Queering healthy public spaces

Optimisation of urban planning processes through the involvement of members of the LGBTQIA+ community with the goal of improving public health.

Research has shown that public spaces can pose health risks for and have exclusionary effects on members of the LGBTIQ+ community. Little work has been done, however, to investigate how one can go about designing public spaces that are safe, inviting and inclusive for LGBTIQ+ people, families and communities or how queerness can be “normalised” in connection with the use and design of public spaces. Doing so is important in order to ensure safe access to public spaces, which supports various aspects of health and well-being. This includes the feeling of safety when moving around in public spaces, safe access to and interaction with social networks, safe access to employment and education opportunities and the use of open spaces for therapeutic and recreational purposes.

In 2020, ARUP, a globally active planning and consulting firm, and the University of Westminster explored the potential for promoting the health of LGBTQ+ community members by involving them in the process of designing public spaces. In 2021, a project replicating and building on this study began under the leadership of Prof. Evelyne de Leeuw (UNSW Australia Research Centre for Primary Health Care & Equity) in Australia. 

As part of its thematic focus “Caring Society”, the Bern University of Applied Sciences supported the further development of the project in German-speaking Switzerland, with the aim of submitting the project to the Swiss National Science Foundation.