1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Essen
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Radweg Rheinische Bahn
Short description of the intervention
A 21-kilometer regional cycle and footpath between the cities of Essen, Mülheim am der Ruhr and Duisburg was developed from the former unused railway route of the Rheinische Bahn. The path was landscaped to ensure the comfort of pedestrians and cyclists. Part of the route passes through Emscher Park and become a full-fledged part of the green infrastructure of Essen (Ref. 1).
Address

Bahnstraße
45257 Essen
Germany

Location
The NBS is situated in an area, with clear delineation of boundaries and a specific shape (polygon). The NBS project can also have more than one area location (more than one polygon, situated close by).
Area boundary
POINT (6.85701 51.42718)
POINT (7.00696 51.46244)
POINT (7.00754 51.4625)
POINT (7.18681 51.48497)
NBS area image
Source of NBS area image
Ref. 2. Coordinates are starting and end points of route.
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Other
Please specify “other type of area” before implementation of the NBS
Former railway line (Ref. 1).
Website of the intervention
https://www1.muelheim-ruhr.de/wertstadt/radweg_rheinische_bahn/8278
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2012
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2013
End date of the intervention
2019
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Goals of the intervention
1. To create a regional cycle/pedestrian route (Ref. 1)
2. To reduce CO2 emissions from transport vehicles (Ref. 1)
3. To continue green infrastructure of the Emscher park (Ref. 2)
4. Regeneration of abandoned railway line (Ref. 2)
5. To create a greener identity for the region (Ref. 3)
6. To create new recreational facilities for families (Ref. 3)
7. To improve environmental quality of the region (Ref. 3)
8. To reduced average health costs for citizens of the area (Ref. 3)
Quantitative targets
1. 9,8 km of abandoned railway line regenerated (Ref. 2)
2. 52.000 of bike rides instead of car rides annually (Ref. 3)
Monitoring indicators defined
1. km of abandoned railway line regenerated (Ref. 2)
2. Number of bike rides instead of car rides annually (Ref. 3)
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change mitigation
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Habitat and biodiversity conservation
Green space creation and/or management
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Conversion of former industrial areas
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Enabling opportunities for physical activity
Improving physical health
Creation of opportunities for recreation
Climate change mitigation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Reduce energy demand, with the use of renewables or energy efficiency improvements
Climate change mitigation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Invest in public transport/bicycle infrastructure as a means to prevent car use
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What types of conservation goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Ecosystem-focused
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Protect and enhance urban habitats
Create new habitats
Preserve and strengthen habitat connectivity
Reduce negative impacts and avoid the alteration/damage of ecosystem
Implementation activities
1. Apart from new green spots introduced along the bike route, parts of derelict areas with biotopes were preserved and integrated to a bike route design (Ref. 5)
2. The route was divided into parts and completed within construction queues (Ref. 5)
Type of NBS project
Creation of new green areas
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Grey infrastructure featuring greens
Railroad bank and track greens
Riverbank/Lakeside greens
Parks and urban forests
Green corridors and green belts
Amenities offered by the NBS
Viewing and outlook points
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Provisioning services
Other
Regulating services
Local climate regulation (temperature reduction)
Air quality regulation
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Maintenance of genetic diversity
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Recreation
Mental and physical health and wellbeing
Please specify "other provisioning service"
Transition service: among other functions, NBS should provide mobility (Ref. 1).
Scale
Spatial scale
Meso-scale: Regional, metropolitan and urban level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Citizens or community groups
Governance
Governance arrangements
Government-led
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
"On February 7, 2012, the municipal planning committee passed the fundamental decision to build a regional cycle and footpath on the Rheinische Bahn route between the cities of Essen, Mülheim an der Ruhr and Duisburg" (Ref. 5).
Key actors - initiating organization
Regional government
Local government/municipality
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Railway
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
National government
Regional government
Local government/municipality
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Railway
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Unknown
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the national regulations/strategy/plan
A green cycle route "Rheinische Bahn" is a part of a larger regional development project "Radschnellweg Ruhr RS1" that aims at providing healthy conditions for a long-distance cycle traveling (Ref. 3)
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
Part of the "Rheinische Bahn" green bike route intersects with two other NBS projects in Essen, namely "Emscher Park" and "Krupp Park" (Ref. 1). Parts of the route that passes through these areas are developed, according to landscape projects of the two parks.
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Mandatory (based on policy)
Intervention is mandatory
Spatial planning guidance
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The Bochumer Botanische Association, the Biological Station of the Western and Eastern Ruhr, and botanists from the neighboring universities, the BUND, and the NABU projects conducted a mapping of the motorway route's characteristic plants and biotopes before the start of the project (Ref. 4).
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The project was financed by state-level Ministries of Germany (Ref. 1).
Co-finance for NBS
Unknown
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
More than €4,000,000
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
17 600 000 EUR (Ref. 3)
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
12 million euros of illness costs offset by NBS (Ref. 3).
Please specify total cost (EUR)
The costs of the Cycle route Rheinische Bahn comprised approx. of 17,6 Million euro (Ref. 3).
Source(s) of funding
Public national budget
Type of fund(s) used
Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
No
Business models
Green densification model
Green health model
Vacant space model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Type of innovation
Technological
Infrastructural innovation
Please specify technological innovation
The Rheinische Bahn is a part of a cycle highway Radschnellweg Ruhr RS1 which is now considered as the longest (101 km) mobility infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians in the world (3).
Novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Replicability/Transferability
The innovation is not referred to as being transferred to new initiative(s)
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Climate change
Reduced emissions
Green space and habitat
Increased green space area
Increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales
Please specify other economic impact
Reduce costs associated with illnesses
Description of environmental benefits
Climate change:
-Reduced emissions: 16600 Tonnes of CO2 per year emissions reduced by RS1 (Ref. 3)

