Regarding “Haslach is being revamped on a test basis”, BZ from July 6th:
It was hot in July. Last year in Freiburg there were already 28 hot days with 30 degrees and more, 50 years ago it was an average of 6 days, in 50 years there will be 60 to 70 hot days per year – heat hotspots included. Haslach’s town center is already such a hotspot today. The mobile elements with greenery and benches are quite nice, but some of them have already been cleared out of the way and they don’t provide any new shade either. Shade would be important because the street is heavily sealed and built up, little green, auto-dominated and warms up significantly in the heat.
The trees on the north side symbolize the problem with poor growth: there is a lack of drainage areas, raised tree grates prevent water inflow. In addition, the four car lanes dominate the district image. Two lanes for driving and two for parking. Behind it, pedestrians, children, cyclists, shops and social life share what little space there is. It’s cramped, noisy, hot, uncomfortable and dangerous. The street is as far away from a blue-green district as Mr. Wissing is from a turnaround in traffic and mobility. You can park in parking lots, nothing else. That also robs a lot of leeway in Haslach.
It is hard to imagine the wonderful world that would be possible with multifunctional areas through climate adaptation: green and flower strips with trenches, climate trees, shady seating, play areas, square in front of shops, fewer deaths from the heat, new encounters. A new, cool, healthy heartbeat for the neighborhood. How it works? Haslach needs the super block. This removes cars from the section, front-to-back and back-to-back, delivery traffic allowed. Then there would be room for action. If you want to park, there are 100 free parking spaces in the immediate vicinity (Uffhauser Straße). In Darmstadt or Berlin, such super blocks will soon be the showpiece districts. In Barcelona, sales of stores in super blocks have increased by 30 percent.
Wiehre and Herder will get those superblocks – we bet? A socially disadvantaged district could become a flagship of the city, with appeal beyond the Breisgau. Michael Stoelzle, Freiburg
#socially #disadvantaged #district #flagship #city
