Essen, Germany
City population: 576013
Duration: 2007 – 2012
Implementation status: Completed
Scale: Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Project area: 2300000 m2
Type of area: Industrial
Last updated: November 2021

The former site of the Krupp cast steel factory was transformed into a 230 hectares green belt stretching from the city center to the district of Altendorf, while the adjacent industrial wasteland was turned into an 11 hectares add-on to the Krupp Park (Ref. 1). The landscape vision "Freiraum creates urban space", in which the Krupp Park is a building block, is a comprehensive strategic approach that aims to gradually build up new urban landscape structures and to create diverse qualities of location for different urban uses" (Ref. 9).

An aerial photo of green space with paths and trees
https://landezine-award.com/krupp-park-and-headquarter-essen/

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Grey infrastructure featuring greens
  • Blue infrastructure
  • Riverbank/Lakeside greens
  • Parks and urban forests
  • Large urban parks or forests
  • Green corridors and green belts
  • Lakes/ponds
  • Green areas for water management
  • Sustainable urban drainage systems

Key challenges

  • 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
  • Noise reduction
  • Regeneration, land-use and urban development
  • Conversion of former industrial areas
  • Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
  • Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
  • Social interaction
  • Health and well-being (SDG 3)
  • Enabling opportunities for physical activity
  • Creation of opportunities for recreation
  • Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
  • Economic development: industry
  • Economic development: service sectors
  • Real estate development

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Transformation of previously derelict areas

Project objectives

1. To increase the amount of greenery in the Altendorf district of Essen (Ref. 3) 2. To revitalize the area of former harsh industrial activity (Ref. 4) 3. Sustainable development of the new dwelling quarter (Ref. 4) 4. To manage efficient use of the resources of the green and blue areas in the Park (Ref. 4) 5. To increase biodiversity in the area (Ref. 4) 6. To create a recreational area for all age groups (Ref. 4) 7. To increase the aesthetic appreciation of the area (Ref. 6) 8. Noise reduction (Ref. 6) 9. To create new workplaces (Ref. 6)

Implementation activities

1. Construction of total 23 ha of the park (Ref. 6) 2. Construction of 9.100 m² of water surface area (Ref. 6) 3. Construction of 4.5 ha of a forest area (Ref. 6) 4. Organization of 13.5 ha suitable for pedestrians (Ref. 6) 5. Creation of a noise protection wall (length 160 m) (Ref. 6) 6. 140,000 m³ of clay added to the soil (Ref. 6) 7. 18 000 trees and bushes planted (Ref. 7) 8. Creation of rain water channels leading to an artificial pond (Ref. 4) 9. "The vegetation consists of near-natural trees, shrubs and grasses. In addition to the layout of the park, the main goal of the vegetation architecture is to underline the topography of the park. Their course is based on the contour lines, so that the topographic impression intensifies. A total of 123 large trees, which have been formed into rows of trees (Quercus robur fastigiata, Koster '), 271 solitary trees, 17,530 bushes and 16,739 grassy islands and solitary grasses were planted. Grassy islands and reed belts are the complement to the vegetation architecture in the area of ​​the Hochtal and Krupp-See" (Ref. 11). "Herefrom rainwater from the headquarter is collected and directed through bio-swales to a retention pond at the northern end of the park, a 9,000m2 lake" (Ref. 11).

Main beneficiaries

  • Local government/Municipality
  • Private sector/Corporate/Company
  • Citizens or community groups
  • Marginalized groups: Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed)

Governance

Management set-up

  • Co-governance with government and non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

  • Local government/municipality
  • Private sector/corporate actor/company

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Unknown

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

From 2000 on the city of Essen and ThyssenKrupp company began negotiating on the plan for the development of the "Krupp belt" - the area where a new office and commercial spaces of the company were to be located. During the negotiation, it was decided to allocate the land for the public park due to the lack of greenery in the Altendorf district (Ref. 3). The architectural bureau Kiparlandschaftsarchitekten from Milan / Duisburg designed a park (Ref. 4).

