City section Vauban : innovative urban planning in the heart of the Black Forest

Freiburg is a city in the southern Black Forest with a very innovative and successful urban planning policy. The city, in cooperation with other partners, redeveloped an abandoned Cold War-era military base into an ecologically sustainable cutting-edge city section with a diverse population.This creative project will examine the processes of the successful transformation of Forum Vauban from a military base into a sustainable mixed-use district. Although such progressive initiatives and creative problem solving may not be politic feasible in every community, it is important to learn from such successful and innovate to urban problems. For my creative project, I will describe and analyze various factors, events and policies that have encouraged Vauban to develop into a successful and world-renowned sustainable city section. It is especially important for urban planners to learn from the success of Vauban as a tool for professional development; however, lay person could also greatly benefit by learning about the successful planning practices in Vauban and in the city of Freiburg, Germany. Perhaps, this would enable them to learn enough about good planning practices to make a difference in their own community.