Basel: Areal Wolf to become Smart City pilot quarter
The canton of Basel-Stadt and SBB want to develop the Basel Wolf site into the "smartest site in Switzerland". A planning agreement to this effect has now been signed.
The aim is to turn the site into an "innovation location for smart city projects with a model character," according to the city canton and SBB. Pilot projects for smart city projects are to be tested and implemented on the site. To this end, SBB and the canton also want to involve partners from business, science and the population.
The owner and user of the current Wolf freight station is SBB. At present, the site with an area of around 160,000 sqm is underused for rail operations. In the coming years, large parts of the site - around 100,000 sqm - will therefore be freed up for other uses. The plan is to create a new urban quarter with a high proportion of residential, supplemented by logistics, commercial, office space and public-oriented uses such as retail and gastronomy.
With the planning agreement, the Basel Wolf site is to be gradually developed and expanded as a "Smart City Laboratory (Lab)" into a pilot district with supraregional appeal. Until the end of 2018, the Lab will focus on pilot projects in the areas of mobility and logistics; from the coming year 2019, projects in other subject areas will be examined.
