Bielefeld, Germany
City population: 326277
Duration: 2017 – ongoing
Implementation status: Ongoing
Scale: Meso-scale: Regional, metropolitan and urban level
Project area: unknown
Type of area: Residential, Public Greenspace Area
Last updated: October 2021

With its parking areas, ponds, the Lutter stream, playground facilities, walking and jogging paths, the green corridor of Bielefeld, called Luttergrünzug offers recreation opportunity to around 36, 000 people, living in the surrounding areas. As a link between the eastern city center and the district of Heepen, it also enables walking and cycling routes for commuting and shopping away from the busy streets of the city (7). However, the green corridor has been showing some structural and functional defects such as the silting up of the ponds, conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists and the increasing overgrowth of the green belt (8). In order to solve these problems, the renovation and redesign of the Green Corridor was proposed. The regeneration project addresses different needs and requirements of the municipality, namely providing the comfortable infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, and the increase of attractiveness of the neighbouring residential areas. In the planning process, special attention was paid to the improvement of the draining system and the reservoirs of the area that will protect the Belt from flooding. (8) Two regeneration plans were developed with citizens' involvement and presented to the political committee. In 2017, the implementation of the "smaller" variant was voted for, which was already presented in the first citizens' workshop (1, 4).

Luttergrünzug Bielefeld
Source: https://www.nw.de/lokal/bielefeld/mitte/22105103_Zukunft-der-Stauteiche-ungewiss.html

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Grey infrastructure featuring greens
  • Blue infrastructure
  • Riverbank/Lakeside greens
  • Parks and urban forests
  • Green corridors and green belts
  • Community gardens and allotments
  • Allotments
  • Rivers/streams/canals/estuaries
  • Green areas for water management
  • Sustainable urban drainage systems

Key challenges

  • Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
  • Climate change adaptation
  • Water management (SDG 6)
  • Flood protection
  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Habitat and biodiversity conservation
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Environmental quality
  • Air quality improvement
  • Regeneration, land-use and urban development
  • Regulation of built environment
  • Health and well-being (SDG 3)
  • Creation of opportunities for recreation

Focus

Maintenance and management of urban nature existing green areas, Protection of natural ecosystems, Management and improved protection of rivers and other blue areas

Project objectives

1. Eliminate of structural and functional shortcomings of the green corridor, namely the siltation of water bodies, conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists, increased clogging of the green train, need for improved flood protection measures) (8). 2. Increase the recreational purpose of the Green Corridor by improving water experience, leisure, sport and recreational opportunities (7). 3. Improve flood management of the Lutter stream by the development of the reservoirs located in the Green belt including the desludging of Reservoir III and implement small islands on it. (1,13). 4. The maintenance of the appropriate infrastructural and recreational role of the green corridor as a space for cycling and walking (3).

Implementation activities

1. In January 2017 the first seminar with the Bielefeld citizens was held in order to evaluate the two proposed projects for the development and regeneration of the green belt.

Climate-focused activities

Climate change adaptation:

  • Increase or improve urban vegetation cover to help reduce outdoor temperature
  • Restore wetlands and/or coastal ecosystems to dissipate the effects of flooding and/or storms
  • Implement sustainable urban drainage infrastructure (e.g. to make space for water)
  • Renaturalization of rivers and other water bodies

Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities

Biodiversity conservation:

  • Protect and enhance urban habitats
  • Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems
  • Reduce negative impacts and avoid the alteration/damage of ecosystem
  • Protect species
  • Undertake specific measures to protect species
  • Undertake specific measures to protect native species
  • Undertake specific measures to protect valued species

Main beneficiaries

  • Local government/Municipality
  • Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)
  • Citizens or community groups
  • Marginalized groups: Elderly people
  • Young people and children

Governance

Management set-up

  • Co-governance with government and non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

  • Local government/municipality
  • Private sector/corporate actor/company
  • Citizens or community group

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
  • Dissemination of information and education
  • Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

The city of Bielefeld has commissioned the project (3) The planning office DTP Landschaftsarchitekten GmbH from Essen was commissioned to draw up a free-space planning concept for the Green Belt (1). The great role was given to evaluations of the Bielefeld citizens and participatory methods of design (1). The Environmental department of the Bielefeld municipality is responsible for the realisation of the project (14).