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown
... a national policy or strategy? Yes (1. InnovationCity Ruhr strategy pursues the development of sustainable landscape planning in Essen (Ref. 6) 2. The National Sustainability Strategy and the Federal Nature Conservation Act called for the obligations of municipalities in systematical landscape planning, nature and climate protection (Ref. 6) 3. DINNorms for Landscape and Civil Engineering works (Ref. 6))
... a local policy or strategy? Yes (1. The guidelines of the research company "Landscape development and building" ("Landschaftsentwicklung Landschaftsbau") (Ref. 6) These guidelines were designed by the city of Essen, and the architectural bureau Kiparlandschaftsarchitekten that was responsible for the planning of the Park followed them in their design. )

Financing

Total cost

More than €4,000,000

Source(s) of funding

  • EU funds
  • Public national budget
  • Public regional budget
  • Corporate investment
  • Funds provided by non-governmental organization (NGO)
  • Private Foundation/Trust

Type of funding

  • Earmarked public budget
  • Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)

Non-financial contribution

No

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Climate change
  • Lowered local temperature
  • Environmental quality
  • Reduced noise exposure
  • Improved soil quality
  • Water management and blue areas
  • Improved stormwater management
  • Green space and habitat
  • Increased green space area
  • Increased conversion of degraded land or soil
  • Restoration of derelict areas

Economic impacts

  • Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
  • Stimulate development in deprived areas
  • Attraction of business and investment

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Social justice and cohesion
  • Fair distribution of social, environmental and economic benefits of the NBS project
  • Improved liveability
  • Improved access to urban green space
  • Increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
  • Increased opportunities for social interaction
  • Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
  • Cultural heritage and sense of place
  • Increased sense of place identity, memory and belonging

Type of reported impacts

Achieved impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Unknown

Presence of indicators used in reporting

No evidence in public records

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

Yes

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No

References

1. ICLEI (2017). European Green Capital 2017: Essen’s transition from gray to green Nature-based solutions for sustainable urban development. ICLEI Briefing Sheet - Nature-based Solutions. (Document attached).
2. Wikipedia (2017). Krupp-Park. Available at: Source link (Accessed: November 6, 2020).
3. Essener Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft mbH (2017). Krupp-Gürtel. Available at: Source link (Accessed: November 6, 2020).
4. Stadt Essen (2017). Krupp-Park. Ein neuer Park im Krupp-Gürtel. Available at: Source link (Accessed: November 6, 2020).
5. Lebendige Stadt (2009). Aktueller Informationen zum Krupp-Park. Available at: Source link (Accessed: November 6, 2020).
6. Machule, Dittmar, and Usadel, Jens (2011). Essen. Krupp-Park. Schriftenreihe Lebendige Stadt Band 7 Hrsg. von der Stiftung Lebendige Stadt Grün-Natur und Stadt-Struktur. Available at: Source link (Accessed: November 6, 2020).
7. Eckardt, Vera (2013). Krupp-Park in Altendorf – Naherholungsgebiet für Menschen aller Altersklassen. Available at: Source link (Accessed: November 6, 2020).
8. Neumann, Stephanie (2013). HANDBUCH ZUR GUTEN PRAXIS DER ANPASSUNG AN DEN KLIMAWANDEL. Available at: Source link (Accessed: November 6, 2020).
9. Nationale Stadtentwiclungs Politik (2017). Essen „vom Krupp-Gürtel zum Krupp-Park“. Available at: Source link (Accessed: November 6, 2020).
10. Landezine (n.d.). Krupp Park and Headquarter Essen. Available at: Source link (Accessed: November 6, 2020).
11. Kipar, Andreas O. (n.d.). Krupp Park "Five Hills" - From the middle to the edges: new quality of life. Available at: Source link (Accessed: November 6, 2020).