Biotope Area Factor - Berlin

The Biotope Area Factor (BAF, Biotopflächenfaktor) is an urban planning instrument that provides clear but flexible guidelines for developers, architects and designers about how much of new building areas needs to to be left as green space (including e.g. courtyards, roofs and walls). The regulation was developed by the Berlin Senate Department for the Environment, Mobility, Climate and Consumer Protection in 1994 as a part of a larger set of documents relating to landscape planning, design and species protection in order to encourage more green space in densely built urban areas. Objectives include improving the microclimate, combating urban heat islands, sustainable drainage and reduction of runoff, improvement of natural habitats and enhancement of the quality of residential environments. The Biotope Area Factor is calculated by taking the ecologically effective areas divided by the total land area. On almost 5 % of the city's area, binding BAF targets have already been set as legal ordinances in 15 BAF landscape plans, and a further 10 are in the process of being drawn up. Use of the BAF is ongoing.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Legislative, regulatory and strategic instruments›Urban planning mechanisms

Challenges addressed

Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Flood risk: pluvial and fluvial / soil permeability
Heat stress and heat island effect
Air quality
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

The Biotope Area Factor (BAF) aims to improve the functions and balance of urban ecosystems and to combat the high degree of soil sealing, insufficient recharge of groundwater due to the runoff of precipitation into the sewage system, lack of humidity and overheating, decreasing habitat for plants and animals and lack of recreational areas. Specific nature-based solutions implemented as part of the BAF include, for example: greening functional spaces (e.g. bike or garbage can sheds); planting trees, shrubs or climbing plants for green walls; green roofs; and introducing permeable surfaces. By encouraging these measures, the BAF contributes to safeguarding and improving the microclimate and air hygiene, safeguarding and development of soil function and water balance, creation and enhancement of habitats for animals and plants, improvement of the residential environment.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Blue areas

Green areas for water management

Urban green space connected to grey infrastructure

Good practice characteristics:

Effective

Support multifunctional NBS

Sustainable in the long-term

Locally appropriate

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Innovative

Governance

Government body/bodies

Initiating body:

Senate of Berlin Department of Environment, Mobility, Climate and Consumer Protection

Instrument design:

Details about how the instrument was designed:

The instrument was designed by the Berlin Senate Department for the Environment, Mobility, Climate and Consumer Protection. The aim was to have an ecological planning indicator available for Berlin's district authorities, planners and builders to include in the landscape plans of the districts. A large number of experts formulated the Biotope Area Factor through a process of agreeing on the necessary proportion of green space areas for different development types based on the layout of the buildings. The Landscape Programme, which includes the Biotope Area Factor, was discussed in an extensive public consultation process in 1986 in a targeted consultation exercise “Berlin hat Pläne" (Berlin has plans). The second public consultation for the Landscape Program was held in 1993, several years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, with the Plan finally approved in 1994. As an ordinance, the Factor was established in landscape plans. Public agencies and environmental agencies could participate in its development through the above mentioned processes.

Instrument implementation:

Type of involvement:

Use of the Biotope Area Factor on individual building plots is flexibly decided by the landowner, depending on their specific use requirements and design options. Measures that can be considered for owners and architects include, for example, the creation of partially sealed areas or vegetation areas with a connection to the existing soil, the greening of facades, the greening of roofs and other measures that have an effect on the natural balance. Individual orders of the districts against the landowner or other person entitled to use the land for the implementation of the Factor are possible, provided that the financial expenditure attributable to the measures does not exceed what is necessary for proper management and that there is no significant reduction in the value of the land.

Type of non-governmental actors involved:

Implementation of NBS (e.g. with government funds)

Targeted actors:

Private: household, real estate developer, business , financial

Districts authorities, planners and builders

Financing

Sources of funding:

Public regional budget

Budget:

Unknown

Details about instrument financing:

The Biotope Area Factor is funded by the Berlin Senate Department for the Environment, Mobility, Climate and Consumer Protection. The cost for the greening measures are paid by builders or the private owners. If disproportionately high expenses occur, building owners can ask for an alleviation of the Biotope Area Factor.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

On almost 5 % of the city's area, binding Biotope Area Factor targets have already been set as legal ordinances in 15 landscape plans; a further 10 are in the process of being drawn up. Since 2019, there have been enquiries about the Biotope Area Factor from the cities of Brussels, Manchester, Reims, Rome, Barcelona, Warsaw and Vienna, as well as from the USA, Canada, Central America (Costa Rica and Mexico), Taiwan and Australia.

Success factors and lessons learned:

The Biotope Area Factor (BAF) is novel in that it allows for the integration of ecological goals in building permitting procedures and ensures that the local nature conservation authority is informed at an early stage of the planning of a building project. A further strength of the BAF concept is that it allows for flexibility regarding the building site design. As long as the required green space ratio is achieved, the developer has the freedom to decide what green measures are applied and where. The high degree of flexibility for owners and architects makes the BAF easy to apply and effective. Since its implementation, the BAF has been taken up by the Urban Development Plan Climate - giving it more permanence in the policy landscape. The collaboration between the Berlin departments of landscape planning and land use planning has ensured that the two planning instruments central to the implementation of the BAF are working in a organised way. The measures visibly contribute to the development of a better environment in the inner city, which is another factor of success. The large amount of global interest in the BAF indicates its high potential for transferability and upscaling in different geographic and political contexts.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

Melzer D. and Herfort S. (2021). Der Biotopflächenfaktor - Ihr ökologisches Planungsinstrument. Berlin: Senate Department for the Environment, Mobility, Climate and Consumer Protection. Becker C. and Hübner S. Urbane Freiräume – Qualifizierung, Rückgewinnung und Sicherung urbaner Frei- und Grünräume. BBSR.

Becker W., Giseke U., Mohren B. and Richard W. (1990). Der Biotopflächenfaktor als ökologischer Kennwert.

Melzer D. (2020). Der Biotopflächenfaktor 2020. Berlin: Institut für Agrar- und Stadtökologische Projekte (IASP).

Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Mobilität, Verbraucher- und Klimaschutz. BFF – Biotopflächenfaktor. Available at: https://www.berlin.de/sen/uvk/natur-und-gruen/landschaftsplanung/bff-biotopflaechenfaktor/ (Accessed: 13.09.2022)

Kopetzski S. and Hausmann S. (2020). Berlin Biotope Area Factor – Implementation of guidelines helping to control temperature and runoff. Berlin: Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection.

Further documents

Weblinks:

https://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/en/metadata/case-studies/berlin-biotope-area…

Photos

@S.Herfort