The “Stuttgart Way”
Our class just spent the past week of our trip in Stuttgart learning all about sustainability and how this city is pursuing a greener and more sustainable future. My initial perceptions of Stuttgart were extremely positive. From the brief walk from the train station to the city center and hotel it was clear from the start that Stuttgart was very much a walkable city. I loved that! Not only was I impressed by the big city square that had many people mingling, eating, dancing, and simply just existing, but it felt very clean and home- like. There was a few notable differences that jumped out to me as well which highlight some of the differences between the US and other countries. I saw very few unhoused folks during the whole time in Stuttgart and I also didn’t feel an extreme sense of work culture. It was almost as if the idea of a Monday through Friday 9–5 didn’t exist, and if it did it was just a much more leisurely and calm German “Stuttgart Way.” Not many folks in suits rushing in suits and professional attire seeking to get the Starbucks order before speeding to work. Rather a simple leisurely stroll close to 10 to get coffee and some pastry seemed more like it.
With exploring Stuttgart on public transit, city wide tours, and daily walks around town I started to get a feel for the city that felt very objective and unbiased. Stuttgart has a lot going for it and is a leader in sustainability for a reason. That reason being its commitment to intentional sustainable and equitable design.
One of my favorite parts of the past week was our first stop to the Stuttgart Impact hub, we were here we learned all about co-working spaces and community oriented ways of entrepreneurial networking. During our time visiting the impact hub we had a guest lecture from a Stuttgart Urban planner named Thorsten Donn. He gave a brief overview of different initiatives that Stuttgart is embarking upon and expressed some current challenges that the city is facing including providing more housing, completing transportation projects, and further creating more access and mobility for all residents of Stuttgart.
Thorsten expressed how the city council is a green majority who are committed to sustainable initiatives which helps in the case of political feasibility to approve, create, and finish multiple ongoing projects. I kept thinking to myself during his talk, wow…is this even possible in a place like Los Angeles. Us Angelenos just seem so far behind in almost every aspect and the argument of what works here in Germany won’t work in different contexts is often expressed when topics concerning investments in a car free city. Building mixed use development with no to very little pushback, getting cars out of city center, building long transit projects, and eliminating single family zoning…I struggle seeing an immediate push in the US to adopt these or similar measures in a way that is truly meaningful and urgent.
I am left impressed with Germany’s infrastructure, but also are very real understanding that there are many political, social, cultural, and economic hurdles that persist in the US that make me skeptical of how much these initiatives would work in the US. I look forward to learning more about what can we take away from Germany and how to get to a place where community needs takes precedence over individualism.
