Inclusive neighbourhoods – The perspective of social work

Abstract

This presentation points out that access to and the possibilities of using public spaces in urban contexts, i.e. neighbourhoods with all their offers and infrastructure, are of the greatest importance in connection with social inequality. The question of inclusion and exclusion very quickly arises. The focus must therefore be on the development of appropriate neighbourhoods. The central challenge here is how the development processes of neighbourhoods can be designed so that both the result and the processes themselves are as inclusive and equitable as possible. On the basis of a project on the child-friendly and nature-oriented development of open spaces (QuAKTIV), supplemented with aspects of an ongoing project on the subject of neighbourhood development for older people, the paper examines how such neighbourhood development processes can be designed to meet the challenges mentioned.

Bio

Prof. Carlo Fabian, PhD, is a Senior Researcher, Project Leader and Lecturer at the Universityof Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), Institute for SocialPlanning, Organisational Change and Urban Development. He has a Master’s degree in Health and Social Psychology, is a Specialist Psychologist in Health Psychology (FSP) and has a Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in Coaching Studies. After several years as a researcher and lecturer at the University of Zurich (1997-2001), the Swiss Institute for Health and Addiction Research (1999-2000) and the FHNW (2001- 2008), he worked at RADIX (2008-2012), a Swiss not-for-profit organization, where he developed and implemented many projects in municipalities and schools with a focus on participation. Since 2011 he has led projects at the FHNW addressing the subject of urban development, participatory planning and well-being.