Schwedt/Oder „Am Waldrand“

Context

to the top

The 'Obere Talsandterrasse' area became the focus of an urban redevelopment scheme in Schwedt (pop. 38,000) due to an expected population reduction. The deconstruction of 4,300 flats is planned up to 2010. The framework plan involves the deconstruction of the entire 'Am Waldrand' housing estate area through large-scale demolition, besides the strategy of selective deconstruction, the redevelopment of the remaining housing and enhancement of the neighbourhood surroundings.

Project description

to the top

The demolition work in the 'Am Waldrand' housing estate area in Schwedt will be carried out in several stages through to 2008. With the end of the residential usage, the supply networks for all utilities (electricity, gas, central heating supply, water/waste water, rain water, street lighting, TV/telephone) are disconnected. Some of the supply lines are laid into a collector, a concreted channeling system with inspection chamber. The complete deconstruction of the technical supply systems is very expensive in its entirety. It has so far been possible to deconstruct 700m of collector channeling.

The cleared areas are first 'renaturised', i.e. a robust grass mixture is sown on the site. The seeding is financed by the deconstruction part of the Urban Restructuring in East Germany assistance programme and takes place immediately after the demolition.

Temporary greening using a wild flower seed is planned for further selected areas in the short to medium term. This has already been successful in smaller open areas in Schwedt.

In the long term, the forestation of the north-west part of the urban district is planned as a buffer zone to the heavily used main road and to the petrochemical industry sites to the north. However, the planting of the mixed forest will not be done until around 2008, when enough large areas have been cleared. A complete deconstruction of the housing is to take place on this site. The resulting areas of around 10 hectares will be prepared for general forestation by 2008. While the footpaths will be deconstructed, which will ensure the drainage of rain water at the sides of the road, they will remain as forest footpaths in future. These breaks and footpaths will continue to provide connections to the neighbouring town areas. The basic structure of the former residential will remain visible for the walker in 2020. The use of the future forest areas is to be open to all citizens.

Project chronology

to the top

Year	Event
2001	Update to the urban development framework planning "Obere Talsandterrasse"
2002	Urban development idea competition "Am Waldrand"
2002	Beginning of the deconstruction and renaturisation
2008	Beginning of forestation

Aims

to the top

• Disconnection and deconstruction of the supply networks for all utilities
• Deconstruction of residential buildings
• Redevelopment of individual remaining residential buildings
• Enhancement of the housing surroundings
• Renaturisation of the cleared areas
• Redesignation of the forested areas to official forest areas (the next step is to apply for this with the lower nature protection authority)

Types of measures

to the top

• Large-scale demolition of housing
• Disconnection and deconstruction of the supply networks for all utilities
• Renaturisation of the cleared area
• Sowing a robust grass mixture
• Forestation with mixed forest starting 2008

Innovations

to the top

The ownership structure of the future forestation area will consciously remain unchanged. This saves any land acquisition tax and costs for necessary cadastre surveys of the areas. The planned forest areas will be entered into a city area pool in order to be able to compensate for the loss of forest areas through building measures in other city areas. It is planned that, in the long term, the city administration will take over the areas redesignated as forest areas.

Sources

to the top

• Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs (Client), Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (Editor), StadtBüro Hunger; Becker, Giseke, Mohren, Richard Landscape Architects; DSK Deutsche Stadt- und Grundstücksentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (Contractor): Zwischennutzung und neue Freiflächen. Städtische Lebensräume der Zukunft (Interim usage and new open areas. Urban living space of the future). Berlin, 2004

Further information

to the top

• <http://www.schwedt.eu>

<iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.de/?q=http:%2F%2Fwww.werkstatt-stadt.de%2Fen%2Fprojects.kml&ie=UTF8&t=h&vpsrc=6&ll=53.069122,14.250641&spn=0.01805,0.036478&z=14&output=embed"></iframe><br /><small><a target="_blank" href="http://maps.google.de/?q=http:%2F%2Fwww.werkstatt-stadt.de%2Fen%2Fprojects.kml&ie=UTF8&t=h&vpsrc=6&ll=53.069122,14.250641&spn=0.01805,0.036478&z=14&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">Größere Kartenansicht</a></small>

The projekt site ist to be found at postal code: 16303 - town: Schwedt/Oder - street: Friedrich-Engels-Straße.

Protagonists

to the top

• City Administration Schwedt, Department of Urban Development and Building Supervision, Mr Hein, Lindenallee 25-29, 16303 Schwedt/Oder, Tel: 03332/446341, eMail: <stadtentwicklung.stadt@schwedt.de>; web: <http://www.schwedt.de/home.htm>
• Wohnbauten GmbH, Housing Association WOBAG
• City Utilities (central heating supply, gas, electricity)
• Telekom
• ZOWA (Association for Water and Waste Water)
• Urban Projects, Office Schmitz, Potsdam; Machleidt + Partner Berlin (Planning)