1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Karlsruhe
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Zukunft Nord
Short description of the intervention
A former American military base was purchased by a private investor in 2014. Due to this event, the city decided to redevelop the whole area covering 27 ha and to create a development plan for a forward-looking quarter based on an architectural competition. In parallel to the development, information events for the wider public took place. The new quarter will be constructed according to criteria set out by the German Association for Sustainable Construction. Objectives of this plan are also to improve the microclimate, biodiversity, connectivity, social and functional diversity of the district (Ref. 1 and 2). In 2020, construction work had not yet started. Plans are to begin construction in 2024 the earliest and to complete it by 2027. (Ref. 7)
Address

Erzbergerstraße
76149 Karlsruhe
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 (8.384355 49.022577)
POINT (8.382413 49.024455)
POINT (8.382787 49.026632)
POINT (8.382431 49.031027)
POINT (8.386728 49.031361)
NBS area image
Source of NBS area image
Reference 7
Total area
264128.00m²
NBS area
264128.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Other
Please specify “other type of area” before implementation of the NBS
Military base (Ref. 1 and 2)
Website of the intervention
https://www.karlsruhe.de/b3/bauen/projekte/rahmenplan/zukunftnord.de
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2014
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
in planning stage
End date of the intervention
unknown
Present stage of the intervention
In planning stage
Goals of the intervention
-Addressing the urgent need for affordable housing in Karlsruhe. (Ref. 7)
-Closely interlinking living quarters and open green spaces (Ref. 1)
-Minimal interference with remaining undeveloped spaces, maintaining a high level of environmental quality in these areas. (Ref. 1)
-Facilitating a high level of rainwater infiltration (Ref. 1)
-Creating a living quarter that is based on sustainable energy and water use for the around 1300 apartments and 2600 inhabitants of the new quarter. (Ref. 7)
-Creating places of exchange and recreation for residents, including children and elderly people (Ref. 1)
-Creating space for commercial activity (Ref. 1)
Quantitative targets
future-oriented living quarter on 264,128 sqm
Creation of 1,222 new flats for 2.688 inhabitants (Ref. 1)
Monitoring indicators defined
Number of flats; sqm of renovated area
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Water management (SDG 6)
Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Environmental quality
Air quality improvement
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Social justice and equity
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Creation of opportunities for recreation
Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
Economic development: service sectors
Real estate development
Implementation activities
There was a first information evening for citizens and interested parties as early as summer 2014. (Ref. 7) An urban development competition for the planning of the project was carried out in 2015 and the implementation of the plan is expected to begin in 2024. (Ref. 7, 8) The spatial development considers environmental, ecological and sustainability aspects. The concept is based on having a quarter island in the middle of a park area and next to a national park. The adjacent wilderness space in the national park on the former airfield will be conserved by fencing it and prohibiting access for residents while at the same time a green corridor is created with a park area right next to it for recreation. There, natural wilderness areas will exist next to cultivated green providing habitat for species; at the corners of the park, natural rainwater infiltration systems will be erected. So-called "park windows" facilitate air circulation and provide views for residents on the adjacent park area. Furthermore, water bodies are implemented in the built areas for cooling, the same applies to tree alleys & green islands in public space which also enhance the living quality in the quarter. The implementation of commercial facilities is expected to strengthen the local economy (Ref. 1).
Type of NBS project
Creation of new green areas
Transformation of previously derelict areas
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Grey infrastructure featuring greens
Alley or street trees and other street vegetation
Green playgrounds and school grounds
Parks and urban forests
Large urban parks or forests
Green corridors and green belts
Green areas for water management
Sustainable urban drainage systems
What is the level of innovation / development of the NBS related to water management?
Unknown
Vegetation Type
Other
Amenities offered by the NBS
Playgrounds
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Regulating services
Local climate regulation (temperature reduction)
Air quality regulation
Flood regulation
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Cultural services
Recreation
Social and community interactions
Scale
Spatial scale
Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Private sector/Corporate/Company
Citizens or community groups
Governance
Governance arrangements
Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Non-government actors
Private sector/Corporate/Business
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
The area was purchased by a private investor called GEM engineers, which determine the development of the area in continuous exchange with the department for spatial planning, architecture bureaus participating in the competition and citizens who had a say in the creation of the spatial development plan for the area (Ref. 2)
Key actors - initiating organization
Local government/municipality
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Land owners
Private sector or company
Public space owned by the city
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Local government/municipality
Non-government organisation/civil society
Citizens or community group
Land owners
Private sector or company
Public space owned by the city
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
Dissemination of information and education
Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
No
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
No
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
