Flensburg triumphs in the environmental paving competition!

Flensburg triumphs in the environmental paving competition!

Flensburg did it! At the premiere of the environmental competition “Paving”, the port city prevailed in the category of medium-sized cities and removed an impressive 104,000 paving stones. She even left behind large cities like Frankfurt am Main, which unsealed “only” 91,000 stones. The competition was organized by students from Koblenz and attracted a total of 32 cities and municipalities to Germany, which competed in a friendly competition to find the best unsealers. The competition aims to strengthen stormwater infiltration, promote heat relief, increase biodiversity in urban areas and thus improve the quality of life.

In just seven months, numerous projects were implemented in Flensburg that have already produced tangible results. Not only were the areas unsealed, but new playgrounds and sports fields were also created. For example, over 10,000 stones were removed from Angelburger Hof in order to enlarge the garden area. Photo evidence was meticulously collected for each “unsealing” to document the progress. In total, more than 500,000 stones were “paved” in this competition alone. The campaign turned out to be a joint project in which residents and municipalities worked hand in hand.

Competition with a good goal

But what exactly is behind the “Plastering” competition? The initiative highlights the problems caused by impervious floors. These bring with them challenges in water management, heat protection and nature conservation. The competition is not just a sporting competition, but also an important stage for drawing attention to the dangers of surface sealing and demonstrating solutions. “Every square meter counts” is the motto that connects the participating cities. Whoever can unseal the most areas at the end will be rewarded in a ranking. Abpflastern.de reports regularly on the state of affairs and updates the rankings weekly.

The successes in Flensburg are an example of how important such competitions are, because they not only help the environment, but also strengthen the sense of community in the cities. City planner Robert Broesi emphasizes the importance of replacing paving stones with plants and green spaces to make cities more sustainable. Residents can even apply for grants to actively help unseal their sidewalks.

The reporting on the event was carried out by NDR 1 Welle Nord, which shows how well such topics also resonate in the media. It remains to be seen whether Flensburg can defend first place or whether other cities will catch up. One thing is certain: the competition has increased awareness of the need for unsealing, and that is already a big win for everyone involved.

At a time when awareness of environmental issues is becoming increasingly important, projects like this show that something can be done locally. It remains exciting to see how the competition will develop in the coming years and whether other cities might follow Flensburg's example.