Caring Spaces: How can a space be caring?
11.09.2024 For there to be a Caring Society, there have to be Caring Spaces. But what are Caring Spaces? We take a closer look at Caring Spaces and associated research projects at BFH.
Caring Spaces is one of five focus topics in BFH’s Caring Society strategic thematic field. “How on earth can a space be caring?” you might ask. The answer in a nutshell:
People’s lives take place in different spaces – physical, social and digital. They influence how we feel. Spaces that meet our need for care and appreciation promote our wellbeing. This makes them ‘caring’ spaces.
It is quite possible that you now have more questions after reading these four sentences than when you started. Or at least are interested in finding out what ‘caring’ spaces look like.
Spaces and people are connected
With its focus on Caring Spaces, BFH is giving more room to the importance of spaces in a Caring Society. The questions BFH is exploring in Caring Spaces revolve around how different spaces can not only serve their users, but also play a part in boosting solidarity, inclusion and care.
Human care always takes place in spaces.
“Spaces are almost always connected with people,” Carolin Fischer, Head of the thematic field ‘Caring Society’, explains. “They are created by people and used by them. And human care always takes place in spaces, whether this refers to a city, an institution or even a household.”
But the relationships between spaces and people go even further. Spaces have an impact on relationships between people and they influence people’s wellbeing. The impact varies depending on the kind of space, its character and its function. A factory, a motorway, a church, a park – each of these spaces, in its own particular way, affects how people feel and, to some extent, how they behave.
The essence of a Caring Space
Open, attractive spaces evoke feelings of comfort, relaxation, empathy and creativity in people. Through this effect, they can act as a catalyst and help to strengthen solidarity between people as well as fostering mutual respect.
In various research projects, BFH is investigating how spaces need to be designed in order to be ‘caring’ and how exactly such spaces affect people and help form their relationships. The studies cover a wide range of issues relating to the design and use of spaces:
- Meeting zones in urban neighbourhoods
- Age-appropriate high-rise buildings
- Integration of refugee accommodation in residential areas
- Sustainable utilisation of empty office complexes as living and working spaces
Example of allotment gardens
What practically all projects have in common is that physical and social spaces are interwoven. Having said that, access to the spaces is not always free of barriers for everyone. Even a space that appears to offer unrestricted access to all at first glance can be found to have barriers on closer inspection.
Carolin Fischer uses the example of allotment gardens to illustrate this. “Allotment gardens are open and inclusive by their very nature. However, if users enclose their plot with a fence or hedge, the character of the site changes. It becomes uninviting and exclusive.”
Diverse neighbourhood for everyone
What is true for allotment gardens is also true for residential neighbourhoods. How can the broadest possible spectrum of a diverse population be involved in shaping the life of the neighbourhood? The BFH research project “Diverse neighbourhood for everyone” is trying out new approaches to give interested people from all social backgrounds the opportunity to shape and participate in neighbourhood life in Bern West. The researchers’ strategy builds on close cooperation with the population and specialists in community work. The project outlines a total of five interventions, three of which have already been completed.
As a symbolic and audible first step, the song repertoire of the bell tower in Tscharnergut was expanded. The intention of this first intervention was to make a cultural symbol in the district more accessible to the widely diverse neighbourhood population. The idea behind the intervention was to open up the possibility of including international melodies alongside traditional local and Swiss songs, thus giving a voice to the diversity in the neighbourhood. Today, the song repertoire includes numerous new melodies.
Research projects on Caring Spaces
BFH is pursuing a wide range of research projects on the topic of Caring Spaces. Here are a few examples:
Urban Future Lab (German link): A vacant office building in Zollikofen is to be transformed into a communal living and working space by 2026. “Webergut Urban Village” serves as a real-life laboratory for BFH researchers. The researchers are working with the residents to develop sustainable living and nutrition concepts.
In my eyes (German link): With neighbourhood walks and interviews, the project documents the immediate living environment of older people in photos and records statements from the participants. Photo posters present the experience of this population group with a view to stimulating the discourse on age-appropriate living environments.
From segregation to inclusion: The project seeks to help create inclusive residential spaces in the context of collective accommodation for refugees. The spaces need to take greater account of the needs of refugees, reduce segregation from the population and thus improve coexistence.
The second intervention was about creating more meeting places and settings in Untermatt, a neighbourhood with few open spaces and public areas. At the neighbourhood’s annual street festival, the project team drew people’s attention to options for structuring public spaces, and asked about residents’ expectations with regard to such meeting places. Based on these findings, and with the support of BFH, a working group is now developing further activities to draw more attention to the issue of enabling people to socialise in the neighbourhood.
The goal of the third intervention was to boost the visibility of the campaign for care and social cohesion in the neighbourhood. Its importance was demonstrated using the example of playgroup leaders. Alongside their educational role, they make an important contribution to supporting families living in sometimes precarious circumstances. This was visualised with portraits of the playgroups, which provided the public with facts and interesting information about this type of care work. For this purpose, a weatherproof miniature house made of folding posters was created, in which audio recordings of the playgroup leaders can be heard.
Feedback received and spaces opened up
The researchers’ interim assessment of the project is positive: “It was very clear that the question as to opening up and expanding the opportunities for participation in a diverse neighbourhood characterised addresses a tangible need,” Simone Gäumann, head of the study, explains. “The interventions elicit a wide range of responses and, with their low-key nature and attractive character, have the potential to create a space for dialogue.”
Simone Gäumann adds that they also help to open up participation opportunities to everyone. “The interventions spark discussions about new forms of social interaction and reinforce the self-determination of those involved, because the activities create new spaces where people can have their say and meet with others.” So Caring Spaces can not only open up physical spaces, but also mental ones, thereby strengthening solidarity, inclusion and care.
