Vauban, Freiburg
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Vauban is a new neighborhood of 5000 inhabitants and 600 jobs 4 km to the south of the town center in Freiburg, Germany. It was built as "a sustainable model district" on the site of a former French military base.
Construction was begun in the mid-1990s, and by the beginning of 2001, 2000 people had moved in.
Sustainable building
All houses are built to a low energy consumption standard, with 100 units designed to the Passivhaus ultra-low energy building standard.[1] Other buildings are heated by a combined heat and power station burning wood chips, while many of the buildings have Solar collectors or photovoltaic cells. [2]
Transport
Within Vauban, transportation is primarily by foot or bicycle. The development is connected to the Freiburg city center by a tramway, and is laid out linearly along the tracks such that all homes are within easy walking distance of a tram stop. As of 2009 around 70% of the households had chosen to live without a private car. The level of car ownership has fallen over time. An earlier survey showed over 50% of households owned a car; of those who were living carfree, 81% had previously owned one and 57% gave up their cars on or immediately after moving to Vauban.[3].
Both this and an earlier study [4]found that cycling was the main mode of transport for most trips and most activities, including commuting and shopping.
Most of Vauban's residential streets are described as stellplatzfrei - literally "free from parking spaces". Vehicles are allowed down these streets at walking place to pick up and deliver but not to park, although there are some infractions as the system depends essentially on social consensus - there are few official controls. Each year, households are required to sign a declaration stating either that they do not own a car, or that they do, in which case they must buy a space in one of the multi-storey car parks on the periphery, at a cost of 17,500€ (in 2006). The city-wide car club has the greatest concentration of its 2,500 members in Vauban – at least ten of its cars are stationed around the district. [5]
History of the site
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The site was originally developed as a military base in 1936, and was taken over after World War II by the French forces occupying the region. The military left in 1992. Over a period of some years the vacant structures were occupied by various tribes of hippies and anarchists. Following battles with the city government, squatters won the rights to four of the original twenty barracks. At the same time a group which came to be called Forum Vauban was pressing the City Council to develop the site in an eco-friendly way. The remaining 38 hectares were acquired by Freiburg City Council, who delegated the mandatory community consultation to Forum Vauban. This collaboration between the Council and Forum Vauban led to the masterplan with its carfree concept.
Most of the individual plots were sold to Baugruppen (co-housing groups) whose bids were assessed against criteria favouring families with children, older people and Freiburg residents. Some Baugruppen were formed by architects, others by prospective residents planning varying elements of self-build. Some of the other plots were sold to private developers.[5]
Another part of the site was developed for student dormitories for the University of Freiburg. Some former residents of these structures have taken up residence in a diverse assortment of cars, vans, and retired civil service vehicles, forming what has been named Wagenplatz.
More "alternative" projects have, among other things, converted old barracks at a low cost, such as S.U.S.I., a self-governed independent residential initiative that, through an alternative living concept, developed living spaces for students as well as subsidized housing. A self-governing "Community Center Building 037" (Template:Lang-de) has been established in one of the preserved barracks. Some former barracks were occupied in early 2005, as they would have been demolished.
See also
References
- ^ CEPHEUS Final Report on as-built thermal performance
- ^ Delleske, Andreas. Passivhaus Wohnen & Arbeiten
- ^ NOBIS, C., 2003. The impact of car-free housing districts on mobility behaviour – Case study, E. BERIATOS, C.A. BREBBIA, H. COCCOSSIS and A. KUNGOLOS, eds. In: International Conference on Sustainable Planning and Development, 2003 2003, WIT pp701-720.
- ^ [http://www.istp.murdoch.edu.au/ISTP/publications/jscheurer/carfree/carfree.html SCHEURER, J., 2001. Urban Ecology, Innovations in Housing Policy and the Future of Cities: Towards Sustainability in Neighbourhood Communities. PhD edn. Perth: Murdoch University Institute of Sustainable Transport.}
- ^ a b MELIA, S., 2006. On the Road to Sustainability - Transport and Carfree Living in Frieburg. Report for W.H.O. Healthy Cities Collaborating Centre edn. www.stevemelia.co.uk/vauban.htm: University of the West of England.