Timber construction app: Where is the next timber construction?
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Bruderverlag has completely revised its popular smartphone application Holzbau-Finder for searching the vicinity of wooden buildings. New objects have been added, for the first time the two common operating systems iOS and Android are served and the design and user guidance have also been improved.
Eco-neighborhoods are experimental laboratories in which the future of urban development is being tested. In a hybrid of fiction and documentary, the series presents eco-neighborhoods in Germany, France and Switzerland. In 12 episodes, the neighbourhoods enter into a dialogue with each other and present their objectives with regard to sustainable urban development.
The vital, functionally mixed city is the guiding principle of sustainable urban development. Urban production can make an important contribution to the mix of functions. After years of functional segregation, it shows ways in which new city-affine production typologies, manufactories, small businesses and crafts can achieve more functional mixing in the various city quarters and secure or restore supply qualities. Functional mix aims not only at the mixture of living and working, but also at the coexistence of different types of businesses, production sectors and services. Urban production promises smaller series through, among other things, digital control, decentralised production, a more economical use of space, minimised transport routes and fewer emissions. Technical innovations such as 3D printing and the emergence of FabLabs or open workshops also support city-based production and repair, which can promote the circular economy and bring sustainable products into focus.
In the research report "Produktion zurück ins Quartier? New Places of Work in the Mixed City", which was prepared by the Institute for Work and Technology and StadtRaumKonzept on behalf of the Ministry for Home Affairs, Municipal Affairs, Building and Equality of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, discusses possibilities for stabilising and revitalising mixed structures through Urban Production. In particular, the question is also posed as to whether current planning instruments are suitable for enabling mixing and counteracting the further displacement of commercial uses in the production sector.
The following questions were at the heart of the report:
- Is urban production a step towards a "city of short distances"?
- What are the chances for a significant amount of new production in the cities of North Rhine-Westphalia and what are the possibilities for establishing new functional mixes in urban quarters?
- What are the planning law challenges and conflicts of use?
- What influence do planning and property policy, real estate and subsidy mechanisms have on the location decisions of manufacturing companies?
- What instruments must be given to cities to enable the preservation of production and its return to the neighbourhoods?
On the one hand, a telephone survey of all 29 major cities in North Rhine-Westphalia was conducted in order to identify trends and challenges on the part of urban planning and economic development with regard to the topic of urban production. On the other hand, case studies in three categories were examined: urban producing companies, neighbourhoods and a city-wide strategy. In addition, strategic recommendations for the promotion of Urban Production are explained as well as concrete municipal implementation possibilities and development paths are presented.
Inst. Arbeit und Technik / StadtRaumKonzept Brandt, Martina et al. (2017): Production back to the neighbourhood? New places of work in a mixed city. Final report commissioned by the Ministry for Home Affairs, Municipal Affairs, Building and Equality of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. Gelsenkirchen / Dortmund PDF download
Shortly after the shutdown of the Swiss old reactor Mühleberg it goes Philippsburg 2 nuclear power plantfrom the grid on 31.12.2019 as planned. This will be followed in a few months by Fessenheimthe two oldest reactors in France. In addition, at the end of the year in Sweden, the 45-year-old "Ring neck 2" from the grid. Shutting down nuclear reactors significantly reduces the risk of accidents and avoids masses of radiating nuclear waste and its transport in Castor containers.
In 1989, there were still 177 nuclear reactors in Europe. An interactive map of the remaining 126 still in operation (As of 1 January 2019, there should still be 121 after the shutdown of the above-mentioned nuclear power plants) can be found here: www.global2000.at/karte-atomkraft-europa
5th Symposium on Citizen Energy & Energy Cooperatives in NRW
Photo: EnergyAgency.NRW
Recklinghausen. Energy in the hands of citizens: This was the topic of the specialist conference on citizen energy & energy cooperatives in North Rhine-Westphalia on Thursday, 6 December, in Recklinghausen. Around 80 stakeholders in community energy met there to exchange experiences and transfer knowledge. The 5th symposium is a cooperation of the Cooperative Association - Association of Regions and the EnergyAgency.NRW.
Marlies Diephaus from the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia kicked off the conference by emphasising the importance of citizen energy companies: "The energy transition is a major challenge that must be shaped in a positive and forward-looking way here in North Rhine-Westphalia. To this end, a reliable framework must be created in which all stakeholders and affected parties can find their place. Last but not least, the financial participation of citizens in various forms also plays a central role. It can contribute to the acceptance of this project of the century.
In the Raiffeisen Year 2018 - the anniversary year of the cooperative idea - around 20 million people in Germany are members of a cooperative. In the field of citizen energy, too, more and more people are discovering this form of joint economic activity. "The global energy turnaround is only possible at all through local action. Here, citizens, organised in citizen energy societies, are both drivers and advocates. This is where co-determination and regional participation happen locally," explained Dr Frank-Michael Baumann, Managing Director of EnergyAgency.NRW.
Dominik Kitzinger, Division Manager at the Association of Cooperatives - Verband der Regionen e. V., emphasised: "In North Rhine-Westphalia, around 100 energy cooperatives are active as operators of generation capacities - from photovoltaic to wind energy plants - as well as around 150 citizen energy companies of other legal forms. Nationwide, more than 41 percent of investments in renewable energy come from civic engagement. If Germany wants to meet its climate targets, it can only do so with this local commitment."
In addition to projects from the areas of photovoltaics, local heating and wind, the focus was also on the mobility transition. Here, the participants agreed that e-mobility must go hand in hand with the energy transition. Citizen energy companies and cooperatives must therefore be strengthened through cooperation and transformation. Cooperatives that already market car sharing, the operation of charging infrastructures and jointly produced electricity were presented as best-practice examples. There are around 40 energy cooperatives active in these areas throughout NRW.
Despite the growing interest in cooperative management, the number of new energy cooperatives founded has declined in recent years. René Groß from the German Cooperative and Raiffeisen Association blames the changed legal framework conditions for this, but also the complex demands on the mostly voluntarily organised civil societies. In this context, the conference participants also debated the controversial effects of legislation at national and European level, such as through the Energy Collection Act and the new EU Directive as well as the Renewable Energies Directive.
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