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.
| Year | Cars | Public Transport | Bikes |
| 1976 | 60 | 22 | 18 |
| 1989 | 48 | 25 | 27 |
| 1999 | 43 | 28 | 29 |
| 2010 | 34 | 33 | 33 |
Climate
Renewables account for 10% of electricity consumed in
the city. Energy consumption is cut through high levels of insulation
and careful siting of homes. Half of the energy is produced locally,
doubling the overall efficiency from 40% to 80%, and enables waste heat
to be reused through Combined Heat and Power.
As one of the
sunniest places in Europe, Freiburg has taken the lead in promoting
solar energy from Photovoltaic panels. The target is to increase the
amount 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.
Topics associated with this project
Community engagement, Eco-town, Energy, Environmental, Housing, International, Neighbourhood, Transport