How can the streets become more interesting and safer for children?

How can the urban space in Jena-West become more child-friendly? Urban developer Prof. Bernhard Meyer from the Protestant University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt investigated this question. At a public information event organized by the city of Jena and the practice partner "teilAuto", he presented the results and the resulting "Playable City" concept for the West School in Jena's historic town hall.

The aim of the study is to create a safe network and attractive routes for children in the district. The aim is to enable children to move around the city independently and to reclaim public space for themselves.

Children's perspective

As the perspectives of adults and adolescents are usually different and adults can only see children's points of view to a limited extent, the help of the pupils at Westschule was particularly important. In July, around 400 of them marked their way home with chalk on the sidewalks: arrows to indicate the direction of travel, crosses where they crossed a road and squiggles when they reached their destination. In addition, 231 elementary school children were asked to share their experiences of walking to school using a questionnaire.

The project is supported by the company TeilAuto: "As a car sharer, we support every change of perspective in traffic - especially in Jena, where walking is very important. The playable city creates new spaces for children to move around and enables them to travel independently and responsibly. The car is then superfluous for their daily journeys," says Niklas Wachholtz, Regional Manager of Teilauto.

Results of the research

The survey revealed that 48 percent find their journey to school mostly boring and 47 percent find it mostly exciting. 0.5 percent rate it as mostly unpleasant. The older the children get, the more negative the rating becomes. While 59 percent in the first grade rate their way to school positively, only 29 percent in the 4th grade do so. On the other hand, 66% now rate it as boring instead of 36%.

Against this background, the routes to school marked by the chalk campaign were first transferred to a city map and then examined more closely. The aim was to identify danger points that should be avoided in future and to develop ways of making safe routes more exciting. It was taken into account that children of primary school age particularly like to move - be it climbing, jumping, cycling, inline skating or scootering. They also like to play hide and seek and throw or shoot at targets.

"For the first time, pupils from the West School in Jena have made their experiences about routes to school and road crossings, leisure locations and routes public. The playable city can now take shape. The outstanding importance of Lommerweg, but also of August-Bebel-Straße and Gutenbergstraße, became particularly apparent," says Prof. Meyer.

Play elements in the street space

Accordingly, the concept for Lommerweg recommends the installation of a wobble board, climbing equipment and various balance stations, among other things. In addition, a peephole on the Leutrabrücke bridge and a mirror on the underpass for fish watching are to become points of attraction. Peep tubes are also to be installed on the eastern Lommerweg, as well as a block bridge, a belt bridge and boulders for climbing. There are also plans for so-called path companions such as painted Hinkel boxes and bouncy mushrooms.

"The playable city is intended to create a safe school route network and at the same time attractively designed paths for children in the district. This will enable children to move around the city independently and reclaim the public space for themselves," emphasizes Mayor and Head of Urban Development Christian Gerlitz.

These adventure opportunities are to be seamlessly integrated into the normal infrastructure without having to create extra space for them. Accordingly, an ordinary wall, for example, is also to be designed as a climbing opportunity.

Implementation from 2024

Implementation is set to begin as early as next year. "We want to use the momentum that Prof. Meyer's work has brought to the city to start implementing his ideas as soon as possible. The first 'companions' should become visible in the next few months, particularly on Lommerweg," Mayor Gerlitz describes the next steps.

Karte bespielbares Jena-West

© Stadt Jena