The second film in the VISIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY series, focused on the subject of resources, once again filled the cinema hall this past Tuesday. On Tuesday, May 20th, we presented the French documentary La Belle Ville/Green City Life to our audience.

In the film by Manon Turina and François Jacques, numerous already-implemented concepts for urban greening, agriculture, and composting from different countries and cities are showcased. The filmmakers set out in search of ideas and visions for how all urban residents can continue to live well in the future while treating the environment with care and respect.

From a designer of vertical green spaces in Mexico City, to a balcony gardener in Paris, to an enthusiastic composting advocate in Chicago, the duo meets countless pioneers of projects that demonstrate what a sustainable and environmentally friendly urban life can look like. As always, our audience had the opportunity to share their impressions of the film via digital or paper surveys and contribute to our research project.

Following the film, our discussion partners Prof. Dr. Peter Woias and Michael Gorki from the ICN project “ZUKAMAS: ZUkunftsorientiertes KlimAwandel-MAanagement für Städtische Grünflächen” engaged in a discussion with the audience about what they saw in the film and linked it to the situation in Freiburg.

The discussion also touched on the ZUKAMAS project, which is developing concepts to monitor and ensure the health of urban trees in Freiburg. Another focus of the project is researching which tree species are particularly well-suited to cope with the challenges posed by climate change and fit into a future-ready urban landscape in Freiburg and other cities. Furthermore, the project aims to raise public awareness about the importance of healthy urban green spaces.

A deeper look into the ZUKAMAS project will be offered at our next event, „Grüne Infrastruktur in der Stadt: Exkursion zu Stadtbäumen in Freiburg“ on June 5th. At this event, Prof. Dr. Thomas Seifert will present more details about the project and the trees being studied. The event is free of charge, but registration through the VHS is required.

These film events and workshops are part of VISIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY, an inter- and transdisciplinary research project funded by the Innovation Sustainability Campus (ICN), located at the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Non-university cooperation partners include Harmonie Kino, the Volkshochschule Freiburg and Greenmotions. The Freiburg environmental mayor Christine Buchheit has take on the patronage of the project.