Basel: Planning partners present initial ideas for Klybecker site

The 300,000-square-meter Klybeckareal is considered one of the largest development areas in Switzerland and is to be developed into a new Basel city district. What this could look like has now been presented for the first time by the planning partners Central Real Estate Basel, Swiss Life and the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Their "Vision klybeckplus: An added value for Basel" was developed with the futurologists from Kühne Wicki.

In abstract terms, they cite "more courage to think big, more willingness to experiment, more production sites for the future, and more social innovation" as goals associated with site development. Entrenched patterns - structurally and spatially, socially and economically, in the interplay of living areas and uses - are to be questioned and new solutions are to be sought, for example for questions relating to climate, building development and mobility. The aim is also to achieve a social mix, with new forms of coexistence and neighborhoods being tested.

In concrete terms, one-third of the site is to be used for affordable housing, one-third for the middle class and one-third for high-priced apartments. In addition, urban agriculture or recycling companies could settle on the site, the report continues.

The presentation of the vision also heralded the second planning phase of Klybeckplus, which involves the development of an urban planning mission statement and an urban planning contract. An interdisciplinary planning team consisting of Diener & Diener Architekten from Basel, Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten from Zurich and Gruner Verkehrsplaner from Basel will be responsible for developing the mission statement. It began its work in August 2020 and is expected to complete it by mid-2021. After that, the urban development contract is to be drawn up, which will regulate further cooperation between the public authorities and the private landowners. In order to involve the population, various events will be held in the fall. (ah)