Projekte und Strategien der Freiraumentwicklung in Stadtregionen: Das Beispiel der Grünen Ringe Leipzig und Hannover

The concept of „green rings” (or greenbelts), created to contain towns and cities, to steer built development and to safeguard open spaces for the benefit of urban populations, is an old one. In the 1990s this long-established concept, along with the strategic approach underlying it, experienced an astonishing renaissance — both as an element of regional strategies and as one component of sustainable development. In this article the authors refer to two cases in point, in Leipzig and in Hanover, to discuss the aims, tasks and procedural approaches associated with this strategy. In examining these examples, it becomes apparent that although great importance is attached to protecting the open spaces available in a region, successful implementation of this strategy calls for an expansion of the current perception of the task involved and of the procedures to be adopted.