Haaren is located north-east of the center of Aachen. The district of Haaren consists of two districts: Haaren, located in the valley on the Haarbach stream, and Verlautenheide, at the top of the Horst, which surrounds Aachen in a ring. Haaren is a district of Aachen in the north-east of the city, four kilometers north-east of Aachen city center. Around 12,000 people live in the district today.
Haaren has a good location, it has history and its own character, which characterizes coexistence in the district. Haaren lies on the banks of the Wurm and Haarbach streams and has a large green area in its center. But Haaren is also surrounded on three sides and bordered by two highways and a main road.
The busy Alt-Haarener Straße runs right through the middle of the village and is a major nuisance. This is where the greatest need for action lies: the aim is to make the thoroughfare more tolerable for the residents of Haaren and to make the town center more attractive. This is followed by the possibility of a spatial and functional development of the strengths with the location by the water and the green potential. The ratio of 2 to 1 between buildings and green spaces shows that there is only a limited amount of open space in the district that needs to be protected. This makes it all the more clear that a future task lies in the preservation and qualification of open spaces.
Results of the Haaren workshop process
In the second half of 2017, three teams of planners developed planning concepts for the redesign of Haaren's town center in a "cooperative workshop process". This should be both functionally well thought-out and spatially and creatively appropriate to the importance of the location. All essential requirements of the various usage demands are to be adequately taken into account. The planning teams involved in the competition-like process were scape Landschaftsarchitekten with VSU GmbH, Planergruppe Oberhausen with brenner bernhard Ingenieure and 3PLUS Freiraumplaner with BKI mbH (each a consortium of landscape/open space planners and traffic planners).
In February 2018, a jury decided which concepts for individual areas should be pursued further. The concepts show a perspective for the long-term redesign and upgrading of the town center.
The planning and development concepts developed as part of the workshop process were on public display at the Haaren district office from March 12 to 23 and could be viewed there by interested citizens.
The planning area in the workshop process was the town center from the Wurm along Alt-Haarener Straße to the junction with Friedenstraße. The area covered included the floodplains of the Wurm and Haarbach rivers, the Haaren market and the area around St. Germanus Church.
The designs and concepts were developed in a workshop process in which the planners regularly presented their work statuses to local experts from the district as well as representatives from politics and administration and put them up for discussion.
In November 2017, an interim public presentation was also held at the Am Haarbach elementary school. At the well-attended event, interested parties and stakeholders from Haaren gave the planning teams feedback on the status of their work. The concepts were further developed on this basis.
When drawing up development perspectives and planning concepts for the Haaren town center, the various demands for the use of public space and their specific requirements were weighed up in terms of concrete consequences. In the public discourse, there are diverse demands and ideas for the use of the town center.
Haaren is currently a "transit town" with a high volume of traffic. How should traffic and parking be organized in the future? How can cycling and walking be made more attractive and safer and how can the waiting situation at bus stops be improved? What ideas are there for improving the urban development of the town center? How can the market continue to be a meeting point and venue for district festivals, initiatives and the weekly market? What about outdoor catering and what other uses are there? How can the green spaces in the district be made more accessible?
On the one hand, the jury deliberated on which concepts should be pursued for the two spatial focal points "Around St. Germanus" and "Wurm- und Haarbachaue". Secondly, it selected the entry for the overall concept and the "Alt-Haarener Straße / Haarener Markt" area that contained the most convincing strategic ideas and approaches for dealing with the competing uses.
The jury selected the planning team scape Landschaftsarchitekten with VSU GmbH as the best concept for the overall concept and the Alt-Haarener Straße / Haarener Markt area. The approach of opening up the Haarbach is implemented most consistently here. This was rated positively in terms of enhancing the town center.
For the "Around St. Germanus" area, the entry by scape Landschaftsarchitekten with VSU GmbH was also judged to be the best in terms of technical and economic evaluation. The very carefully elaborated concept shows a clear attitude towards the square and the building. The square is framed by a band of slabs, some of which become steps or seating.
For the "Wurm- und Haarbachaue" area, the contribution of 3PLUS Freiraumplaner with BKI mbH was rated best as a result of the technical and economic evaluation. The concept includes a consistent near-natural shaping of the two streams. The connection via the bridges at the park and to the peninsula at the confluence of the Haarbach and Wurm rivers is successful with the right path layout.
The planning and development concepts developed in the workshop process thus form the basis for further, more detailed planning and the application for further funding.
