Frankfurt wants to build a new city district on 550 ha

Published 16. June 2017

The city of Frankfurt is initiating the largest urban development project of recent decades: In the northwest, 550 hectares of current agricultural land between the Frankfurt districts of Niederursel and Praunheim and the neighboring towns of Steinbach and Oberursel are to be turned into a neighborhood with up to 11,400 apartments.

It will be interesting to see whether sustainability criteria will play a role in the new district. Frankfurt is well positioned in the energy sector, but in the other areas I see a need to catch up compared to other municipalities.

Further information on the construction site:
www.immobilien-zeitung.de/1000043938/frankfurt-will-neuen-stadtteil-auf-550-ha-bauen

Keywords: News Blog Hesse, Quarters, Settlements, XXL settlements

Published 16 July 2019

Foresters declare climate emergency for forest

Foresters, forest owners and nature lovers are very concerned about what has been happening in our forests since the beginning of 2018: Initially snow breakage and winter storms and the subsequent drought and bark beetle infestation have led to dramatic tree dieback. And there is no end in sight! The forest has been under extreme climate stress for almost two years and foresters are in permanent disaster mode. Well over 100 million old trees have already died. In addition, several million young plants have dried up. These have been planted in recent years to make the forest even more diverse and stable. But natural regeneration is also affected. The Association of German Foresters is calling for all efforts at federal and state level to be stepped up and pooled immediately. The BDF proposes the "Carlowitz Plan" as a strategic package of measures. Its measures are intended to preserve the forest in all its functions and as an important system-relevant basis of life and heritage for us humans!

In addition to the spruce tree species, which has so far mainly suffered from the drought, the beech, the most important deciduous tree species and "mother of the forest" in our forests, is now apparently also showing clear and region-wide signs of dying out. "This is particularly dramatic! In recent decades, we foresters have mainly relied on copper beech, our natural main tree species, for the necessary forest reorganisation towards climate-stable forests," says BDF Federal Chairman Ulrich Dohle. In addition, two important tree species have already been virtually lost in many forests due to fungal diseases of elm and ash. A similar trend is emerging for the maple tree species. With corresponding negative consequences for biodiversity and forestry options for the future.

"While we foresters have been busy for almost two years repairing the damage that has occurred so far - and there is no end in sight - the important future task of developing the forests in a climate-stable way is often falling by the wayside. There are simply too few of us to keep on top of the situation," says Dohle, drawing attention to the massive reduction in forestry staff over the past twenty years, during which around 50% of forestry employees have been cut.

A few days ago, Federal Forest Minister Julia Klöckner took up the results of the ETH Zurich study and announced a massive reforestation programme. The BDF is calling for this announcement to be translated into concrete government action in the near future. To this end, the necessary financial and human resources must be made available.

"The common good and services of general interest, especially in public forests, must once again take centre stage," says Dohle, specifying the demands. "The strong commercial orientation of the past two decades was a political mistake that must now be corrected as quickly as possible!" Bavaria has already initiated this paradigm shift for its state forest. Other federal states must now follow suit!

Forests are not only victims of climate change, they are also urgently needed to mitigate climate change. As a living reservoir of solar energy, it is a significant CO2 sink.

The handling of the forest dieback in the 1980s showed that responsible and targeted environmental policy can help to avert predicted damage. Although the causes and effects in the current climate debate are much more complex, we can certainly learn from the past.

The Association of German Foresters is therefore calling for the convening of a National Forest Summit at this time of climate emergency for the forest! The BDF is currently developing the "Carlowitz Plan" as the basis for a social discourse on the forest by politicians, experts and groups interested in the forest. The plan bears the name of Hans Carl von Carlowitz (1713), who first coined the term sustainability in forestry. Since then, sustainability has been the defining characteristic of all forestry activities!

Ulrich Dohle summarises it as follows: "These are no longer individual unusual weather events. This is climate change. I have therefore declared a climate emergency for forests today. Every effort must be made to preserve our forests as the formative green third of our country and a systemically relevant basis of life! This is the only way we can fulfil the principle of sustainability!"

