CREATIVITY GAME

Aleš Švigelj¹, Marko Lazić¹:

Space as a right for all: accessibility, safety and social inclusion of open public space

DOI 10.15292/IU-CG.2025.13.044-050 | UDK 77.033:72 | SUBMITTED: 09/2025 | REVISED: 10/2025 | PUBLISHED: 12/2025
Author's affiliation: ¹ University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Architecture, Slovenia

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ABSTRACT
Open public space (OPS) is one of the key pillars of urban life, as it enables movement, encounters, staying, and participation of diverse groups of users. Nevertheless, accessibility, safety, and social inclusion are often not inherently ensured in practice, particularly for vulnerable groups. This paper presents a descriptive scenario matrix of accessibility, safety, and social inclusion (DVDV) of OPS as an analytical tool for the comparative understanding of spatial patterns across different urban contexts. The matrix is based on a synthesis of results from intensive study workshops conducted within the framework of the Sustainable Accessible Future Environments (SAFE, n.d.) project in five European cities: Kranj (Slovenia), Kiel (Germany), Bydgoszcz (Poland), Vantaa (Finland), and Granada (Spain). Through qualitative analysis of the workshop outcomes, spatial characteristics and proposed responses are structured according to seven analytical indicators and four temporal periods of time (current situation, 5, 10, and 20 years). The paper thus focuses on identifying recurring patterns in the perception and treatment of accessibility, safety, and social inclusion in OPS. The results indicate that, despite the diversity of the examined cities, very similar limitations persist in the current condition of OPS, particularly in the form of physical barriers, fragmented access routes, conflicts of use, and limited opportunities for staying and social interaction. The temporal scenario analysis further reveals a pronounced gap between short-term improvements addressing basic conditions of spatial use and long-term systemic goals of inclusive design. In this way, the paper articulates a vision for understanding the temporal dynamics of spatial transformation and provides a basis for reflection on more holistic approaches to the design of OPS that belongs to all users.

KEYWORDS
open public space (OPS); accessibility; safety; social inclusion; vulnerable groups; scenario matrix; inclusive design

FULL ARTICLE
https://iu-cg.org/paper/2025/IU-CG.2025.13.044-050.pdf (0.57 MB)

CITATION

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