The Therapeutic Value of a Green Roof in a Prison Facility
Author(s)
Date Issued
2022
Type
bookPart
Volume
252
Start Page
139
End Page
148
Abstract
Does a green roof built in a penitentiary context play an important role in preserving environmental resources and naturalness, with positive effects on inmates’ health and well-being? In this setting, the study aims at investigating the potential benefits of a “green roof” for the inmates of a Women’s Correctional Institution in Rome, Italy, as well as demonstrating the advantages for the Public Administration: Ministry of Justice - Department of Prison Administration. Though the overall benefits could be different, from easy maintenance to environmental sustainability, from low energy consumption to safety education, from training and employment opportunities for disadvantaged women to the therapeutic impact and general well-being for the inmates, this study focuses on the last two topics. This experimentation is unprecedented and unique in Italy. A questionnaire focusing on the individual relationship with green and the potential effect on the personal well-being was administered to a specific panel of inmates, while a second questionnaire concerning the attitude towards safety and green maintenance was administered only to specially trained convicts. Results show the significant restorative effects of larger green areas in the penitentiary, especially on some specific groups of prisoners, corroborating the hypothesis of a positive cost-benefit analysis relative to the intervention. We conclude by discussing the implications of the present study on prison design in the context of sustainability. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.