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Yes (European Water Framework Directive (Umsetzungsfahrplan der europäischen Wasserrahmenrichtlinie) adopted in 2012 (3, 14))
... a national policy or strategy? Unknown
... a local policy or strategy? Yes (Bielefeld Environment Department Initiative (1))

Financing

Total cost

More than €4,000,000

Source(s) of funding

  • EU funds
  • Public local authority budget
  • Funds provided by non-governmental organization (NGO)
  • Private Foundation/Trust

Type of funding

  • Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
  • Membership or entrance fees

Non-financial contribution

No

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Climate change
  • Lowered local temperature
  • Environmental quality
  • Improved air quality
  • Water management and blue areas
  • Increased protection against flooding
  • Enhanced protection and restoration of freshwater ecosystems
  • Green space and habitat
  • Promotion of naturalistic styles of landscape design for urban development
  • Increased green space area
  • Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
  • Increased number of species present
  • Increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales

Economic impacts

  • Unknown

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Social justice and cohesion
  • Improved access to urban green space
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
  • Cultural heritage and sense of place
  • Improvement in people’s connection to nature
  • Education
  • Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
  • Other

Type of reported impacts

Expected impacts, Achieved impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Yes

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

References

1. Bielefeld. (2020). Luttergrünzug: Planung und Neugestaltung. Accessed August 28, 2020, Source link.
2. Bielefeld. (2020). Luttergrünzug: Bürgerbeteiligung. Accessed August 28, 2020, Source link.
3. Bielefeld. (2020). Rahmenkonzept Luttergrunzug Bielefeld. Accessed August 28, 2020, Source link.
4. Green Corridor Variant A. (2017).
5. Green Corridor Variant B. (2017).
6. Bielefeld. (2017). Freiraumplanerisches Rahmenkonzept
Luttergrünzug. Accessed August 28, 2020, Source link
7. Bielefeld. (2020). Luttergrünzug: Von der Innenstadt bis Heepen. Accessed August 28, 2020, Source link
8. Bielefeld. (2020). Luttergrünzug: Der Luttergrünzug im Wandel, Accessed August 28, 2020, Source link
9. Bielefeld. (2020). Luttergrünzug: Aktuelles und Termine, Accessed August 28, 2020 Source link
10. Bielefeld. (2018). Luttergrünzug: Niederschrift über die Sitzung des Ausschusses für Umwelt und Klimaschutz am 05.07.2018, Accessed August 28, 2020, Source link
11. Bielefeld. (2017). Freiraumplanerisches Rahmenkonzept Luttergrünzug Ergebnisbericht, Teil 1, Accessed August 28, 2020, Source link
12. Bielefeld. (2017). Freiraumplanerisches Rahmenkonzept Luttergrünzug Ergebnisbericht, Teil 2, Accessed August 28, 2020, Source link
13. Ahlers, J. (2018). Zukunft der Stauteiche: Was die Anwohnern von den Plänen halten. Neue Westfälische, Accessed August 28, 2020, Source link
14. Hörttrich, B. (2018). Lutter-Grünzug: Statt neuer Wegeverbindung erst neue Spielplätze. Westfalen-Blatt, Accessed August 28, 2020, Source link
15. Schläger, M. (2018). Kompromiss: Die Schrebergärten am Stauteich III bleiben erhalten - Kein Luttersee und auch keine Wohnhäuser. Westfalen-Blatt, Accessed August 28, 2020, Source link
Luttergrünzug Bielefeld
Source: https://www.bielefeld.de/de/un/freir/luttergruenzug/pln/
Luttergrünzug Bielefeld
Source: https://www.outdooractive.com/de/route/jogging/teutoburger-wald/bielefelder-runden-laufen-walken-an-den-stauteichen-russheide/14471627/#dmlb=1