Source: Press release from the BDF - Association of German Foresters dated 15 July 2019

Keywords:
Stakeholders, DE-News, Wood construction, NaWaRohs, Environmental policy, Ecology

Published 19 December 2020

A4F Webinar "Building Evaluation with the Resource Score" (11/2020)

1 h 03 min., published: 18.11.2020

Klaus Dosch (Faktor X Agentur + ResScore GmbH) presents the Resource-Score, a pragmatic and generally understandable label for resource- and climate-friendly building.

Construction projects or more information on the subject:
www.faktor-x.siedlungen.eu

Keywords:
Building materials / Construction, DE-News, Renewable, Faktor X / ResScore, Movies, Movies > 45 Min, Wood construction, Climate protection, NaWaRohs, Recycling, Resource efficiency, Tools, Life cycle assessment

Published 11 November 2020

TRASIQ 2: Transformative strategies for integrated neighbourhood development

Ecological living in existing quarters

Since April 2020, the Öko-Institut has been conducting research into how urban neighbourhoods can be sustainably transformed, using two neighbourhoods in the swarming city of Darmstadt as examples, in the project Transformative Strategies for Integrated Neighbourhood Development (TRASIQ 2). The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the project, which is led by the Öko-Institut and involves the City of Darmstadt, the Institute for Regional and Urban Development Research (ILS) and the "Team Ewen" agency.

Mobility, heat and living space

The project focuses on the research topics of mobility, heat supply and efficient use of living space. Heat supply is an important key to climate-friendly living. How and where, for example, can district heating be expanded in existing properties? How can we increase the share of renewable energies in the heat supply? The size of the living space also contributes to how environmentally friendly a person lives. What needs to be done to ensure that people have the living space they need in their particular phase of life through intelligent apartment swaps? How can neighbourhoods be redesigned so that residents can organise their mobility ecologically?

In September 2020, the project partners with stakeholders from the Urban Planning Office, the Office of Economic and Urban Development and the Mobility Office of the City of Darmstadt, the Urban and Transport Planning Department, HEAG mobilo, Bauverein AG, GHW Wohnungsgesellschaft Hessen, the Tenants' Association and the Office of the Ombudsman, developed and exchanged initial ideas for the two neighbourhoods as part of TRASIQ 2 at a workshop.

Participation in the development of the neighbourhood

Citizens are involved at an early stage. The instrument of the planning forums makes it possible to select citizens with different perspectives and interests - from the residents, from the city as a whole and from those wishing to move in.

Orientation for urban planners, architects

The aim of the project is to transfer the results from the TRASIQ 1 project, which focused on a future quarter on a conversion site, to the transformation of two existing quarters. "The challenge here is that the successful implementation of transformation processes in existing neighbourhoods is more difficult than in new-build neighbourhoods. In existing neighbourhoods, the starting point is the urban planning conditions and the local people," says project leader Dr. Matthias Buchert from the Öko-Institut.

The existing neighbourhoods are Darmstadt's Martinsviertel and Kranichstein-Süd. That the measures and models that TRASIQ 2 will produce can be transferred to other neighborhoods and other cities is an overarching goal. "Darmstadt is a sought-after place to live and work. The pressure on the housing market is high. The sustainable design and further development of existing neighbourhoods is therefore an important and often underestimated component of a smart and balanced strategy for the Darmstadt of tomorrow," says the Lord Mayor of the City of Science Darmstadt, Jochen Partsch.

"Roadmaps of realization"

Roadmaps" are to be created in the process. The idea is based on the existing renovation roadmaps for residential buildings. In these, building owners are shown the steps of an energetic refurbishment up to a climate-neutral building. "This idea is being developed further here. On the one hand, it will be transferred to neighbourhoods, and on the other hand, other sustainability aspects beyond the energy perspective, such as land use, mobility, resource use and greenhouse gases, can be addressed," says Sebastian Eichhorn from the Institute for Regional and Urban Development Research.

Online tool on the Darmstadt model

The new neighbourhood from TRASIQ 1, from whose planning an online assessment tool has emerged, is the Ludwigshöhviertel in Darmstadt. The online tool can serve as an additional source of information for the municipal administration - in this case, specifically Darmstadt - interested citizens, investors and decision-makers. "In the planning forums, these target groups were included in the evaluation and solution of possible conflicts of objectives of sustainable neighbourhood development," says Dr. Christoph Ewen, who accompanied the project for Team Ewen and is involved in TRASIQ 2 accordingly.

