WITH COMBINED EFFORTS, “FLENSBURG KEEPS MOVING”
SYSTEMATIC OVERALL STRATEGY FOR MORE HEALTH AND EXERCISE IN PUBLIC SPACES
Authors: Thomas Dau-Eckert; Stadt Flensburg (youth department); Stadt Flensburg (department of education, sport, culture) Photos: Technical operations centre Flensburg, Stadt Flensburg, Sven Geissler
United under a common umbrella and over the period from 2019 until 2028, Flensburg’s re sponsible parties are pursuing four goals at once: an integrated urban development strategy, municipal sports development planning, municipal playground planning and the health goals of the town in Germany's north. The key factor is the interdisciplinary approach of the specialist planning groups and the involvement of all stakeholders. Their shared goal is a coordinated array of cross-district and multifunctional play and exercise spaces. In each of Flensburg’s thirteen districts, at least one intergenerationally designed activity area with easy and barrier-free accessibil ity is to be created by 2028, by upgrading existing areas as well as by creating new ones in residential and redevelopment area projects. A total of 20 potential sites have been selected, ten of local importance and ten of significance for the town as a whole. An additional special site is devoted primarily to the subject of inclusion. In the longer term, cycle routes and district circuits are to link the areas together. Common features are also to be included, e.g. small pitches, seating opportunities, roofed areas, cycle parks, barbecue areas and, last but not least, school playgrounds. For the implementation of the planned measures, the interdisciplinary project group receives up to EUR 500,000 per year 14
from Flensburg’s urban development fund, established in 2018 with the passing of the Integrative Urban Development Strat egy, in order to generate funding for key measures. Since 2019, measures have been implemented in this way in two larger inner-town parks and one smaller district park, on two closeto-nature play areas, in a municipal wood, on the two town beaches, in the Hesttoft inclusive playground and in what is now nine school playgrounds. With a total volume of roughly EUR 2.3 million with roughly EUR 940,000 of external funding, these include the upgrading of paths, the addition of play, balancing, fitness and exercise equipment and small pitches, the improvement of amenity value with seating and shelters and also with barbecue stations and fire pits and 134 bicycle racks at 19 locations. sb 4/2024