Tuesday, June 9
A week has passed on our field school and finally we have made it to the famous city of Freiburg, Germany. One thing I have noticed with Germany is how much easier it is to find internet cafes compared to Switzerland. It is also a lot cheaper, even after considering the conversion from Euro to Canadian, to find cheap food!
The German city of Freiburg, where sustainability goes naturally with its culture
Though I knew about their sustainability initiatives before coming and their famous Vauban residential area, I did not know how the city of Freiburg has been making solar energy such a popular product. The municipal government, which has been governed by the Green Party since 1992, has joined forces with power companies, businesses, as well as private citizens in attempting to make solar power a mainstream and available, profitable product.
To some extent they have been having more and more progress in giving citizens long term guarantees for their products, while power companies are also required to buy back any extra solar energy produced in private homes at a set price.
Freiburg is a beautiful city of roughly 220 000 people nestled beside the Black Forest. In fact, our first hostel of the trip was called the Black Forest Hostel. Already after arriving we have started to see some interesting architecture, solar panels, and an efficient tram system that runs throughout the region. Part of Freiburg's beauty is its notorious nature of being the greenest city in the world.
In fact, sustainability appears to just go along naturally with its culture. Our group was lucky enough to have an extensive discussion with Thomas Dresel of the Solar Region environmental protection authority of Freiburg, telling us the ways in which Freiburg has historically been a leader in sustainable initiatives and how it continues today in attempts to rely on renewable energy.
Though I
could talk all day about what we discussed, I will instead highlight how our
next field trip goes in the next few days. One of our assignments for our field
notebooks was to observe two famous residential developments known for their
sustainability: Rieselfeld and Vaubaun.