1 From the top of the Atago Building in Tokyo, Japan, all that you can see around you
are other buildings. Tokyo is one of the world's biggest cities. With around 13 million
people, it has an area of more than 2,000 square kilometres. Most of this area is concrete
buildings and streets. That's a lot of concrete.
2 All this concrete isn't very nice to look at. But it also makes the city hotter. The concrete
in the buildings and streets absorbs a lot of heat from the sun. Scientists say that cities
can be 5 degrees (C) hotter than the countryside around them. As Tokyo has grown over
the past 100 years, it has become hotter and hotter. -
30 But on the roof of the Atago Building there is something that may change all this. It's a
garden, with flowers, grass and small trees. It's an unusual place for a garden, but more
and more buildings in Tokyo are going to have them.
4 In 2001 the Tokyo city government said that all new buildings must have a garden on
their roof. Plants don't absorb so much heat from the sun. The government hopes roof
gardens will make the city a cooler place. Plants also help to fight air pollution.
5 ’The garden’s also a nice place to sit,’ says Yoko Mori, who works in the Atago Building.
‘I often come up here to eat my lunch. Japan's beautiful gardens have always been
famous. And now roof gardens are helping to make the environment better.’