At a conference on certification systems for urban neighbourhoods, I recently came across an innovative new instrument for sustainable urban development in Luxembourg called Ecoquartier. The term originates in a contraction from the french quartier écologique, “ecological district”. Conceived and designed according to the three main process stages used by the brain to assimilate information, Ecoquartier aims at supporting urban practitioners and decision makers who would like to better integrate ecological criteria into local spatial planning.
In an attempt to tackle today’s complex and rapidly evolving challenges, more and more European cities are turning towards integrated sustainable urban development approaches in planning. Especially the question of how to transform cities into liveable and healthy habitats is high on the agenda. Integrating the economic, social and environmental dimensions into urban planning is generally considered to be the key for success. Luxembourg is certainly no exception to this trend.
Despite the huge amount of information, legal frameworks, literature and tools available on this issue, many planners, architects and policy makers still lack the proper knowledge and the practical know-how on how to integrate sustainable criteria into urban planning. Based on the observation that the sheer abundance of information and tools might actually be part of the problem, the Luxembourgish NGO Emweltberodung Lëtzebuerg (EBL – Environmental Consulting Luxembourg) has developed a first version of an innovative and easy-to-use web-based tool called Ecoquartier that is conceived and designed according to the three main process stages used by the brain to assimilate information: opening up for new ideas, structuring/visualising and memorising/understanding.
A Playful and Educational Planning Instrument
Ecoquartier is innovative as it is currently the first planning tool promoting a transversal and integrated approach in urban development that takes into account the local specificities and legal framework of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is intended to be interactive and educational and has been designed for municipal planning and technical staff, policy makers as well as for external consultants, architects and planners.
1. Opening up for new ideas by asking the right question
The core of the tool is a set of more than 200 questions with their respective answers, enabling professionals as well as policy makers to consider relevant aspects when developing their local urban planning schemes such as: how could my city increase the density in certain areas? How can I improve the mobility of pedestrians and cyclists? How could I organize the general waste management in a more efficient way? These questions are answered in the form of concisely formulated good practices from Luxembourg and abroad. They also contain illustrations as well as links to relevant websites and existing legal documents.
The tool focuses on the following six subjects identified as being crucial for the sustainable and ecological planning of cities:
- Make use of existing space
- Integrative mobility concepts
- Energy efficiency
- Waste management
- Sustainable water management system
- Natural environment valorisation
2. Visualise what has been learnt
Information and instruments become valuable not only by the fact that they are made available, but first and foremost when they are being understood and used. Only then they can enhance learning processes. Ecoquartier therefore makes use of powerful visualisation techniques inviting practitioners and policy makers to playfully discover, analyse and interpret information on sustainable and ecological urban planning as well as to further explore and understand it.
3. Memorise through interaction
Ecoquartier allows users to directly exchange with other practitioners and policy makers. It contains a forum where they can share experiences and information, thus adding an interactive dimension to the planning procedure and enabling exchange of good practices. This interactive platform can thus not only provide long-term solutions to a given problem but, more importantly, it creates sustainable professional networks where information can be exchanged much more efficiently.
By guiding practitioners and policy makers in asking the right questions, by providing good practices adapted to a concrete planning context and by using powerful visualisation techniques to increase the learning effect, Ecoquartier might actually become an interesting medium for knowledge and skills production in Luxembourg and beyond.At the moment, the tool is merely available in German. A French translation will be available soon. Its use is subject to a fee. It can be ordered on the webpage of the EBL or via the contact form on.
Header photo: Quartier Vauban in Freiburg, Germany. By Alain Roullier on Flickr. Under Creative Commons License.