Sustainable Urban Development & Freiburg Flashcards
What is an example of a sustainable city?
Freiburg
What are some strategies for sustainable urban cities?
-recycling water to conserve supplies
-providing green spaces
-reducing the reliance on fossil fuels, and rethinking transport options
-keeping city wastes within the capacity of local rivers and oceans to absorb them, and making ‘sinks’ for the disposal of toxic chemicals
-involving local communities and providing a range of employment
-conserving cultural, historical and environmental sites and buildings
-minimising the use of greenfield sites by using brownfield sites instead
Where is Freiburg located?
the south of Germany
Why did Freiburg become a sustainable city?
because in 1970 the local government set a goal of urban sustainability
What did the city of Freiburg consider when becoming sustainable?
environmental concerns but also how the inhabitants would be affected socially and economically
What is required to achieve urban sustainability?
social, economic and environmental planning
Why is social planning important?
it takes into account people’s needs and its important that people take part in the decision making of things that will affect their lives
also a need to provide enough affordable homes
How are local people involved in urban planning in Freiburg?
involved at both local and city level
possible sites for building are discussed and recommendations are made to the council
special groups put forward the views of children
What social planning strategies are there in Freiburg?
-local people can invest in renewable energy resources
-in addition to financial returns, investors received free football season tickets
-financial rewards are given to people who compost their green waste and use textile nappies
What have local people in Freiburg invested in renewable energy resources?
in one district:
over £5 million in 9 windmills, 8 solar energy systems, a hydroelectric plant, and an energy conservation scheme at the local school
What does economic planning involve?
providing people with employment
How does Freiburg provide employment?
it is a city where people come to attend conferences on sustainability, which provides jobs for local people
many jobs have also been created in the research and manufacture of solar technology
How many people are employed in the 1500 environmental businesses in Freiburg?
more than 10,000
of which more than 1,000 are employed in the solar technology industry
What does environmental planning achieve?
resources are not wasted
the environment is protected for future generations
What are the main strategies of environmental planning?
reducing the amount of waste produced by re-using and recycling as much as possible
using brownfield sites
