Urban Agriculture Park Heidelberg: Council approves planning order

Good news! On the 28th March, Heidelberg’s City Council approached a review and planning order for the further joint development, with IBA Heidelberg, of the idea for an Urban Agriculture Park [Landwirtschaftspark] to the southwest of the city centre. In cooperation with the International Building Exhibition (IBA) and with the participation of the citizens, the administration aims for a planning concept for the agricultural park envisaged on about 420 ha around the airfield conversion area (currently lying unused after the withdrawal of the US-Army in 2014) with the various claims for use integrated into it.

This concept will build on ideas from within Heidelberg’s civil society developed into a preliminary concept through a participatory design process co-led by Katrin Bohn who acted as a consultant for IBA Heidelberg between 2016 and 2018.

Extracts from the IBA’s website about the project: ‘A cooperative network is establishing an agricultural park south of Heidelberg. Food production, recreation and nature conservation are to be combined there so that the landscape can be experienced as a place of education.
How can urban metabolism be made more regional? This is the question at stake, including the production processes of high-quality food. Another topic is how productive agriculture and local recreation can co-exist without conflict. The agricultural landscape is located as a green area including the Airfield conversion area between the Bahnstadt, Kirchheim, Pfaffengrund and Eppelheim and was developed within the framework of an EU directive as particularly worthy for funding.
The area forms a fresh air corridor for the entire city. It offers a wealth of sensory or learning impressions and is thus becoming an alternative place of learning with nature trails, green classrooms, educational horticulture, leased plots for vegetable and fruit cultivation for self-supply and others. Other players complement the existing agriculture. Through the IBA, various universities studied this park typology and developed ideas and concepts for its transformation. Furthermore, a network of farmers, residents, educational and research institutions was established, and agreed upon collaboration. The first concrete steps can be financed from 2018 – 2020 with the promise of a joint EU application from the Heidelberg University of Education, the State Institute of Education and Research for Horticulture (LVG) and the IBA.’

For more information on the Landwirtschaftspark see here.

For information on IBA Heidelberg see here.

For information on the design of the Landwirtschaftspark Heidelberg see here.

Image: The Urban Agriculture Park borders several local (urban) neighbourhoods and consists of a patchwork of different fields owned and used by a multitude of stakeholders. (source: Bohn&Viljoen and IBA Heidelberg 2016)