Population growth in Hamburg, Europe’s Green Capital in 2011, has risen over recent decades to reach almost two million inhabitants. The great challenge for Germany’s second city was thus to optimize transport and city center infrastructure without increasing emissions, and it has achieved this well. Every citizen lives within 300 meters of a stop for public transport.
In addition, the HafenCity development project will transform 40% of the city’s surface area into parks, gardens, paths and green zones. This measure, as well as having environmental and aesthetic benefits, will serve to protect the city against possible floods from the Elba river, by acting as a natural sponge in a city known as the Venice of the North.
The same plan is converting 157 acres of Hamburg port, one of the biggest industrial estates on the European continent, into a space shared by denizens. In fact, over the past two years, homes for 12,000 people and offices for 45,000 workers have been built, with many of the buildings winning sustainable architecture awards.
Meanwhile, in terms of infrastructure, Hamburg City Hall has banned construction companies from using PVC (a plastic derivative considered by many to be toxic to people) in new buildings.
