GIS-based prioritization of urban green roofs to enhance biodiversity in Amman, Jordan

Green roofs (GR) can support biodiversity and improve microclimatic conditions, yet city-scale GR planning in semi-arid and economically poorer regions remains limited. We developed a GIS-based multi-criteria approach to identify priority zones for GR implementation in Amman, Jordan, considering ecological, climatic, and socio-economic factors such as proximity to existing greenery, favourable climate (higher precipitation, lower temperatures), and affordability. We compared a context-specific semi-arid approach with a conventional temperate-region approach, as well as four scenarios with different relative weights of each criterion. Our results showed that semi-arid priority zones were concentrated in cooler, wetter areas suitable for GR establishment, while temperate-prioritized zones overlapped with hotter, drier locations where GR feasibility may be limited but the need for GR may be higher. We also found low-regret areas that emerged as high-priority zones irrespective of the ecological and economic weightings. Our findings highlight the importance of context-specific GR planning and provide a practical GIS-based decision-support tool that could be beneficial for urban biodiversity enhancement in arid cities of the Global South. This GIS-based framework, which stresses the feasibility of GR implementation, can guide policymakers and urban planners in prioritizing areas for GR implementation that may maximize biodiversity and climate adaptation benefits in water-scarce cities.