Freiburg, Germany - Where Dreams are Realized

August 26 - 28:

Vauban community centre

Solar Institute

Mobililty centre with secure bike parking adjacent to train station

How does the city of Freiburg rank to get its own blog entry? In it lives many of our dreams. Freiburg is achieving environmentally what we have been working for in Peterborough and elsewhere for a long time. There are solar panels and other environmental projects at every turn, backed by a comprehensive green strategy -- and its working! Freiburg is a bustling, thriving community. The main problem is accommodating all the people that want to live there - it is a great city. Their grassroots oriented development of the Vauban District (a former French army base) is a world class example of community participation in environmental design. Freiburg set its own standard for energy efficient building standards, and now the country has adopted the standard, with the city now going even further.

How did it happen? In the 1970's, a nuclear plant was proposed for a site 30 km from Freiburg. Protests started as both the city and rural population feared that their quality of life and standard of living would be affected by such a development. Vinters were against the project due to decreases in solar exposure anticipated due to the steam from the plant, city folks were worried about health impacts should any mishaps take place.. and then, the accident at Chernobyl happened. Meanwhile, the protesters realized that protesting was not enough and they set about creating the conditions for a sustainable future for Freiburg, without nuclear. The city is still evolving and learning.... what an inspiration! Their projects are so successful that there is a company set up just to provide tours and information to interested parties, many of them international. They have a solar research institute that is a professional carbon neutral building, a neighbourhood of energy plus houses (houses that produce more energy than they use), churches covered in solar panels on the south side. Even two grocery stores and a parking garage are covered in solar panels.

Freiburg is known for their solar initiatives, but their environmental commitment and initiatives run much deeper. Unlike in other European cities with environmental projects, the many people we stopped and asked about the initiatives in Freiburg were full of information, much the way most people in Peterborough could tell you about the Festival of Lights. Way to go, Freiburg (and the old downtown and neighbouring Black Forest are pretty nice, too)!