Vauban - 'Carfree' District of Freiburg
Vauban is the largest carfree development of recent years in Europe. It was a 38 hectare redevelopment of an army barracks on the edge of Freiburg (population 213,000), 3km from the city centre. It is nearing completion, with a final population expected to reach between 5,500 and 6,000. The following section summarises the findings of a 2 week study visit in 2006 (on which a more detailed paper is available) and two studies done earlier during its construction.
Concept
The concept of Vauban was developed by a partnership between Freiburg City Council and Forum Vauban a local voluntary organisation set up for the purpose. Some of the original barrack buildings were retained but most of the site is newly built. The development was mainly built by small co-housing groups for owner occupation. Around 10% is social housing.
With net densities of 90 to 100 per hectare and a floor area ratio of 1.2, there are some three story town houses but most blocks are four stories high containing apartments. Within these constraints the policy has facilitated considerable architectural diversity.
The development was intend to maximise energy efficiency, incorporating combined heat and power plant burning wood chips, sustainable urban drainage and solar or PV panels on many of the blocks. A sustainable urban drainage system covers the district and there have been innovations in waste water treatment.
The Carfree Concept
Residents of the 'carfree' areas (local people tend not to use the term, but Vauban does satisfy Carfree UK's criteria) which cover most of the site, must sign an annual declaration stating whether they own a car or not. Car owners must purchase a place in one of the multi-storey car parks on the periphery, run by a council-owned company. Each place costs €17,500 (£12,500) plus a monthly fee to cover ongoing costs.
Vehicles are allowed down the carfree streets at walking pace to pick up and deliver but not to park. As controls are few, and penalties light, the arrangement is essentially self-policed (ironically, this would be less of a problem in the UK). There are infractions including some car owners
have tried to circumvent these rules, parking elsewhere. Notwithstanding these minor problems the concept has clearly succeeded in its main objective to provide a traffic-free residential area. Vehicles are rarely seen moving on the carfree streets. During the study visit, the carfree streets were full of young children, often unsupervised, playing or cycling – noticeably more so than in the Spielstrasse (homezones) with parking which are common elsewhere in Freiburg.
Vaubanallee, a boulevard about 1km long forms the spine of the development. Vehicles are allowed down one side of it at 30 kmh (18 mph), where on-street parking is metered. The whole district is effectively a cul-de-sac for motor vehicles, although permeable in all directions for pedestrians and cyclists.
Car ownership has fallen as the district has grown. An early survey found that 54% of households owned a car. By 2007, this had fallen to 20% of households. 60% signed the annual declaration, and 20% owned a parking space, but used it only for visitors.
A study by Nobis in 2003 found that 57% of those living without cars had given them up on moving to Vauban. Car use (16% of trips) was very low. Both Scheurer and Nobis found that cycling was the main mode of travel – the 2000 study found three quarters of the working population cycled to work. These studies were carried out before the extension of the tram line to Vauban in 2006. Observations during 2006 suggested that public transport had increased but cycling remained the main mode for most journeys.
The city-wide car club has the greatest concentration of its 2,500 members in Vauban – at least ten of its cars are stationed around the district.
Demographics
For an urban development, Vauban has proved unusually popular amongst families with children. Scheurer found 76% of households had children. Average household size of 3.34. Neither Scheurer's nor Nobis's survey asked about income or occupation although both Scheurer and Melia [i] observed that a high proportion of service sector professionals with a high level of ecological awareness. 40% of residents surveyed by Scheurer cited the carfree or ecological objectives as a reason for moving there.
Few of the original occupiers have moved; dwellings resold so far have been relatively expensive by national and city (though not UK) standards. Forum Vauban’s online message board contains more seekers (mainly to rent) than offers.
Employment and Services
Only a small area was zoned for employment use, although shops and small businesses are located throughout Vauban. A larger employment area immediately adjoins the district. Smaller shops and cafes are distributed along Vaubanallee, benefiting from the shelter of overhanging buildings. There are two medium-sized supermarkets, one entirely organic, on the through road which bisects the district, where most shoppers appeared to arrive by bicycle or on foot (Nobis found that Vauban’s car owners tended to do their bulk shopping at another hypermarket.
References
MELIA, S., 2006. On the Road to Sustainability - Transport and Carfree Living in Frieburg. Report for W.H.O. Healthy Cities Collaborating Centre edn. www.stevemelia.co.uk/research.htm University of the West of England.
www.autofrei-wohnen.de.
NOBIS, C., 2003. The impact of car-free housing districts on mobility behaviour – Case study, E. BERIATOS, C.A. BREBBIA, H. COCCOSSIS and A. KUNGOLOS, eds. In: International Conference on Sustainable Planning and Development, 2003 2003, WIT pp701-720. .
On the Road to Sustainability - Transport & Carfree Living in Freiburg
Report for W.H.O. Healthy Cities Collaborating Centre at the University of the West of England following Steve's 2,400 mile cycle journey to Freiburg and back in 2006