Urban Research: Norman Foster promotes the urban sustainability of Duisburg by regeneration masterplan

In 2007 Lord Norman Foster presented the masterplan of Duisburg, which was meant to draw a more sustainable central city. The Duisburgers had the intention of creating a more livable city center with more dwellers. According to the website of the Duisburg city, Norman Foster had put three main targets for the project; 1) promoting sustainable transportation modes like cycling, 2) increasing construction density of the city center, 3) upgrading the public domains and open spaces.

The whole project were conducted in a 2.7 square kilometers in the center of the city, where like most of the German cites there is an old city center (Altstadt). The project area was limited by Rhein and Ruhr rivers in the east and north.

This project has also the characteristics of a regeneration plan. Construction of some retail and office buildings, residential housing, recreational and cultural facilities have been considered. Increasing the population of the city center by 25% has been one of the objectives of the development plan. This is while the area allocated to car traffic was considered to be reduced by 30% and the construction density were supposed to be increased by 10%.

The metropolitan area of Duisburg is one of the main cities of the North Rhein-Westfalia province in Germany. The city has a population of 491931 people (December 2009). The area of the city is 232.82 square kilometers. The city had a background in the Roman period and the Middle Ages. 60000 turkish people live in Duiburg and have large mosque in Duisburg.

Some useful information about Duisburg masterplan and the dowloadable pictures of the plan can be accessed here.

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