Tuesday, March 6, 2012

A planned carfree neighborhood: Rieselfeld in Freiburg, Germany

by WMUD

...
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
Read more
Rieselfeld, Freiburg, via Google

more about Germany:

Berlin Wall street art (1)

Literature on Job Mobility in Germany State-of-the-Art of Mobility Research

FIVE PLANNING PRINCIPLES FOR SUCCESSFUL URBAN DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT - RECENT EXAMPLES FROM GERMANY

Dortmund Light Rail Developments, Germany

Lessons from Freiburg on Creating a Sustainable Urban Community

Brief History of Berlin

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