In the Netherlands, it is known as Tegelwippen. This involves uncovering paving stones or other sealed surfaces. This successful sealing removal competition is also taking place in Germany.
It was initiated by students from the University of Societal Design in Koblenz. It started as a student project. In 2025, a student group coined the term abpflastern, which translates the concept of Tegelwippen, and they were tasked with establishing their own rules and creating a website and social media account for the competition.
Lioba Huss, a student assistant, has been involved from the beginning and was quite surprised:
No one knows us out there, no one has heard of abpflastern, no one knows this term. But apparently, it has struck a chord.
And then it took off, following the motto: "We want to make a change, we’ll just do it and see where it’s possible," as Lioba Huss explains. In the first year, 30 municipalities participated directly, and by 2026, the number of participants more than doubled.
It is a concrete project that raises awareness for the design of public spaces and promotes community interaction. Lioba shares the joy and social connections that abpflastern actions bring.
However, it is not a call for illegal paving actions. They usually uncover surfaces on private property. For public areas, the team coordinates everything with the respective authorities, as Huss emphasizes. Her wish for the future is for easier collaboration between citizen initiatives and administration to enable more areas to be uncovered.
The student views the world through her abpflaster glasses, as she calls them. Especially after another hot summer, where she often searched for shaded spots and would have liked to remove more stones in many places.
Not only legislation and municipal regulations, which are often unclear regarding sealing removal, pose challenges. Because it is a student-led project, funding is very limited. To be able to uncover more in the future, financial support is crucial.
Lioba Huss dreams of a hopefully near future where all of this creates a movement and a strong sense of community.
