Location: Stuttgart, Germany
City population: 581,386
Project duration: 1998 - 2014
Project cost: Unknown
Financing source(s): Public regional budget, Public local authority's budget

Green Ventilation Corridors

Grüne Belüftungskorridore

The Green Ventilation Corridors network in Stuttgart, Germany is an implemented nature-based solution coupled with regulatory policies and incentives. Within this initiative, Green ventilation corridors were created to enable fresh air to sweep down from hills surrounding the city (4).
Weblink: http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/metadata/case-studies/stuttgart-combating-the-heat-island-effect-and-poor-air-quality-with-green-ventilation-corridors/#cost_benefit_anchor

Urban setting

  • Grey infrastructure with green features
    • Alley and street trees/hedges/greens
    • Railroad bank and tracks
    • Green parking lots
  • Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas
    • Pocket parks / neighbourhood green spaces
    • Green corridor

Key challenges

  • Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Environmental quality, including air quality and waste management
  • Regeneration, land-use and urban development
  • Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
  • Health and well-being (SDG 3)

Main beneficiaries

  • Citizens or community groups
Project objectives
1. Preserve and channel cool air throughout the city (1) 2. Connecting rural areas with the city center (1) 3. Prevent urban heat island effect and poor air quality (2) 4. Enhance biodiversity (2) 5. Support health and wellbeing of citizens providing more recreational spaces (5)
Implementation activities
1. Production of the urban climatic map (5) 2. Introduction of the new building regulations (7) 3. Creation of the climate-relevant ventilation lanes, parks and green corridors (5)

Type of initiating organisation

  • Local government / municipality

Management set-up

Government-led

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Dissemination of information and education
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown
... a national policy or strategy? Unknown
... a local policy or strategy? Yes
The Regional Plan of Stuttgart (1998) illustrated a system of open-space corridor that channel cooler air down preserved, undeveloped park areas on hillsides and through low-density developed areas, connecting rural areas and the city center. Within the city, shaded parks are connected to the air flow channels wherever possible, providing cooling for local neighborhoods (1). Land use within the green corridors and on the slopes is strictly regulated; the preferred width is a minimum of 100 m (1).
Expected impacts
  • Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Environmental quality, including air quality and waste management
  • Regeneration, land-use and urban development
  • Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
  • Health and well-being (SDG 3)
  • Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
Details on impacts and indicators used 1. In line with the city development vision, 60 hectares of greenfield land previously earmarked for development has been cut from the 2010 land development plan to protect existing green space (12) Other outcomes, such as decrease of the average heat, are unknown

Presence of formal monitoring system

Yes

Presence of indicators used in reporting

Yes

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

Unknown
1. (2013). Mark DeKay and G. Z. Brown, Sun, Wind, and Light: Architectural Design Strategies. John Wiley & Sons.
2. (2017). ICLEI Briefing Sheet - Nature-based Solutions, http://unfccc.int/files/parties_observers/submissions_from_observers/application/pdf/778.pdf
3. (2016). Structure and agency: The seeds of sustainability for 21st-century cities, https://ugecviewpoints.wordpress.com/2016/01/12/structure-and-agency-the-seeds-of-sustainability-for-21st-century-cities/
4. (2017). HOW CITIES ARE USING NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT, http://cbc.iclei.org/cities-using-nature-based-solutions-sustainable-urban-development/
5. Edward Ng and Chao Ren, The Urban Climatic Map: A Methodology for Sustainable Urban Planning. Routledge, https://books.google.com.tr/books?id=vDmDCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT541&lpg=PT541&dq=ventilation+green+corridor+stuttgart&source=bl&ots=AIW3rWlnQh&sig=BKWGfGBXKPSNFcQLJfXv_dj3_9I&hl=ru&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj40O35m4PVAhUsJJoKHZ1OC2gQ6AEIczAM#v=onepage&q=ventilation%20green%20corridor%20stuttgart&f=false.
6. Strategic Environmental Assessment,http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTRANETENVIRONMENT/Resources/244351-1279901011064/GuidanceNoteonSEA.pdf
7. (2017). STUTTGART: COOL CITY. Dac&Cities, http://www.dac.dk/en/dac-cities/sustainable-cities/all-cases/green-city/stuttgart-cool-city/
8. (2013). Urban Climate in Stuttgart Ventilation corridors and green in the city, http://www.circle-era.eu/np4/%7B$clientServletPath%7D/?newsId=519&fileName=8_CIRCLE_2_ECCA_Ventilation_corridors_Ul.pdf
9. (2008). German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change, http://www.preventionweb.net/files/27772_dasgesamtenbf1-63.pdf
10. (2017). Stuttgart Region: Multifunctional Green Infrastructure for an Attractive Urban Region, http://oppla.eu/casestudy/17477
11. Liu Shuyu, Shen Jihuang. (2015). Urban Ventilation Corridor Planning Method Based on the Local Circulation – Taking Stuttgart,
Germany as an example [J]. Journal of Zhejiang University: engineering science edition, 2010, 44 (10): 1985-1991.
12. (2017). Stuttgart, Germany: green ventilation corridors, http://www.ceeweb.org/work-areas/priority-areas/green-infrastructure/climate/
13. Antony Mwangi Wambui (2012). Towards “Cool Urbanity”: Green Infrastructure and City Form Spatial Realignment for Natural Ventilation. Department of Landscape Architecture. College of Design. North Carolina State University.

 

Disclaimer: The data collection was carried out between June and August 2017, the information presented has not been updated afterwards.