Sustainability at the 15th braun-steine stone forum
Just a few years ago, the town of Rudersberg in Baden-Württemberg had to put up with up to 13,000 vehicles. In the meantime, the town has been relieved thanks to a new town center in which the various road users have almost equal rights. The former mayor of the municipality reported at the 15th brown-stone forum in Neu-Ulm.
“At the beginning there was the fundamental question: should a bypass be the solution, which will destroy valuable orchards in the surrounding area? Or should cars continue to drive through Rudersberg, but with a new road concept?” says Martin G. Kaufmann, former mayor of Rudersberg and now mayor of the town of Leonberg. Based on the idea of shared space, the residents decided to rebuild their town center. Shared space is a concept for public spaces in which all road users have equal rights. Traffic regulation is largely dispensed with here.
Rudersberg was a construction site for two and a half years to implement braun-steine’s “Park Avenue concept” – sidewalks were widened and kerbs lowered. Instead of asphalt surfaces, paving stones were laid on both the road and the sidewalk. The street lights are positioned close to both sides of the road and recessed LED lights trace the course of a former stream.
Noise and traffic reduction
As a result, the diagonal laying of the paving stones reduced the noise level. In addition, the town center looks more attractive and tidier because there are no longer so many street signs. According to a count in May 2016, 32 percent fewer cars now drive through Rudersberg. “However, this is mainly due to the fact that drivers have chosen other routes due to the complete closure. This has probably become naturalized over time,” says Kaufmann.
Forests as CO2 reservoirs
With its new town center, Rudersberg is certainly a good example of sustainable urban development – fittingly, Franz-Josef Radermacher – member of the Club of Rome – spoke at the end of the 15th Stone Forum about the consequences of the climate catastrophe and how to solve them sustainably. “Instead of always just cuttingCO2 levels, we should extract the existing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” said Radermacher. This could be achieved by reforesting new forests thatstore theCO2 . “Generating negative emissions”, he calls it, citing the prime example of the Trillion Trees project. The aim of the initiative, which is supported by WWF, BirdLife International and the Wildlife Conservation Society, is to have planted a trillion trees by the middle of the century.