The development plan "Zukunft Nord" represents an urban development framework with urban redevelopment parameters to be followed by the interventions pursued in the area (Ref. 2).
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Please specify other type of voluntary intervention
Through the purchase of the former American military base by a private investor, a window of opportunity opened for the city's spatial planning department to redevelop the whole area into a future-oriented city district and living quarter. The development plan deliberately integrated the criteria of the German Association for Sustainable Building to obtain certification (Ref. 2).
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
Yes
Please specify the general plan with GI/NBS section
The "integriertes Stadtentwicklungskonzept" (translation: integrated city development concept) issued by the city of Karlsruhe in 2012 as a vision towards 2020 addresses several issues in relation to GI/NBS: the creation and recreation of green spaces, the reduction of CO2 emissions, energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources, intensive citizen participation in urban development projects, the development of technical infrastructure for climate adaptation (reducing heat island effect, flood risk management) (Ref. 4). This concept informed the integration of certain issue areas (such as the creation of green space, climate regulation etc.) into the development plan for this area.
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
General municipal plan
Urban redevelopment plan
Please specify other vegetation type
wilderness area (Ref. 1)
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
Unknown
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Co-finance for NBS
Yes
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
Unknown
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
unknown
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
unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
unknown
Source(s) of funding
Public local authority budget
Corporate investment
Type of fund(s) used
Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Business models
Green densification model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Private for-profit actor (e.g. firm, insurer)
Type of innovation
System innovation
Please specify social innovation
The social innovation lies in the type of process of creating the spatial development plan and the integration of a variety of different non-governmental stakeholders in the latter. An architectural competition was launched by the city of Karlsruhe including architects, urban planners and landscape architects which formed working groups in which the proposed concepts were discussed with citizens, politicians and a diversity of associations involved in the area or its use. It was a truly participatory planning process with the involvement of diverse stakeholders in all stages. That way an arrangement was found between economic, civic and city council interests (Ref. 5).
Please specify system innovation
The intervention can be considered both an infrastructural innovation as well as a governance innovation.First, it stands out because of its innovative design and structure, described as a living island in a park landscape and surrounded by a national park.It combines the creation of future-oriented high living quality quarters with aspects of climate adaptation, sustainability and energy efficiency and can therefore be considered a role model for modern urban development (Ref.1,3).The social innovation lies in the type of process of creating the spatial development plan and the integration of a variety of different non-governmental stakeholders in the latter. An architectural competition was launched by the city of Karlsruhe including architects, urban planners and landscape architects which formed working groups in which the proposed concepts were discussed with citizens, politicians and a diversity of associations involved in the area or its use. ...section 7
Novelty level of the innovation
Ambiguous (e.g. multiple interpretations)
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
There are different opinions about the innovation of the whole project on behalf of politicians mostly, also because several issues still need to be discussed before the construction. The participatory process is perceived as beneficial for the whole project, also the idea to create a maximum of living space while minimizing the sealing of surfaces has been widely achieved (Ref. 5 and 6).
Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Cannot be said yet since the construction has not started.
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Green space and habitat
Increased number of protection areas
Description of environmental benefits
The adjacent wilderness space in the national park on the former airfield will be fenced and conserved, increasing protected greenspace areas in the city. (Ref. 1)
Economic impacts
Attraction of business and investment
Description of economic benefits
The creation of space for commercial facilities is expected to strengthen the local economy (Ref. 1).
Social and cultural impacts
Unknown
Description of social and cultural benefits
Unknown
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Indicators
No documents on the impacts available yet, that's why it is a list of expected impacts in relation to the objectives of the project.
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Environmental quality
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Water management (SDG 6)
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown (in November 2020)
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
No evidence in public records
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Unknown
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
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
Please specify
This is too early to say since construction has not started yet.
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Project website
Im C-Areal in der Karlsruher Nordstadt tut sich was: Möglicher Baubeginn für et…
Documents relevant to the intervention
Attachment Size
Spatial development plan "Zukunft Nord" (6.18 MB) 6.18 MB
List of references
1. Stadt Karlsruhe Stadtplanungsamt (2017) ‘Rahmenplan Zukunft Nord. Dokumentation der Rahmenplanung Karlsruhe Zukunft Nord’. Karlsruhe, p. 44. Available at: https://www.karlsruhe.de/b3/bauen/projekte/rahmenplan/zukunftnord/HF_sections/content/ZZlGthpL790crJ/ZZn9byVMup8S5d/Rahmenplanung_Zukunft_Nord_Broschüre.pdf [Accessed: 29 Oct. 2020].

