GESTALT-mit - Designing healthy streets as a meeting place for and with people with (visual) disabilities

One of the greatest challenges in creating healthy and sustainable neighbourhoods is to include the views and needs of all population groups. People with (visual) disabilities are rarely actively involved in planning and decision-making processes. However, this would lead to better solutions, more self-determination, participation and health for all. The ‘GESTALT-mit’ project aims to use the Healthy Streets approach in the Graz setting (St. Leonhard, Jakomini) to promote awareness and health literacy for healthy public spaces and to improve the quality of life through the participatory design of healthy street sections. The primary target groups of the project are people with (visual) disabilities. People with and without (visual) disabilities are actively involved in all phases of the project. Following the development of barrier-free participation methods, design ideas for inclusive and healthy street spaces are jointly developed and recorded in a guideline. Workshops for planners/implementers as well as for the target groups are used to provide support. At the end of the project, the various stakeholders and target groups were networked and concrete processes and structures for sustainable intersectoral anchoring were created.