Creating local green and recreational areas is a question of using “forgotten“ spaces and their potential in view of a growing population, the rise in demand for housing, the economic growth and a rapid increase in traffic, all of which are competing for room. Platenstraße is one such example.

Platenstraße in the Ginnheim District was built in the 1960s as a four-lane feeder road. It passes through the eponymous district, which had been the former US Army Housing Area. Following their departure in 1994 the district passed into municipal ownership and many large families, increasingly with a migrant background, moved in. The street space remained unchanged and illegal parking and dumps without any recreational value sprang up.

Networking green spaces

Ideas from planning workshops in Frankfurt’s “Urban Development Initiative 2030“ showed the potential of these“ forgotten“ open spaces. To the South of Platenstraße, the Miquelanlage and Grüneburgpark form a green link to the city centre. To the West and East, a green corridor leads to Sinaipark and via the Fritz-von-Unruh-Anlage to the valley of the Nidda and the Green Belt.

Platenstraße has been completely re-designed as a green corridor. Street areas have been restructured and the paved surfaces reduced to a minimum. Sensitive planning and respect for established structures helped preserve the character of the district.

Involving the residents

To ensure wider acceptance of the new park, the Ginnheim group of Local Agenda 21 developed a public participation process, which was accompanied by the Parks Department.

The District working group developed a “Learning and Culture Mile“ as a neighbourhood meeting place with offers for children and young people. The Zarakali children's circus and the bike park were involved as were the neighbouring kindergarten and the Astrid-Lindgren Primary School. Discussions in the local advisory committee and the work of the Neighbourhood Office and the District working group kept the project constantly in the public eye. Plans were explained during several on-site visits and in the District working group meetings. Interested parties expressed their wishes which resulted in the installation of the chess board, the boule area and the public bookcase. The daily newspapers and the local Ginnheimer Siedlungszeitung reported about the project on several occasions.

Creating green with recreational value

Where previously gravel and asphalt prevailed there is now 3,200 m² of new green spaces with shrubs, trees and meadows. In a few years, the avenue with its large-crowned silver linden along the footpath will offer pleasant shade. The functional, top-quality and robust facilities do justice to the intensive use of the areas. Existing porphyry plaster was re-used around the benches. The illuminated footpath runs parallel, but at a small distance, to the street along the border to the neighbouring properties into the residential areas on Franz-Werfel Straße and Sudermannstraße. It has become a safe and attractive foot and bike path connection – especially for schoolchildren.

Keeping an eye on climate change

Which trees are planted is based on the experience of the Parks Department which has been analysing the reactions of trees along roads to global warming for several years. Silver linden and Montpellier maple are heat-tolerant trees. A building lot was left unused to close the gap in the planned tram line. The tracts of grass were sunken slightly to allow rainwater to drain from the adjacent paved areas. This relieves the drainage system in the event of heavy rainfall.