Frankfurt am Main, Germany
City population: 674619
Duration: 2014 – 2015
Implementation status: Completed
Scale: Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Project area: 3200 m2
Type of area: Previous derelict area
Last updated: October 2021

Platenstrasse in the Ginnheim district of Frankfurt was laid out as a four-lane feeder in the 1960s. It leads through the settlement of the same name, which was formerly the housing area of ​​the US armed forces. After their withdrawal in 1994, the settlement came into municipal ownership. Many large families, often with a migration background, moved in. Wild parking lots and storage spaces were created without any quality of stay. In 2000, discussion about the redesign of the Plattenstrasse started and in 2015 it was completely transformed into a green corridor. The street space was rearranged and the paved areas were reduced to the necessary extent. Sensitive planning and respect for the established structures helped to preserve the character of the district while significantly increasing the green area with recreational facilities. (1)

Grunzug Frankfurt
Source: https://frankfurt-greencity.de/berichte/klima-freiflaechen/gruenzug-platenstrasse/

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Parks and urban forests
  • Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
  • Green corridors and green belts
  • 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)
  • Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Environmental quality
  • Air quality improvement
  • Regeneration, land-use and urban development
  • Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
  • Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
  • Social justice and equity
  • Health and well-being (SDG 3)
  • Creation of opportunities for recreation

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Transformation of previously derelict areas

Project objectives

1. Recovering and securing green areas against the background of growing residential needs and climate change (1); 2. Fair distribution of green areas among all the social groups (1); 3. The increase of green spaces in socially disadvantaged city quarters (1); 4. Fulfill the potential of the "empty" urban areas (1); 5. Rainwater infiltration (1); 6. Improvement of the quality of air in the city (1).

Implementation activities

1. Creation of ca. 3200 m² of new green spaces (1) 2. Asphalted area reduced to the required minimum (1) 3. 13 benches installed (4) 4. 17 bike stands installed (4) 5. 41 trees planted (4) 6. Sports facilities introduced (4)

Climate-focused activities

Climate change adaptation:

  • Increase or improve urban vegetation cover to help reduce outdoor temperature

Main beneficiaries

  • 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
  • Public sector institution
  • Non-government organisation/civil society
  • 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)
  • Citizen oversight (e.g. boards, advisory)
  • Citizen monitoring and review

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

Non-Government actors involved in the process were: the public service company Mainova AG, housing construction company ABG FRANKFURT HOLDING, Local Counseling, Astrid Lindgren School, Integrative School, family, and children center Kita Morgenstern, Neighborhood Center Ginnheim and the advisory board 9 (Dornbusch, Eschersheim, Ginnheim) (1)

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown
... a national policy or strategy? Yes (With the German Adaptation Strategy to Climate Change (2008) goals and principles, as well as diverse nation-wide action options for climate adaptation, are in force (3). Federal Government of Germany emphasizes the importance of the development of local climate change strategies on the municipal level (3). Frankfurt Green City (Grune Stadt Frankfurt) is a climate adaptation strategy targeted at mitigation of the threats caused by climate change on the city-level (3). )
... a local policy or strategy? Yes (The Frankfurt city development recommendations „Stadtentwicklungsinitiative 2030“ assumes the even construction of new residential and green areas (1).)

Financing

Total cost

€500,000 - €2,000,000

Source(s) of funding

  • Public local authority budget

Type of funding

  • Earmarked public budget

Non-financial contribution

No

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Climate change
  • Lowered local temperature
  • Water management and blue areas
  • Improved stormwater management
  • Green space and habitat
  • Promotion of naturalistic styles of landscape design for urban development
  • Increased green space area
  • Increased number of species present
  • Restoration of derelict areas

Economic impacts

  • Stimulate development in deprived areas

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Social justice and cohesion
  • Improved access to urban green space
  • Increased opportunities for social interaction
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Gain in activities for recreation and exercise

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

Yes

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

Yes

References

1. Frankfurt Green City. (2017). Neues Grün direkt vor der Tür. Accessed on October 5, 2020, Source link
2. West 8. (2012). Madrid Rio. Accessed 02 July 2017, Source link.
3. Umwelt Bundesamt. (2013). GRÜNE STADT FRANKFURT. HANDBUCH ZUR GUTEN PRAXIS DER ANPASSUNG AN DEN KLIMAWANDEL, Accessed on October 5, 2020,
Source link
4. JUDITH Dietermann. (2015). Ginnheim ist ein bisschen grüner, Accessed on October 5, 2020, Source link
5. Frankfurt am Main. (2015). Nutzung der Sportplätze zwischen Wilhelm-Epstein-Straße und Franz-Werfel-Straße/Platenstraße, Website not available.
Grunzug Frankfurt
Source: https://frankfurt-greencity.de/berichte/klima-freiflaechen/gruenzug-platenstrasse/