Green space and habitat:
-Increased green space area/Increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales: 9,8 km of abandoned railway line regenerated (Ref. 2) Apart from new green spots introduced along the bike route, parts of derelict areas with biotopes were preserved and integrated to a bike route design (Ref. 5)


Economic impacts
Other
Description of economic benefits
Reduce costs associated with illnesses: 12 million euros of illness costs offset by NBS (Ref. 3).
Social and cultural impacts
Health and wellbeing
Improved physical health
Improved mental health
Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
Description of social and cultural benefits
Health and wellbeing:
-Improved physical health/Improved mental health: 12 million euros of illness costs offset by NBS (Ref. 3).
-Gain in activities for recreation and exercise: 9,8 km of abandoned railway line regenerated (Ref. 2); 52.000 of bike rides instead of car rides annually (Ref. 3).
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Tonnes of CO2 per year emissions reduced by RS1 (Ref. 3)
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Environmental quality
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
Environmental justice: The implementation of the NBS project resulted in ...
Improved access to green and/or blue spaces
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
No specific information available as of October 29, 2020.
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
Collection of monitoring data at specific time intervals during the project to aid evaluation
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Unknown
Where can this data be accessed? Please include a link to a report or web-page.
https://www1.muelheim-ruhr.de/sites/www1.muelheim-ruhr.de/files/innenstadt/gros…
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
Yes
Link to monitoring/evaluation reports
https://www1.muelheim-ruhr.de/sites/www1.muelheim-ruhr.de/files/innenstadt/gros…
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
(1) EIN ABSCHNITT DES RADSCHNELLWEG RUHR RS1 RADWEG RHEINISCHE BAHN
(2) Bahntrassenradeln – Details
(3) RS21
(4) Still-Leben Ruhrschnellweg – Eine floristisch-faunistische Kartierung der A…
(5) Radweg Rheinische Bahn
Documents relevant to the intervention
Attachment Size
Plan (3.46 MB) 3.46 MB
List of references
1. Team Innenstadt (2017). EIN ABSCHNITT DES RADSCHNELLWEG RUHR RS1 RADWEG RHEINISCHE BAHN, https://www1.muelheim-ruhr.de/wertstadt/radweg_rheinische_bahn/8278 (Accessed: October 29, 2020).
2. Bahntrassenradeln (2017). Bahntrassenradeln – Details. Available at: http://www.bahntrassenradeln.de/details/nw4_01.htm (Accessed: October 29, 2020).
3. Ministerium für Bauen, Wohnen, Stadtentwicklung und Verkehr des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen (2016). RS1. Available at: https://www1.muelheim-ruhr.de/sites/www1.muelheim-ruhr.de/files/innenstadt/grosse_broschuere_rvr_web.pdf (Accessed: October 29, 2020).
4. CORINNE BUCH & ARMIN JAGEL. (2011). Still-Leben Ruhrschnellweg – Eine floristisch-faunistische
Kartierung der A40 in Bochum. Available at: https://www.botanik-bochum.de/jahrbuch/A40-Kartierung.pdf
5. Mulheim an der Ruhr Stadt am Fluss (2015). Radweg Rheinische Bahn. Available at: https://www.muelheim-ruhr.de/cms/radweg_rheinische_bahn.html (Accessed: October 29, 2020).
Comments and notes
Comments
On July 18, 2010, the project "Still-Life Ruhrschnellweg" took place in the Ruhr region. The event was organized within the EU Capital of Culture 2010 project. For one day the A40 routes for motor vehicle traffic between Dortmund "Märkische Straße" and Duisburg ports became open for pedestrians and cyclists. The experience of these successful initiative has been considered in relation to the idea of Cycle route Rheinische Bahn (Ref. 4). In addition, during the event botanist obtained a unique opportunity to investigate motorway's natural habitats that otherwise were not accessible (Ref. 4).
Pictures of the NBS
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/snimok_ekrana_2017-07-20_v_17.19.44.png
Public Images
Cycle route Rheinische Bahn (2018)
Cycle route Rheinische Bahn (2018)
Photographer: Jochen Tack, retrieved 08/13/2018 from Sabine Noack
Cycle route Rheinische Bahn (2018)
Cycle route Rheinische Bahn (2018)
Photographer: Jochen Tack, retrieved 08/13/2018 from Sabine Noack
Cycle route Rheinische Bahn (2018)
Cycle route Rheinische Bahn (2018
Photographer: Jochen Tack, retrieved 08/13/2018 from Sabine Noack