Rising Cities: Continuity, Innovation and Deliberation of Vauban District of Freiburg, Germany

The future of the biosphere, indeed of humanity, will be determined in the cities of the 21st century. Urban centres are where the battle for sustainable development will be won or lost, and we find today an increasing number of cities and towns as hubs of innovation signalling the potential victory. Freiburg in Germany is one of them. As a national exemplar of sustainable urban planning, ideas developed in Freiburg have been used in countries around the world. This article will evaluate most specifically one of its districts, Quartier Vauban, developed using low carbon technologies for absolute energy efficiency, self-build and co-housing approaches, a state-of-the-art mobility system, and placing the needs of its citizens at the forefront of its planning activities. This article aims to investigate how sustainable development, despite its many interpretations, can be implemented in practice, at district level in a European contex