The workshop process carried out is an important part of the "Haaren Integrated Action Concept" (1st funding stage), which is financially supported with urban development funds from the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
City of Aachen
Background
Development of Haaren
Starting with the reconstruction phase of the 1950s and continuing to the present day, Haaren has experienced strong outward growth. This has left its mark in two ways. On the one hand, there are the fairly extensive middle-class family residential areas with a high proportion of detached houses. The buildable areas here have been exhausted to such an extent that the integrated sports fields have recently been converted into building land. On the other hand, along and around Alt-Haarener Straße, there is the historically evolved area with old, generally multi-storey houses, some of which are listed buildings, and isolated brownfield sites. Overall, there is a great need for renewal here, particularly in terms of energy efficiency. The social structure in these ribbon-like central areas is more unstable than in the newer areas. The social development plan of the city of Aachen shows an accumulation of problematic indicators for this area, so that Haaren is classified in category 4 of 5 levels of problem situations. Based on the social development plan, Haaren requires increased attention.
Initial concept for the town center in 2004/2005
After the Haaren district council and the planning committee had created the conditions for steering the urban development of Haaren in a new direction with their resolution to abandon Haarener Allee at the beginning of 2004, the next step was to concretize the spatial perspectives.
The 'Haaren town center' concept from the HKS planning office was presented for consultation in 2008. The concept essentially focused on developing potential uses for the land that the town had acquired as a precautionary measure for the construction of Haarener Allee. It consisted of a green link on the route of Haarener Allee with an attractive crossing of the Wurm for pedestrians and cyclists, a development proposal for vacant plots in the town center and a proposal to improve and make the centrally located green space south of the old cemetery more attractive. This would give Haaren the chance to create an attractive town center from the hinterland and backyard. The financing of the redesign measures in the public space had not been clarified. In April 2009, the concept was presented to the residents and approved.
Why an integrated action plan for Haaren?
In 2013, for the first time, a free corridor emerged in the urban development funding available to the city of Aachen. This opened up the opportunity to incorporate the partial concepts drawn up back in 2005 in terms of sustainable planning and to expand the planning corridor.
An integrated action plan is a prerequisite for urban development funding. This planning and control instrument is based on the consideration of an urban sub-area and is part of a framework plan for a larger, coherent urban area. It focuses on the district as a whole with its economic, social and ecological framework conditions. An overall strategy with guidelines and priorities was derived on the basis of a detailed analysis of the spatial, structural and socio-cultural situation. Concrete fields of action and measures are proposed with the aim of positively influencing the development of the area.
Spatial focus
Based on a comprehensive analysis of the current situation, measures are proposed in the following 6 key areas:
Field of action I : Urban design and urban development
Four main areas of urban development tasks can be derived from this: the use of the strengths of the central strip along Alt-Haarener Straße - the sequence of squares, the development of a strong center, the preservation and renewal of permeability and connection to greenery and water, the upgrading of the entrances to the town.
Field of action II: Housing and living environment
As Haaren is spatially limited by the highways and topography, the amount of land available is very limited. Action can only be taken with urban renewal and internal development measures. There is a need for action to create and promote affordable housing, especially for (large) families, but also for single parents, students with children and barrier-free housing for senior citizens and people with disabilities. Intergenerational housing is particularly desired by the population.
Field of action III: Retail, gastronomy, services and trade
The aim of initiatives and activities in this field of action is to strengthen and revitalize retail, gastronomy and services in the programme area.
Field of action IV: Transport and mobility
Haaren has had good transport connections since Roman times. This favorable location and fairly good public transport connections make the district interesting for through traffic on the one hand, while on the other hand the traffic situation is extremely stressful for the district due to noise and exhaust emissions. Alt-Haarener Straße is the main artery of the district and its congestion creates a conflict situation in the neighborhood.
Field of action V: Open space, environment and climate
Priorities can be derived from this:
- Park at the old cemetery
- Making the Haarbach stream visible at the Haaren market
Field of action VI : Living together in the district
The quality of living conditions in the district is not only determined by the structural framework conditions, the housing conditions and the economic integration of the population, but also centrally by the coexistence of the different sections of the population and age groups in the district. The availability of opportunities and occasions for participation in district life and community activities has a decisive influence on a sense of well-being, good neighborly relations and identification with one's own district or neighborhood.
Project process
- The planning process was launched at the beginning of September 2013 with a public information event at the Haarbach elementary school
- On 12.09.2013, the planning committee approved the Haaren integrated action plan
- At the end of September 2013, it was registered with the state of NRW for urban development funding
- In October 2015, the city of Aachen received the grant notification