RESILIO is an Amsterdam-based climate adaptation project that turned unused rooftop space into smart blue-green roofs. The project was developed in response to a familiar urban problem: heavier rainfall, longer dry periods and rising heat stress in a dense city where space for new greenery is limited. Rather than looking for land at street level, the consortium used rooftops on housing blocks and other buildings in four Amsterdam neighbourhoods, including Oosterparkbuurt, Kattenburg, Indische Buurt and Slotermeer, as well as the Tropenmuseum depot.
The project ran from 2018 to 2022 and was led by the municipality of Amsterdam together with a broad partnership of public, academic and housing actors. Partners included Waternet, MetroPolder Company, Rooftop Revolution, the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and housing associations Stadgenoot, de Alliantie and De Key. RESILIO was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the EU’s Urban Innovative Actions programme.
Methodologically, the project combined blue-green roof construction with digital control. The roofs store rainwater in a layered system beneath vegetation, and smart sensors and valves release water according to weather forecasts and roof capacity. This makes it possible to retain water before heavy showers, reduce pressure on the sewer system, and use stored water to cool the roofs and support plant growth during dry periods.
By the end of the project, RESILIO had created 12,683 square metres of blue-green roofs. According to the project, these roofs can store more than 650,000 litres of water and have helped test a model that links roof-based water management with urban resilience and biodiversity.