Overview

Freiburg, a historic town in South-Western Germany, has been leading environmental policy and practice for over two decades in Europe, and its two urban extensions Vauban and Rieselfeld have generated great interest.

Vauban, a former barracks, is virtually complete with 5,000 residents. Rieselfeld, on the site of a sewage works, currently has 8,000 of a planned 10-12,000 residents. Both have low rates of turnover, and property values that match those in the centre. Both show how to cut energy consumption and car use, and create active communities.

Freiburg's eco-town development came about through a combination of necessity and innovative thinking:

• Land for development is scarce. It is one of the few cities in Germany with a growing population, and has to build 850-1,200 homes a year to keep pace.

• Freiburg was rebuilt almost completely after the Second World War, on the principles of good urban design and landscaping, with a large traffic free centre and a 3,000 km network of light rail, buses and urban railways.

• The city government has been controlled by the Green Party for several decades, and has a history of environmental innovation dating from the mid-70s.

» Background

Background

Environmental innovation in Freiburg

Freiburg has a long record of environmental innovation. The Solar Institute, set up in 1981, now employs 500 people. In 1992 the municipality agreed that all development on municipal land should be low energy, and new residential buildings are now required to consume a third less than that required by German law. The climate and energy strategy in 2007 reinforced the commitment to avoid nuclear power by first saving energy, then securing energy efficiency in generation, and finally developing renewable sources of energy. Freiburg's leadership role is helped by a cluster of environmental practitioners (over 700 are employed in solar related activities). An Environmental Protection Authority within the municipality employs 60 staff working on nature, water, waste management and energy.

The eco-town concept started with the municipality's decision to expand Freiburg through two new urban extensions. Planning of Rieselfeld started in 1992 and Vauban followed in 1994. While both schemes have different histories, there are some common management themes.

Delivering the concept

The vision for both settlements was to produce low energy developments.Rieselfeld's focus was to create better neighbourhoods for families.Vauban's vision was to minimise the use of non-renewable energy sources. Both sought to include small shops and community facilities.

Participation

In both cases community engagement throughout the process has been critical. The people who were going to live in the two communities have been closely involved through the extensive use of cooperatives, which not only commission blocks of houses, but also help design and manage the communal spaces.

Strategy

Both schemes share key general principles:

• Primacy is given to pedestrians and cyclists, with car speeds kept below 15 mph and parking away from the centres, or underground.

• Housing is at relatively high densities, with most people living in maisonettes or town houses, enabling high quality public transport systems and walkable neighbourhoods.

Residents sitting outside the Rieselfeld Neighbourhood Centre (Source URBED)

• Housing is designed to minimise energy consumption.

• A high proportion is given over to nature. In Rieselfeld only 70 haout of a total of 320 ha is used for housing, and the rest is anature reserve.

• The shops are kept small and can be used for a multiplicity of purposes (for example providing community facilities).

» The Impact

Overview «

The Impact

Freiburg's achievements

The City has sought to apply environmental thinking to everything it does. The initial commitment in 1994 was to build only low energy buildings on municipally owned land, but the general standard is now a third less energy consumption than is required by current German law. The practices have been organised around four themes which tie up with the goals of Eco-towns, and which for short have been labelled connectivity, climate, community and character.

Freiburg housing with solar panels on the roofs

Connectivity

The people of Freiburg have developed increasingly progressive attitudes to public transport, as illustrated in the table below which includes targets to 2010.

Public Transport Chart

Climate

Renewables account for 10% of electricity consumed inthe city. Energy consumption is cut through high levels of insulationand careful siting of homes. Half of the energy is produced locally,doubling the overall efficiency from 40% to 80%, and enables waste heatto be reused through Combined Heat and Power.

As one of thesunniest places in Europe, Freiburg has taken the lead in promotingsolar energy from Photovoltaic panels. The target is to increase theamount of renewable energy from solar power from 10% to 40%.

Through returnable packaging and recycling, waste has been reduced by a factor of six over 17 years.

Small renewable energy producers are incentivised through funds obtained from taxing traditional energy suppliers.

Community

The communities were engaged from the start in the design and management of public spaces. 25% of the housing in Rieselfeld is social housing, (originally intended to be half) but it is indistinguishable from other housing. The new settlements are very popular, and have a very low turnover. Only 22 of the 2,000 homes in Vauban have been resold so far.

Mixed housing and communal gardens in Freiburg

Schools function as community hubs and are not cut off by walls and fences as in Britain.

Character

Both developments share a predominantly green landscape with communal public areas where children play safely. None of the buildings are more than 12.5 metres high to keep them lower than the trees and assist air circulation. Extensive use is made of balconies (to give everyone private outdoor space) and colour.

» Good Practice

Background «

Good Practice

What can be learned from this project?

Freiburg's success is due to a combination of skills and innovative thinking:

• The local authority taking the initiative, with a strong Mayor backed up by a visionary chief planner

• Master planning and urban design: commissioning appropriate master plans and design codes to achieve excellence in urban design, but allowing flexibility to enhance character

Rieselfeld library (Source URBED)

• Prioritising community engagement and support for initial residents, particularly those that are vulnerable, e.g. single parents

• Skills in conflict resolution, focusing more on collaboration than competition between planners, architects, engineers and designers

• Branding eco-neighbourhoods as energy- and waste-saving

• Matching transport infrastructure to the growth of the community, and installing a high quality system early on

• Making full use of natural features, landscapes and existing buildings

• Providing a child-friendly environment with family homes, play spaces, and schools within walking or cycling distance

• Using schools as the catalyst for community development where practical

• Attracting residents of all ages to create a balanced community

» Reference

The Impact «

Reference

External links

The Solar Village
Solar Fabrik
Solar Region Freiburg
Forum Vauban
Vauban District
Freiburg Futour
Germany Tourism

Good Practice «