What is happening in the Schönberg neighbourhood in Fribourg?
The Living Lab Fribourg has entered its second phase, which is focused on co-designing. In the Schönberg neighbourhood, the SWICE WP5 team has been working closely with local residents and stakeholders. Their goal is to test temporary urban cooling installations. Examples include urban shading devices, water elements and nature-based solutions – or climatic pavillions such as the Demo-mi2.
Participatory workshops and communication booth
In June and November 2024, a series of participatory workshops were held together with representatives of the City of Fribourg, local associations, and the local primary school and daycare. SWICE researchers also set up a communication booth at the local neighbourhood market, aimed at explaining the project to the local community. Locals were asked for their thoughts on the objectives of the project in Schönberg and their aspirations for the future of the neighbourhood.
Location, location, location
As a result of these participatory activities in 2024, the research team was able to identify the open spaces with the most potential to test temporary urban cooling installations. Priority will be given to measures that can fulfil the specific needs of the neighbourhood, deliver results in the short term, and reinforce a strategic objective for the neighbourhood in the long term.
What’s next?
The SWICE team is building upon these results to prepare for the third phase of the Fribourg Living Lab, entitled “Experimenting with change”. During this phase, they will involve Schönberg inhabitants in co-construction workshops, in order to deploy several temporary urban cooling installations. Students at HEIA-FR have been working on proposals for such installations, which will be tested in the summer 2025 and are planned for construction in 2026.
Credit for aerial images: Simon Blanckaert
