'Grüne Krone': open space concept for Aachen

Aachen has a lot to offer in terms of green open spaces. The spectrum ranges from forests close to the city to open landscapes, parks and gardens, playgrounds and sports facilities, cemeteries, avenues and green squares.

However, green open spaces and their quality are not evenly distributed throughout the city. Large, high-quality green spaces in Aachen's urban area are not always located where they are most needed: in neighborhoods where many citizens live.

And the existing open spaces are often being 'stretched to the limit': Aachen is - fortunately - one of the cities with dynamic residential development. But where buildings are built, open space has to make way. This increases the pressure in two ways: Green spaces are reduced by development and the remaining ones are used by more people.

As a result, the requirements and demands placed on urban green spaces in particular are constantly increasing. This also includes the need to adapt settlements to climate change and to compensate for pressures in people's living environment.

In view of Aachen's growing and often individualized population, public open spaces are also of great importance as meeting places for urban society.

Strategic fields of action

In view of these challenges, a strategy is needed to take a holistic view of the importance and development of Aachen's open spaces and relate them to one another.

The focus is on urban green spaces and parks, green structures in playgrounds and green streets and squares.

The open space concept presents the functions and potential of Aachen's green spaces, provides information on the quantitative supply and shows priorities and perspectives for the strategic development of the urban green system.

The lead image: the 'Green Crown'

Aachen's green system has a characteristic structure: 'green fingers' - often oriented towards watercourses - extend from variously developed landscape areas close to the city center. There they meet a ring of larger parks, many of which have their origins in the 19th century. Due to the high building density in the city center, the number and size of green spaces there is decreasing. Nevertheless, these 'green islands' still exist and perform important functions, especially in the heavily sealed districts. This system is supplemented by linear green structures, especially in the form of avenues and rows of trees along the streets.

The overarching guiding image for this overall structure is Aachen's 'Green Crown'. In addition to a focused representation of the green system, this image relates to Aachen's special significance as a historic coronation city and symbolically underlines the high value of urban greenery. The special features, challenges and objectives for the various main elements, the 'rays', the 'jewels', the 'ribbons' and the 'pearls' are explained in detail in the open space concept.