Remarkable Rieselfeld
Much has been written in recent weeks about Rieselfeld and Vauban, both extensions of Freiburg in Breisgau in south west Germany. These areas have been under construction since the 1990s but the current interest in them from a UK perspective comes from the Government’s plans to build a number of eco-towns (the so-called Brown Towns) combined with a degree of agonising over the form that these towns should take and indeed if the idea has any merit at all.
The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) has been particularly active in drawing attention to the merits of these Freiburg developments in its excellent revamped journal (only available online to members). Articles by Nicholas Falk on the general lessons of the developments (JTCPA Vol 76 no 10 October 2007) and Steve Melia focusing on mobility (JTCPA Vol 76 no 11 November 2007) provide an excellent overview of the developments.
The list of achievements at Rieselfeld is almost endless and mind-boggling from a UK perspective, it would be remarkable to achieve but a few of these. For example:
- the city council controls the process from the outset rather than responding to private developers
- the community is closely engaged in the development process at every level - there is a definite sense of pride and local distinctiveness
- planners allow individual designs within an overall framework of design codes - generally the design of the buildings is simple, contemporary and refreshingly style-free in comparison to the UK preference for pastiche
- there is a rich and diverse landscape with strong links to an adjacent country park - the overall feel of the development is green and open despite a grid layout and 3-5 storey buildings - and there is an integral SUDS which is an attractive central feature of the development (see top image)
- cyclists and pedestrians have priority throughout and there is a direct 7 minute tram link service to the city centre - in addition to this the speed limit is 18 mph (30 km/h) within the development
- there is a predominance of underground car parking throughout or carports with storage above - even housing blocks at the rural edge of the development have basement parking
- there is a wide range of community facilities include kindergarten, children’s centre, sports area, churches, gymnasium, meeting centres, primary and secondary schools, sports clubs and day nursery - the schools are the hub of the community
- there is a district centre with shops and a church shared by Protestants and Catholics
- there is combined heat and power throughout with connection to a district heating system combined with low energy building and considerable use of solar power
click on this image to enlarge | to close, ESC or click on X bottom right
At Rieselfeld, many aspects have combined to create something special. The masterplan and the physical aspects of the development are a major part of this - they are many years ahead of the dumb architect led masterplans so common in the UK. But the crucial elements lie beyond the physical plan. These are:
- a development culture in which the public sector plays a strong central role in contrast to private sector dominance in the UK
- small development parcels commissioned by groups of people who are going to be the occupiers rather than by developers who have no long term interest in the scheme
- the local authority controls the process of site release preferring to release small sites to groups rather than large sites to developers
- a considerable mix of tenures, house types and sizes throughout the development and these are indistinguishable from each other
- a different system for funding infrastructure such as transport facilities, energy and waste systems
Rieselfeld is not the only example of excellence in the development of eco-communities and sustainable extensions - Hammarby Sjöstad, a suburb of Stockholm is currently considered one of the world’s most sustainable communities as reported by the Guardian on 5 December 2007. There is a CABE case study of the development here. It is to be expected that many more of these developments will take place in Europe over the next few years. The UK has much catching up to do.
Useful links:
Freiburg Rieselfeld Photoset
Solar City Freiburg
Lessons from Freiburg - URBED
Solar Cities: European Habitats of Tomorrow
Rieselfeld Website
Dec 28th 2007
You have a great site here and this is a very interesting post. It would be so great if you could write something about my work at Auchterness - maybe you could drop in if you are in the area. Best wishes for 2008 - Dave T
Dec 29th 2007
really interesting post. thank u.
Dec 29th 2007
thanks David - it’s a fascinating place and well worth a visit. - I’m going to have a look through your substantial site - looks hugely varied and interesting - best wishes - w
Dec 31st 2007
I’m not sure whether to be happy that properly planned development can happen in 21st century Europe… or to be depressed that we’re so far off the mark in the UK.
On balance, I think I’m depressed, as the the holy grail of properly planned development seems to get ever further away the more we create new agencies, strategies and legislation. But at least those of us who are committed and vaguely competent can keep on beavering away to do our individual bit as well as we can…
Mar 3rd 2008
Thanks for the interesting post. It’s good to see some information about alternatives to purely developer-led schemes reaching the shores of the UK. Having studied spatial planning in Germany and currently working in UK planning academia as a researcher, I got curious about the projects in Freiburg as well and visited them some days ago. Some brief comments:
You write that the city council in Freiburg controls the process of development from the outset rather than responding to private developers. Yet it should be mentioned that this approach is not something new and innovative for the Freiburg case. It has been common practice in German town planning since the early days of modern planning in the late 19th and early 20th century. The planners develop the legally binding land-use plans (Bauleitplanung), plus the urban design and engineering concepts. Local authorities buy land which is then sub-divided to be sold to individuals to be developed. This comprehensive form of planning is a contrast to the discretionary and mostly reactive British planning system waiting for developers to take the initiative. Although the German planning system now also allows developer-led schemes, the comprehensive plan led-system is still the most common practice. What is new in the Freiburg approach (and similar schemes in Kronsberg/Hanover, the IBAs in Berlin/Emscherpark) is the early involvement of the future residents in the planning of the schemes. To apply such an approach in the UK, would probably require a change in the planning system, but also a change in the way planners are trained and practice their job.
One thing that I missed in the Rieselfeld scheme in Freiburg was the “multi-generational” aspect. This is very much a project for families with young children. There is nothing wrong with that. Yet it it does not seem to take into account that this will change over time as children grow older and move on. One might wonder what happens to the extensive children infrastructure in these settlements. Also it does not consider more recent debates about ageing population and older people seeking for more urban forms of residence, ideally in combination with younger households with children. Such multi-generational projects are now quite popular in German planning debates, mostly realised by some form of small-scale co-operative.
The schemes in Freiburg - and similar schemes in other German cities that I have visited - work well in certain socio-economic contexts, a large share of academic households with a green/social attitude and the willingness to get involved in such schemes with a lot of enthusiasm at an early stage of the planning process. I’m not sure if such a scheme would work in the likes of classical middle-class peri-urban commuter belts of Frankfurt, Muenchen, Stuttgart - or in indeed London/Birmingham/Manchester. And it is in the latter peri-urban areas where the so-called eco-towns might be developed. The willingness to say “no” to owning a gaz-guzzling SUV and the patience required to to real community participation and planning for such a project might be limited in such “social millieus”. And it is in these environments where most of the new settlement development takes place, not in the few positive examples of eco-settlements. Not surprisingly this leads to a rate of urbanisation (settlements and transport infrastructure on greenfield land) of about 129 ha per day in Germany. Also the provision of good public transport might be difficult to achieve in many areas. Freiburg already has a dense and well integrated public transport system and a it is certainly a key to the popularity of the area, and for a lot of households to say no to their own car.
Mar 3rd 2008
Thanks for a great comment Andreas. I think this is worth following up with other posts covering some of the areas you mention in more detail - I will try to get round to doing that.
The whole area of ‘how we should build today’ is a continuing source of puzzlement in the UK. Over-respect for the development industry, hangups about style and a conspicuous lack of investment in infrastructure (to name but three) plague the whole planning system. The most worrying thing is the genuine lack of idea, ideal and thought.
I was reminded by the introduction to Blueprint Magazine for April 2008 that Peter Greenaway described Britain as “the home of mediocrity”. I think he may have a point.