"Cars have no place in cities"
Hermann Knoflacher with Vladimir Balzer and Axel Rahmlow
Hermann Knoflacher wants roads and car parks to be built on. Car-free cities are feasible, says the transport expert. This would allow local authorities to create masses of affordable living space. But will they go for it?
Affordable housing in cities is becoming increasingly hard to find. Many feel pushed to the margins. Politicians want to take countermeasures, but have very different mechanisms depending on the country and the municipality.
In Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg, the city's largest wooden house celebrated its topping-out ceremony on Thursday. The six floors consist of 371 pre-assembled wooden modules that are stacked on top of each other. The individual modules weigh more than nine tons and are virtually ready-made student apartments, including bathroom, kitchenette and bed. Only the foundation and staircases are made of concrete. "The construction could revolutionize the way residential buildings are built," said developer Torsten Rickmann at the topping-out ceremony on Thursday. The dormitory should be ready for occupancy as early as the winter semester. A furnished apartment will cost 500 euros warm rent per month. The first students are expected to move in as early as October 1.
The design for the wooden student dormitory comes from the Berlin architectural office and timber construction award winner Sauerbruch Hutton. The wooden modules were manufactured by the Vorarlberg-based company Kaufmann Bausysteme. "We decided on the modular construction method because the series production and the high degree of prefabrication drastically shorten the construction time," says Achim Nagel from the developer Primus developments.
Future security and climate protection are the most important reasons / High acceptance for plants in the neighbourhood
Berlin, 08 August 2017 - The expansion of renewable energies is an important concern for an overwhelming majority of Germans. This is shown by a recent representative survey conducted by Kantar Emnid on behalf of the German Renewable Energy Agency (AEE). 95 percent of those surveyed rated the expansion of renewables as important to extremely important..
"The result of the survey proves how broad the social consensus is that supports the energy transition in Germany," says Nils Boenigk, Deputy Managing Director of AEE. "95 percent is a clear vote for the upcoming federal government to resolutely push ahead with the expansion of renewable energies," says Boenigk with a view to the federal elections in September.
The citizens are very willing to accept renewable energy plants in their neighbourhood. 65 percent of the survey participants are generally positive about plants within a radius of five kilometres from their homes. The approval rate is significantly higher when people already have experience with such plants. While, for example, 72 percent of all respondents approve of solar parks in the vicinity of their homes, the approval rating rises to 94 percent if there is actually a plant in the vicinity of the survey participants. The approval ratings for coal-fired power plants, on the other hand, are far off in the single-digit percentage range.
The most important advantages of renewable energies for people in Germany are future security and climate protection. Thus, 75 percent of the participants agree with the statement that renewables contribute to a secure future for our children and grandchildren. 72 percent affirm the statement that energy from the sun, wind, biomass & co. protects the climate. "The people in Germany know that the expansion must continue so that we can fulfil our obligations to climate protection and to future generations," emphasises Boenigk.
In order to finance the expansion of renewables, the majority of respondents are willing to make their contribution via the EEG levy through the electricity price. Thus, 48 percent rated the current monthly contribution of 20 euros per 3-person household (3,500 kilowatt hours annual consumption) as appropriate, while 8 percent are even willing to pay more for the expansion of renewables. Only 37 percent consider the contribution to be too high.
You can find further infographics on the survey in the AEE Media Library.
The Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Construction today announced the Federal Urban Greening Award 2022. This year, the focus is on the topic of "Climate adaptation and quality of life".
Federal Minister Klara Geywitz: "Climate change is a stress test for our cities. We need more trees for a better urban climate, we need soils that can absorb heavy rainfall, we need less sealed land also for more biodiversity and against the heating up of residential neighbourhoods. With the Federal Urban Greening Award 2022, we are honouring the pioneering work that is already shaping the necessary transformation of cities today."
The award recognises best practice examples that show how municipalities can use their urban green spaces to positively influence the urban climate and reduce the negative effects of extreme weather conditions. The award also recognises innovative concepts for climate-adapted and vital urban green spaces that have already been tried and tested. The award is looking for open spaces that can be used by the public and that also meet the other requirements for the use of open spaces in cities and municipalities, including as spaces for recreation and social cohesion and as elements of an attractive network of cycle paths and footpaths. Cities and municipalities in Germany can now apply with their projects. Planning offices, citizens, universities, research institutions, initiatives or associations can participate in cooperation with their municipalities.
Subject to the funds available in the 2022 federal budget, the federal prize is endowed with prize money totalling up to 100,000 euros. In addition to exemplary implemented projects, the courage to experiment with promising new approaches is also rewarded.
An independent jury will decide in June 2022 which projects will be awarded prizes and recognition. It is composed of experts from the fields of garden and landscape architecture, climate adaptation, urban development and urban planning, representatives of the municipal umbrella organisations and from the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs. The award ceremony is scheduled to take place in Berlin in September 2022.
The Federal Urban Greening Award is an important building block in the implementation of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs' White Paper on Urban Greening. It is supported by the German Association of Cities and Towns, the German Association of Towns and Municipalities and the German Association of Districts. The Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) implements the Federal Urban Greening Award and provides technical support.
84 metre high building in Vienna's new "Seestadt Aspern" district
After around two years of development, the ground-breaking ceremony has now been held to mark the start of the flagship HoHo project in Vienna. By 2018, around 20,000 square metres of rental space will be created on 24 levels using timber hybrid construction.
Read the full article from 19 October 2016 at Informationsdienst Holz
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