An upgrade for Basel — How do we make urban transport even greener?

Basel has a very good infrastructure in terms of mobility (trams, buses, etc.) and supply network (electricity, heating, drinking water etc.) — some of which is visible, others rather hidden. How do we manage to enrich this existing infrastructure with additional innovative uses? How do we make existing infrastructure even more ecological by upgrading it? Examples such as the waste disposal tram from Zurich or the Basel well heaters show us: multiple use is diverse and is exciting in any case!

Ticket machines where parking tickets can be purchased, fine dust sensors that have been on the BVB trams or sensors that display free electric car parking spaces in real time – “upgrades” for multiple use are already available at some locations in Basel. Some of those implemented upgrades make life more pleasant, but not necessarily more ecological. We therefore want to go one step further and expand the urban transport infrastructure with innovative ecological ideas.

It is not a question of abolishing or replacing what already exists (e.g. electric buses instead of diesel or gas buses). It is a question of supplementing what is currently available, combining it with smart future-oriented solutions, adding to it or using it as an alternative.

Drämmli and Co – an overview of the infrastructure around which the challenge revolves:

• Trams
• Buses
• Ticket machines
• Stops
• Public parking spaces
• E-charging stations
• Street lamps
• Fountains
• Power boxes
• Activatable temporary power connections (market stands)

The vision is simple: by combining existing elements of urban transport with new ones, we contribute to a more resource-efficient mobility and supply infrastructure.

Infrastructure upgrades may be radically innovative and unconventional, in line with “thinking out of the box”. Examples of the direction in which this could go:

• Could buses equipped with cameras contribute to the automatic detection of vacant parking spaces (and thus get cars looking for a parking space off the road more quickly)?
• Could a cargo tram, like the one in Zurich, free Basel from bulky goods or load goods?
• Could the energy consumption of public transport during the journey be communicated to passengers in an informative and appealing way (how many cars would have to be driving at the moment to transport us all)?
• Could e-cars be charged via street lamps or via the tram network?

The resulting concepts should be

• feasible (are you ready for a pilot project?)
• innovative (wow-effect!)
• ecological (efficiency, resource conservation, awareness raising)
• naturally closely linked to the mobility and supply network of Basel-Stadt

How do I make my city “cooler”?

More greenery and open areas where rainwater can seep away will lead to a better micro-climate in the city. We humans feel more comfortable and a more diverse habitat can be created for animals and plants. How can people in Basel be motivated to bring more greenery into the city in the long term on their own properties and in semi-public spaces and to unseal areas? What can companies and entrepreneurs do and how?

Hot and increasingly dry summers are a problem for people, animals and plants in Basel. Buildings, soil sealing, gravel gardens lead to heat islands and reduce ventilation.

As a result, the city can hardly cool down at night.

More greenery and rainwater seepage on unsealed surfaces in our city can significantly and directly improve the quality of life.

The canton of Basel-Stadt has already taken various measures to improve the urban climate in public spaces. In this challenge, we are therefore looking for approaches to discover and activate the great and often untapped potential for more green space on private and company premises. What incentives can be created? What can landowners do and how can they be motivated?

A “cool” city is above all green. The best thing is that more green fulfils many functions at once: It improves the microclimate and thus the well-being of city dwellers, increases the diversity of plants and animals, promotes neighbourhood, e.g. when gardening in urban areas and people like to be outside.

Rainwater can seep away more easily in natural areas and trees provide shade on hot summer days. Water can of course also be collected in basins or ponds and can be experienced by children, for example.

Where could there be more green and unsealed areas?

In your own semi-public environment, in the backyard, garden, front garden, in borders, on the roof or balcony, on the facades of company premises and company car parks, in the vicinity of shops and businesses, etc.