Community action/Freiburg

Within Vauban, transport is primarily by foot or bicycle: according to Scheurer (2001), 38–73% of movements were performed by walking or cycling, as opposed to 5–16% by car. Scheurer (2001) found that cycling was the main mode of transport for most trips and most activities, including commuting and shopping. The development is connected to Freiburg city centre by a tramway and is laid out linearly along the tracks, such that all homes are within easy walking distance from a tram stop. In 2006, just after the tram network had been extended, 70% of local public transport trips were made by tram, and 30% by bus. The level of car ownership has fallen over time: "Scheurer (2001) and Nobis (2003) found that just over half of households owned a car" (Scheurer: 54%; Nobis: "over 40%" carfree), but according to Melia et al. (2010), "parking levels suggest a substantial majority of households do not own cars there today."

The preference for walking and cycling can be partly attributed to the layout of the district. Building on previous experience, the plan departs from the simple inherited grid and creates a network, which incorporates the principle of “filtered permeability”. It means that the network geometry favours the active modes of transport and, selectively, “filters out” the car. This is accomplished by reducing the number of streets that run through the neighbourhood. Instead, most local streets are crescents and cul-de-sacs (see drawing). While they are discontinuous for cars, they connect to a network of pedestrian and bike paths, which permeate the entire neighbourhood. In addition, these paths go through or past open spaces, adding to the enjoyment of the trip. The logic of filtering a mode of transport is fully expressed in a new comprehensive model for laying out neighbourhoods and districts – the Fused Grid.

Most of Vauban's residential streets are described as stellplatzfrei – literally "free from parking spaces". Vehicles are allowed down these streets at walking pace to pick up and deliver but not to park, although there are some infractions as the system depends essentially on social consensus – there are few official controls. Each year, households are required to sign a declaration stating either that they do not own a car, or that they do, in which case they must buy a space in one of the multi-storey car parks on the periphery, at a one-off cost of €17,500 plus a monthly service fee (in 2006). According to Melia (2006), "the citywide car sharing club has the greatest concentration of its 2,500 members in Vauban – at least ten of its cars are stationed around the district."

Vauban (German pronunciation: [voˈbãː]) is a neighbourhood (Stadtteil) to the south of the town centre in Freiburg, Germany. It was built as "a sustainable model district" on the site of a former French military base named after Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the 17th century French Marshal who built fortifications in Freiburg while the region was under French rule. Construction began in 1998, and the first two residents arrived in 2001.

All houses are built to a low-energy consumption standard, with 100 units designed to the Passivhaus ultra-low energy building standard. Other buildings are heated by a combined heat and power station burning wood chips, while many of the buildings have solar collectors or photovoltaic cells. Perhaps the best example of sustainable building is the Solar Settlement in Vauban, a 59 PlusEnergy home housing community. It is the first housing community worldwide in which all the homes produce a positive energy balance. The solar energy surplus is then sold back into the city's grid for a profit on every home.

Freiburg im Breisgau's parks, green spaces, recreational facilities, playgrounds, roadside greeneries and the Mundenhof add up to an area of 397 hectares (980 acres), which corresponds to 18.05 square metres (194.3 sq ft) of green space per Freiburg citizen. On average, major cities in Baden-Württemberg have 22.66 square metres (243.9 sq ft) of green space per citizen. However, there is an area of 2,600 hectares (6,400 acres) of forest in the proximity of Freiburg as well as additional recreational area like the Rieselfeld district (a former sewage farm). The majority of the green spaces came into existence from the 1960s on.