Friedbert Greif and Svenja Knuffke, altogether with Martin Harter, Executive Board Member for Urban Planning and Construction for the City of Essen, authored a section in the chapter "Spaces, Areas, and Quarters of Conversion". The article titled "A40 Cap: Impulses for Transformation", describes how a feasibility study can contribute to the innovative, sustainable, and future-oriented development of Essen.

AS+P conducted an urban feasibility study for the city of Essen for an Olympic village on the cap of the Bundesautobahn A40 as part of the application initiative to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2032 in the Rhine-Ruhr region. However, the focus of the planning was the post-use or main use as an urban quarter.

The decades-old idea of urban repair through the capping of the A40 has thus received a new impetus. The goal is to connect currently separated urban spaces and to transform them from auto-friendly to actively livable cities. The capping of the A40 is a visionary project for the development of integrated locations, improving the quality of residential environments, and creating new living spaces amid increasingly scarce land resources. This means already considering tomorrow’s topics today, such as climate resilience and sustainability, as well as environmentally friendly forms of mobility and the varying requirements of living, working, and recreational spaces in the coming decades.

This publication addresses exciting aspects that characterize Essen as a city on the rise. The transformation of Essen from an industrial city to the Green Capital of Europe, as well as altered requirements and premises for urban planning, are illuminated through themes, projects, and ideas which are setting significant milestones.

Link to the book presentation and press release of the City of Essen here