Green-blue streets

In collaboration with the Department of Landscape Architecture at RWTH Aachen University, lala.ruhr developed and oversaw the student planning project “green-blue streets – water-sensitive city of Essen-Altendorf.” Master’s students in architecture and urban planning – supervised entirely online due to the pandemic – designed new neighborhood master plans for Essen’s densely built-up western district. The starting point was the Altendorf neighborhood surrounding Niederfeldsee: Here, green-blue infrastructure such as stormwater management, infiltration areas, and a new traffic organization were to be further developed as exemplary models for a water-sensitive existing city. The range of results spanned from separated sewer systems and permeable green spaces to a skatepark capable of handling heavy rainfall and demonstrated how climate adaptation, the mobility transition, and livable street spaces can be integrated.