District heating expansion in the Waldstraßenviertel from 2027: District Advisory Board calls for more green spaces in the neighbourhood

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The expansion of district heating in Leipzig is gradually taking shape in more and more neighbourhoods. Whilst the Südvorstadt is regarded as a pilot project – and the district heating roll-out is actually due to start there later this year – other neighbourhoods are also marked in orange on the city and municipal utilities’ district heating expansion plans. This means: District heating connections are set to begin here between 2026 and 2030. For the Waldstraßenviertel, for example, the municipal utilities have announced that the roll-out will begin in 2027. This has now prompted the Mitte District Advisory Board to take action. After all, this would be an opportunity to bring more green spaces to the neighbourhood.

It is true that several streets in the Waldstraßenviertel have magnificent rows of trees on both sides – Feuerbachstraße, for instance, Tschaikowskistraße and, of course, Waldstraße itself. But other streets are completely devoid of trees.

These include Funkenburgstraße and Hinrichsenstraße. And since the district heating expansion inevitably involves significant disruption to the street environment, this would be the perfect opportunity to enhance Funkenburgstraße, Hinrichsenstraße and Liviaplatz with new tree plantings.

This is precisely what the Mitte District Advisory Board has now proposed: “As part of the planning and implementation of the district heating expansion on Funkenburgstraße, Hinrichsenstraße and at Liviaplatz, the planting of additional street trees should be incorporated into the plans. In doing so, the restoration of the street space – which is required in any case – should be utilised to enhance both areas in a climate-adapted and urban-planning-friendly manner.”

An opportunity for the street space

There has, in fact, already been a temporary ‘stay-and-relax’ project for Liviaplatz, designed to explore whether this square might one day be made more inviting. And perhaps not just with a few flower pots, but with proper trees, as the SBB Mitte recommends.

“With the expansion of district heating for the Waldstraßenviertel, extensive civil engineering works are planned for Funkenburgstraße, Hinrichsenstraße and the area around Liviaplatz. The current plans envisage the start of the first construction phase in March 2027. This necessary construction project also offers an opportunity to improve the street environment permanently. Funkenburgstraße and Hinrichsenstraße are among the few streets in the Waldstraßenviertel that lack the distinctive row of trees that otherwise characterises the neighbourhood. It is precisely because of the dense, Wilhelminian-style development here that the street environment is comparatively confined and becomes extremely hot in summer.”

And it is not just a question of the quality of the outdoor environment, but also of providing shade and cooling during the increasingly hot summers.

“Additional trees would provide shade here, improve the microclimate and enhance the quality of the outdoor environment,” emphasises the district advisory board in its motion.

“Liviaplatz, too, is to be significantly upgraded through additional, sustainable greening following the successful pilot phase. The city administration itself has set the goal, for the period following the civil engineering works, of making the street environment ‘more liveable and user-friendly’. The expansion of the district heating network should therefore not only be viewed as a necessary infrastructure measure, but as an opportunity to combine climate protection and climate adaptation with a qualitative enhancement of public space.”

The city itself repeatedly emphasises that it also intends to use the district heating expansion to enhance the street environment. Planting trees in the vicinity of the district heating pipes to be laid would be one such step.