Freiburg, a fresh start.

Freiburg im Breisgau is a really nice small city in southern Germany on the edge of the Black Forest.  We only had a couple of days there but we were able to see and do most of the things we wanted to.  Freiburg is a very old medieval city that was leveled by air raids during WWII.  Only a few landmarks like its beautiful Münster Cathedral were left after the bombing.  After the war, they had to rebuild the city as they were occupied by the French. 

The city’s name, which literally translates to “free town,” comes from its history as a free market town.  However, the name still applies today with Freiburg’s tradition of being open-minded and forward-thinking.  Freiburg has also been a university town since the Middle Ages and is still driven by its academic and student population.  The university has shaped the city with its 30,000 students and is the city’s largest employer.  This creates a very vibrant city culture where the majority of the city’s inhabitants has a high education and wants to be involved. 

The center of the old town with integrated, but car-free traffic.

There is a common awareness of being ecological among the residents of Freiburg.  It is omnipresent throughout the city.  Freiburg’s focus on environmental awareness began by developing the tram system to keep cars out of the old city.  And then, in the 1970’s, Stuttgart’s government wanted to build a nuclear power plant nearby to Freiburg.  Like the Danes, the people of Freiburg were wary of this direction because of the tragedy of Chernobyl.  With its large student population, Freiburg began a strong anti-nuclear movement.  The public became more involved in the local government and more aware of how the city acquires and uses energy.  The citizens helped drive further development of the well-used tram system and bicycle paths that run throughout the city and the focus on walking and cycling as normal practices.  Since it is a very small town, this is usually easier anyway.  Sorting household waste and recycling are just part of daily life in Freiburg as well. 

Gauges around the city that show the city's current air quality levels and CO2 levels.

In the 1980’s when they established a rational energy planning strategy.  In 1996, they set their first environmental goals of reducing CO2 by 25% by 2010, increasing use of renewable energy sources like solar power, and setting energy conservation measures for new and existing buildings.  Freiburg is also home to Germany’s largest solar panel manufacturer.  Actively collecting solar energy is also a something normal and expected in the city.  Organizations and normal citizens pool together to buy PV installations. 


ECO-LIVING
Rieselfeld was built in the 1980’s as an experiment.  The basic principles used to plan Rieselfeld were first linking the area to the city with a tram line so that cars would not be essential, medium density housing with height limits, green space and parks allotted ever few housing blocks, ecological building, plan and build at a smaller scale to promote a sense of community.

 Pippi Longstocking: "We make the world the way we want it."

A typical street in Vauban.

Vauban is another neighborhood was once a French Army base located just outside Freiburg.  When the base closed, a group of citizens (mainly academics from the university) decided they wanted to create a place where eco-living was the guiding principle.  Vauban was not developed, designed with the direct involvement of the citizens. Vauban became a community effort and showed how citizens want to be involved.  Vauban approaches sustainability holistically. 

 Solar Garage

Most notably, they are trying to promote car-free living.  With the very accessible tram and cycling infrastructure, owning a car is not as necessary anymore.  Many parents have bicycle trailers for their kids, pets, and groceries.  Also, there is very little parking within the districts. People who need to park their car must pay for a very expensive spot in the Solar Garage on the edge of Vauban.  They also feature low-energy housing, and few passive and energy-plus housing.  Solar-collecting PV cells is the norm on almost every building.  Even their local groceries stores are mainly “Bio,” organic, foods.

Freiburg is set of making itself the world’s greenest city.  Focusing on public awareness, they have been able to push through many initiatives that other cities can’t even imagine being real and have done a lot that other cities can learn from.