2. Stadt Karlsruhe (2017) Rahmenplan Zukunft Nord. Available at: https://www.karlsruhe.de/b3/bauen/projekte/rahmenplan/zukunftnord.de [Accessed: 29 Oct. 2020].

3. GEM Ingenieurgesellschaft (2016) Projekte. Entwicklung. Available at: http://gem-ingenieure.de/entwicklung/stadtteilentwicklung-quartier-c-karlsruhe [Accessed: 29 Oct. 2020].

4. Fulda, C. and Miles, S. (2012) Karlsruhe 2020 : Integriertes Stadtentwicklungskonzept. Karlsruhe. Available at: https://www.karlsruhe.de/b4/buergerengagement/karlsruhe2020.de [Accessed: 29 Oct. 2020].

5. Bohner, C. (2016) ‘Karlsruher C-Areal: Planer wollen “Stadtscholle am Wiesenmeer”’, ka-news.de, 31 May. Available at: http://www.ka-news.de/region/karlsruhe/Karlsruhe~/Karlsruher-C-Areal-Planer-wollen-Stadtscholle-am-Wiesenmeer;art6066,1894079 [Accessed: 29 Oct. 2020].

6. mw (2014) ‘Karlsruhe pimpt Nordstadt: Gespannt, was aus dem C-Areal wird?’, ka-news.de. Available at: http://www.ka news.de/region/karlsruhe/Karlsruhe~/Karlsruhe-pimpt-Nordstadt-Gespannt-was-aus-dem-C-Areal-wird;art6066,1437658 [Accessed: 29 Oct. 2020].

7. Ka-news.de. (2019). Im C-Areal in der Karlsruher Nordstadt tut sich was: Möglicher Baubeginn für etwa 1.300 Wohnungen erst Ende 2024. [online]. Available at: https://www.ka-news.de/region/karlsruhe/stadtentwicklung./Im-C-Areal-in-der-Karlsruher-Nordstadt-tut-sich-was-Moeglicher-Baubeginn-fuer-etwa-1-300-Wohnungen-erst-Ende-2024;art6066,2315583 [Accessed: 4 Nov. 2020]
Comments and notes
Comments
section5: The social innovation lies in the type of process of creating the spatial development plan and the integration of a variety of different non-governmental stakeholders in the latter. An architectural competition was launched by the city of Karlsruhe including architects, urban planners and landscape architects which formed working groups in which the proposed concepts were discussed with citizens, politicians and a diversity of associations involved in the area or its use. It was a truly participatory planning process with the involvement of diverse stakeholders in all stages. That way an arrangement was found between economic, civic and city council interests (Ref. 5).
Public Images
Nordstadt Karlsruhe
Nordstadt Karlsruhe
Reference 7: https://www.ka-news.de/region/karlsruhe/stadtentwicklung./Im-C-Areal-in-der-Karlsruher-Nordstadt-tut-sich-was-Moeglicher-Baubeginn-fuer-etwa-1-300-Wohnungen-erst-Ende-2024;art6066,2315583