Bausteine - Referate - Jana Milosovicova - Urban Design English

Bebauungsplan, or “B-plan.” Germany has 10
zoning districts: classified as residential, mixeduse,
commercial and special. In the residential
and mixed-use districts, local commercial is
permitted (either by right or conditional) and
required, respectively. (See Table 1) As a result,
most areas have varying levels of mixed-use.
The “B-plan” is a legally binding local plan that
regulates the specific type and degree of building
and land use. Typically initiated by the local
planning authority, B-plans usually cover an area
from block to several blocks. In locations without
a B-Plan, the use of the property is regulated
by the underlying zoning and must generally
match the surrounding uses in the direct area.
In comparison to American regulations, B-Plans
are most similar to the regulating plans used in
form-based codes and planned unit development
ordinances that also have greater detail at
the block and building level.
The American planning system is characterized
by strong local planning control. The only federal
involvement was the 1921 zoning enabling
act that authorized local governments to divide
territory into districts. As a result, the dominating
land use regulation in the U.S. is the unique
zoning code of each municipality. Despite some
variety between codes, most suburban codes
include strictly separated uses, low permissible
housing densities, large building setbacks and
high minimum parking requirements. Efforts at
increasing mixed-use have include new mixeduse
zones, new form-based code zones (that
allow a rezoning from the old code to the new
code), and occasionally rewrites of entire zoning
codes.
Transportation Planning
Public policy in Germany has supported walking,
bicycling and transit use with increased funding
and infrastructure while restricting automobile
use mainly through high taxes. Metropolitan
wide transit systems are standard, with large
subsidies that enable high-quality service for
low ticket prices. However, German has levels
of automobile ownership only 10 percent lower
than the U.S. and an extensive autobahn
system between cities. Yet transit use has increased
in a case study of three cities, Muenster,
Freiburg and Munich due in part to major improvements
in public transit systems and bicycle
networks. In Munich public transit rose from 19
percent in 1976 to 25 percent in 1995; bicycling
doubled from 6 percent to 14 percent. Freiburg
showed similar results between 1976 and 1994:
transit use rose from 22 percent to 26 percent,
bicycling rose from 18 percent to 28 percent,
and the share of automobile travel fell from 60
percent to 46 percent (TCRP, 1998).
After 50 years of highway building, most U.S.
cities are now car dependant. Transportation
is funded primarily from gas and vehicle taxes
(TCRP, 1998) with 80 percent dedicated to
highways and roads and 17 percent for transit
(Farr, 2008). In the U.S., transit expansion is
in planning stages or underway in most major
metropolitan areas. Federal funds for transit are
limited so transit projects line up and “wait in
line” for several years before receiving funding
in a competitive process. In response to gas prices
rising over 2007, American transit use had
the highest number of rides taken in 50 years.
(APTA, 2008)
The Role of the Rating System
In Germany, the city has a much stronger role
in the development process than in the U.S.,
with the ability to shape development more
closely through the B-Plan process and more
active participation in the buying and selling of
land it wants to have developed. Public-private
partnerships are also much more common in
Germany as governments take an active role
in shaping development. In the U.S., the private
sector tends to take a lead role, with greater
involvement in the planning process and local
infrastrucature layout.
Continuing to create auto-dependant areas will
only increase carbon dioxide emissions; addressing
sprawl is necessary to reduce the emissions
that cause climate change. Yet both Europe and
America need to align government and market
101