, the City’s street furniture contracting partner.

To install and maintain the green roofs, the City partnered with Social Impact Collective, a Boston-based, minority-owned architecture and design firm, Weston Nurseries,  a Massachusetts-based plant nursery, YouthBuild Boston, a local non-profit organization which focuses on providing underserved young people with the support and credentials needed to successfully enter the construction and design industry.

 The City will work with Social Impact Collective to collect and analyze data to help document and understand the benefits of the bus shelter green roofs. This data will include how much stormwater is retained, temperature of green roofs compared to the sidewalk, and plant growth. 

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