Rarely heard voices and perspectives in the traffic turnaround – Final report focus groups

Description

As part of the Graefekiez project, several focus groups were conducted with various affected groups of people in order to gain insights into their perceptions and experiences of the planned mobility measures.
This method offered the opportunity to bring rarely heard voices into the discourse, such as people with mobility impairments, tradespeople and women from the Werner-Düttmann-Siedlung. The focus groups aimed to discuss the impact of the measures on the mobility and everyday life of the participants and to discuss potential solutions and points of criticism together.

Results

The focus groups revealed differentiated views of the participants on the redesign measures. People with mobility impairments expressed concerns about accessibility and access to parking spaces. Business owners criticized the negative impact on delivery traffic and the parking situation, while women from the Werner-Düttmann-Siedlung pointed out that their needs were not sufficiently taken into account in the planning. The results make it clear that the mobility measures go far beyond individual mobility and also affect social, economic and urban policy aspects.

Background

The Graefekize project was launched against the backdrop of urban climate adaptation and road safety. It was based on a resolution of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district council and aimed to promote mobility change and redesign the urban space in favor of pedestrians and cyclists.
The focus groups were developed as part of a transdisciplinary approach to involve affected and often marginalized groups in transport planning in Graefekiez. The aim was to identify the barriers, but also the opportunities of the mobility transition for these groups. The participants were selected specifically to ensure a broad perspective on the measures, including tradespeople, people with disabilities and residents with a low socio-economic status. This sub-project was funded by the CCC.

To the report

Image: Christian Kielmann