roofs, suicide and beyond

Within its recent history, New York University (NYU) has seen an unprecedented number of student suicides. Never before has the phenomenon of contagion been so prevalent among the undergraduate population or as feared by the administration. In contrast to the three reported deaths within the first sixty-six years of the school’s suicide timeline (“Gained 105”, 1930; “N.Y.U. Student”, 1950, Arenson, 2003), the NYU community has experienced nine student suicides since 2003 (Healy, 2003; Arenson, 2003; Tavernise, 2003; Arenson, 2004a; O‘Brien, 2004; Collins, 2004; Baker, 2005; Burke & Grace, 2007; Chung, 2007; Gendar & White, 2007). The method of choice for six out of nine deceased students was death by jumping from buildings.

According to a New York State Office of Mental Health (NYSOMH) report, “a number of suicide clusters, usually involving jumping from heights, has been reported on college campuses” (2005, p. 67), NYU receiving official recognition for clusters alongside Cornell University (NYSOMH, 2005). The report also draws attention to the media’s role in spreading contagion in young people. Adolescents are more likely to be affected by the copy-cat syndrome if the death of a young person is highly publicized. Students already contemplating suicide who are exposed to …

According to the a Natural Resources Defense Council press release, more than 27 billion gallons of raw sewage and polluted storm water discharge out of 460 combined sewer overflows into New York Harbor annually. New York City’s outdated sewer system can overload with as little as one-tenth of an inch of rain, causing combined sewage from buildings with dirty storm water from streets to overflow in the harbor (2008). Sustainable urban infrastructure design can help alleviate our rivers from pollution of this magnitude. A study by Moran et al. (2005) states that green roofing can relieve up to 60% of all rainwater leaving the roof (as cited in Snodgrass & Snodgrass, 2006, p. 21).

In addition to helping clean our waterways and allowing animals to re-inhabit the rivers, green roofs can also promote biodiversity inside our otherwise concrete jungle. With carefully selected plants, green roofs create habitat for the city’s native fauna which go well beyond the expected list of squirrels, rats, and pigeons. For example, New York City is on the migratory route for nearly 90 different species of butterflies (Zirlin & Ingraham, 1997). By planting specifically for their reproductive and dietary needs, we can show a little hospitality to …