A green utopiaQuestPoint

Ever heard of Freiburg in Germany? It is a city of 200,000 inhabitants nestled near the intriguing Black Forrest. It has the distinction of being known as the world’s greenest city. In 1994, Rolf Disch built the Heliotrope. The epitome of living with renewable energy and a sustainable lifestyle, the Heliotrope was the world’s first home to create more energy than it uses, as it physically rotates with the sun to maximize its solar intake. Rolf Disch is a German architect, solar pioneer and environmental activist who has contributed greatly to the advancement and efficiency of solar architecture internationally.

Robert Disch

Both Freiburg’s high quality of life and distinctive local culture contribute to the city’s green reputation. Its “green city” moniker is overwhelmingly the result of an intense commitment to environmental sustainability on the part of the city government, local businesses, and Freiburgers.
Freiburg’s history as a green community began over 40 years ago in the late 1960s with the introduction of a citywide sustainable transportation policy. Catalyzed by the anti-nuclear movement of the 1970s, Freiburg began to explore renewable energy alternatives and environmentally friendly development over the subsequent decades. Today, local government policies encourage the development of an environmental economy in Freiburg; nearly 10,000 residents are currently employed in green industries, contributing over 500 million Euros to the economy each year. Freiburg is the largest city in Europe to have a Green Party mayor, Lord Mayor Dr. Dieter Soloman. Living in Freiburg, it is impossible to miss the proof of the city’s commitment to environmentalism. The city of Freiburg exhibited at the InterSolar show in San Francisco. – Michael Fisher, ‘11, contributor.

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