kassel deine fulda
fulda river | kassel | germany
fulda river | kassel | germany
date of implementation
2017 - 2023 (concept development)
main project stakeholder(s)
Environmental and Gardening Office, City of Kassel
affected population
citizens of Kassel (~207 000)
The concept “Kassel deine Fulda” seeks to reconnect the city of Kassel with its 14 km river stretch. This is achieved through an independent river strategy, not merely as a part of a general urban development concept, as seen in most river cities.
The strategy combines flood protection and environmental concerns with public space management and accessibility. By prioritizing equal access to the river for all socioeconomic groups, the project strengthens the right to the city and promotes social and environmental justice. Its participatory process, based on co-production with residents, stakeholders, and experts, makes it a model for inclusive urban river planning.
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The central challenge was the city’s long-standing disconnection from the Fulda River. Over decades, urban development, major traffic routes, and private ownership along the banks created barriers that limited access and weakened the river’s visibility in everyday life. As a result, the Fulda remained underused as a natural and recreational asset, despite its central position in the city’s landscape.
Historically, the Fulda had been a vital transport route with connections reaching to the North Sea. When its role in shipping declined, the river lost importance for the city’s economy and was largely ignored in urban development. Kassel expanded without integrating the river into its structure, so that the city grew parallel to, rather than along, the water.
This situation was reinforced by the river’s spatial heterogeneity. The Fulda runs for 14 kilometers through Kassel, but its sections differ widely in character and use. Decisions about its management were made in a fragmented way, leading to a patchwork of measures instead of a coherent approach. The result was a valuable natural and cultural resource that remained disconnected from the city and its residents, leaving much of its potential for recreation, urban resilience and fostering a sense of identity untapped.
The conceptual framework „Kassel deine Fulda“ aims to address these issues through the following key strategies:
Collaborative Processes: The development of the concept involved a collaborative approach, integrating inputs from diverse groups (residents, local stakeholders, experts, and multiple city departments, coordinated through a dedicated steering committee)
Interdepartmental coordination: The steering committee facilitated coordination among different departments to align objectives and actions.
Expert workshops: Internal administrative workshops served to develop a basis regarding content and spatial priorities
Public Participation: Engaging the public and specific groups like children and youth helped to incorporate a wide range of perspectives and foster community buy-in.
Strategic planning: Potential projects were categorized into flagship projects (more complex, require interdepartmental coordination, large expexted impact) and starter projects (individual measures, relatively easy and cheap to implement)
The concept, initiated in 2015, remains a planning framework, with measures prioritized by time, content, and cost to guide future implementation.
The concept was published in 2023 and its measures have not been implemented yet, so no conclusions can yet be drawn about possible effects and impacts of the proposed measures. But still, the extensive participation process involving residents, local stakeholders and administration promises a broadly accepted realization.
The aim of creating the concept itself was to bundle the spatial circumstances, the desires and needs of the public and to summarize and extend the individual measures taken to date. This objective was achieved by structuring the measures into bundles and hierarchizing them, as well as ensuring the participation of a diverse range of stakeholders.
Nevertheless, the authors emphasize that the Fulda concept serves mainly as a development perspective without a fixed schedule. Yet the detailed information about funding options (funding organizations, guidelines and quotas) for each set of measures as well as their prioritization in terms of time, content and costs allows for easy implementation. Furthermore, the concept suggests several kickoff measures to initiate the implementation process.
Importance of separate river development strategies - urban rivers and their special surroundings are complex and often heterogeneous throughout their course which justifies their examination and management in a dedicated strategy
Rivers as public spaces - urban rivers should be valued not only for their ecological function but also for their role as public spaces, ensuring equal access and therefore strengthening the citizens‘ right to the city
Coordination ensures alignment - interdepartmental cooperation and coordination are essential to harmonize objectives and measures effectively
Participation builds legitimacy - workshops for different groups assure participation and input from a diverse range of stakeholders, ensuring broad-based support and comprehensive planning
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