TRASIQ 1

The starting point for TRASIQ 1 was that specialist administrations, future investors, but also suppliers, service providers and future residents each have their own ideas and goals for a neighbourhood. Often, plans are drawn up without coordinating with each other and without knowing the effects on sustainability. Building a sustainable neighbourhood, on the other hand, requires such a joint overview and assessment.

Further information on the TRASIQ 1 and TRASIQ 2 website

Study "Sustainable neighbourhood development in urban growth regions: Building Blocks and Instruments" by the Öko-Institut (TRASIQ 1)

Source: PM of Öko-Institut e.V. from 9.10.2020

Keywords:
Stock, DE-News, Renewable, Climate protection, Mobility, New books and studies, News Blog Hesse, Quarters, Recycling, Resource efficiency, Tools

Published 8 July 2022

DIW "Traffic Light Monitor": Energy transition must be accelerated considerably

Researchers at DIW Berlin have developed the "Ampel-Monitor Energiewende" - monitor the extent to which the government's energy policy agenda is being implemented - immense efforts are needed to close the gap between the announced targets and the current status quo

If the German government wants to achieve its energy policy goals, it must step up the pace. There are particularly large gaps between the current development and the targets for green hydrogen, electromobility and renewable heat, as the "Ampel-Monitor Energiewende" of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) shows. DIW researchers developed the monitor to track the progress of the energy transition towards climate neutrality using 15 indicators. The monitor, which is based on open data, accompanies progress on the government's goals with a focus on the period up to 2030. Selected results are now available on the DIW Berlin website (https://www.diw.de/ampel-monitor) are provided in the form of interactive graphics and short analyses and are updated regularly. All indicators and the underlying data can also be found open source on the Open Energy Tracker platform (https://openenergytracker.org).

"Our traffic light monitor makes it clear: the current pace of the energy transition is far too slow to achieve the 2030 targets," says DIW energy economist Wolf-Peter Schill, co-initiator of the monitor, which is presented in a study today. "If the government does not want to fall behind its target path, it must implement concrete and far-reaching steps promptly."

The pace of photovoltaic expansion must be tripled

The monitor shows: If the government wants to achieve its photovoltaic targets by 2030, it will have to triple the pace of expansion compared to the trend of the past twelve months, and even quadruple it for onshore wind power. At the current rate, the targets would clearly be missed. This would also make it impossible to achieve the coalition's goal of increasing the share of renewable energies in electricity consumption from the current 42 percent to 80 percent in 2030.

There is also a large gap in renewable heat, for which a share of renewable energies of 50 percent is envisaged in 2030. For this to happen, the share must grow by almost four percentage points per year - although it has not even increased by three percentage points since 2012.

"The Federal Government's to-do list is still long. The energy policy goals that have been set are not self-fulfilling; development must gain momentum in all areas." Alexander Roth

E-car fleet still growing very slowly - charging infrastructure inadequate

If the coalition's goal of increasing the e-car fleet to 15 million vehicles by 2030 is to be achieved, an average of around 130,000 vehicles must be registered in Germany every month. In addition to the existing purchase premiums, the EU ban on combustion engines, which is currently being voted on, could certainly contribute to more electromobility," explains study author Adeline Guéret.

According to the Monitor's data, the charging infrastructure must increase even more if the target is not to be missed. Instead of the current 1200 charging points per month, 8,700 would have to go into operation - around seven times as many.

From practically zero to ten gigawatts in green hydrogen

Most needs to happen with green hydrogen, as the traffic light monitor shows: The electrolysis capacity of around ten gigawatts in 2030 targeted in the coalition agreement still seems a long way off, given an electrical capacity of around 60 megawatts at the end of last year.

"With its open and constantly updated energy data, our traffic light monitor makes an important contribution to an informed and fact-based energy policy debate," concludes study author Alexander Roth. "It shows that the German government still has a long to-do list. The goals set are not self-fulfilling; development must gain momentum in all areas."

Source: DIW press release dated 6 July 2022

Keywords:
DE-News, Renewable, Climate protection, PV, Environmental policy, eMobility