Parking space-free and car-free living
(Baden-Württemberg)
Photography: Tina Hörmann
In Freiburg (pop. approx. 200,000), a new, mixed use urban district has emerged on a 42 hectare former barracks area since 1997. The area of the so-called “Model Urban District Vauban” is on the southern city border, approx. 3 km from the city centre. At the end of 2006, approx. 5,000 people lived there in approx. 2,000 flats, and there were also mixed use and industrial areas in dense construction. Among the main components are the following: mobility concept reducing the number of cars, construction group projects and cooperative planning processes, sustainable water management, building waste management and energy-conscious building.
Source: Forum Vauban
The mobility concept in Vauban plans to reduce traffic in the neighbourhood to a minimum. Apart from bundling inactive traffic, living without a car of one’s own is specifically promoted. Through this, a high quality of living and spending time in the private and public areas is to be realised, and other new forms of mobility are to be offered.
The private parking space is concentrated in two collective garages on the fringe of the settlement, which have to be purchased for approx. 18,000 euros by inhabitants owning a car. For households that want to do without a car of their own, the obligation of erecting a parking space is deferred in accordance with the federal state building code. Instead, a one-off payment of approx. 3,500 euros is to be paid to the “Verein für autofreies Wohnen e.V.” (Association for car-free living). In return, the association acquires a reserved area, where parking spaces can be built later if needed. In this contractually regulated model, dispensing with a car of one’s own and with this a parking space is rewarded financially. Up to now, more than 420 households have made use of this offer and have decided not to own a car. Car density in the Vauban neighbourhood is currently approx. 150 cars per 1000 inhabitants and with this considerably lower that the national average of approx. 450 cars per 1000 inhabitants. There is the possibility of choosing between living without a parking space or living car-free. If a car-free household decides to acquire a car, the entire amount for a parking space is to be paid to the association. The association then provides a parking space in one of the collective garages or on the reserved area if there is not enough space.
The liberation from the proof of a parking space can also be given for commercial use if the customers and employees come from the urban district and a contract with the “Verein für autofreies Wohnen e.V.” is also concluded.
Good local public transport connections, thanks to the city railway and convenient mobility services (car sharing, bike shop and garage), are integral elements of the traffic concept.
The implementation process was intensively accompanied and supported by the “Forum Vauban” as recognised responsible body of the citizens’ participation and the social work in the neighbourhood. The working group “Traffic” had the role of negotiating between the individual stakeholders in the neighbourhood and the administration, and of ensuring the necessary balance of interests.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1996 | Presentation of mobility solutions as part of the citizens’ participation |
| 1997 to 2001 | Implementation of the traffic concept |
| 1998 | Approval of the concept "Living without a car of one’s own" by the City Council |
| 1998 | Foundation of the association "Verein für autofreies Wohnen e.V." |
| 2000 | Completion of the 1st construction stage to a large extent |
| 2002 | Moving into the 2nd construction phase |
| July 2003 | Completion of measures accompanying the implementation |
Source: Forum Vauban
Source: Forum Vauban
Source: Forum Vauban
The concept of the neighbourhood with a reduced number of cars is a consistent answer to the demands of an attractive living space with simultaneously high mobility needs of the inhabitants. The combination of living areas without parking space and the developed model of car-free living can be seen as trend-setting.
The projekt site ist to be found at postal code: 79100 - town: Freiburg - street: Alfred-Döblin-Platz 1.
Record inserted on 01.02.2004 by Lehrstuhl für Planungstheorie und Stadtplanung, RWTH Aachen and updated by theFederal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) within the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR).
Last update: 31.07.2008
