A green city center - BAF - Biotope area factor

Objectives and content

According to the program for the protection of the landscape and of species, an important goal of urban development in Berlin is the reduction of the environmental impact in the city center. Improving the ecosystem's functionality and promoting the development of biotopes, while maintaining the current land use, are central to this endeavor.
Similar to the urban planning parameters used in development planning, such as the gross floor area, the site occupancy index, and the floor space index, which regulate the dimensions of use structures, the BAF expresses the area portion of a plot of land that serves as a location for plants or assumes other functions for the ecosystem.
The BAF thereby contributes to standardizing and putting into concrete terms the following environmental quality goals:

• Safeguarding and improving the microclimate and atmospheric hygiene,
• Safeguarding and developing soil function and water balance,
• Creating and enhancing the quality of the plant and animal habitat,
• Improving the residential environment.

The BAF can be established with binding force in landscape plans for selected, similarly structured parts of the city.