Living with the Fulda — A Week of Ideas, Vision & Real Change

The University of Kassel brought together an extraordinary group of students from three countries for a one-week workshop: “Living with the Fulda.” 

The River Fulda has been part of Kassel’s DNA since the city’s founding in the 900s — yet today, much of its 14 km stretch through the city remains underused and disconnected from daily life. This workshop asked a simple but powerful question: What would it take to change that? 

Guided by the FuldaKonzept “Kassel, deine Fulda” (2023), intercultural student teams from the University of Kassel, ENAU – Tunisia, and Galala University – Egypt worked across six themes to propose realistic, meaningful interventions: 

• Green + Blue Networks — Connecting parks, trees, river edges, and water systems for cooling, biodiversity, and flood-resilient design. 

• Heritage Conservation — Protecting and celebrating both the physical traces and the living memories that make Kassel unique. 

• Waterfront Development — Making the Fulda’s banks more welcoming: accessible paths, seating, activities, and inclusive riverfront design. 

• Connectivity + Integration — Tackling barrier streets, improving crossings, and closing the “last 300 meters” between the river and everyday destinations. 

• People, Psychology + Livelihood — Understanding how residents feel, move, and belong in river spaces — and supporting the small local economies that bring them to life. 

• Feasibility + Implementation — Turning vision into action: realistic steps, clear responsibilities, and working within Germany’s planning and heritage protection frameworks.

The result? Proposals that are small in scale but bold in thinking — proof that minimal interventions can spark major shifts in how a city relates to its river. 

Partners:  

• Prof. Dr.-Ing. Uwe Altrock (Department of Urban Regeneration and Planning Theory) 
• Mohammed Alfiky (M.Sc.-Ing.) (Research Assistant | Department of Urban Regeneration and Planning Theory) 

Links

https://www.uni-kassel.de/fb06/en/institutes/urban-development/departments/urban-regeneration-and-planning-theory/research/kassmena-sfch-sustainable-future-for-cultural-heritage.html

https://www.uni-kassel.de/fb06/en/institutes/urban-development/departments/urban-regeneration-and-planning-theory/research/kassmena-sfch-sustainable-future-for-cultural-heritage.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExSmFLRWNXcHFrSWtOSTFZSHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR5Dqel7cKkW1VonhXpkyQRa-ccYtn7KjQ4StKmAd7tzMUH3edaJURsIEglICQ_aem_YWdncwBVszqpbGpUsLhG7HyZDuMq&brid=YWdncwHCf18s1H4-YUy1WbqcqsHh