(Re)animation of “Wohnstraßen” (residential streets)

  • Posted on: 28 October 2020
  • By: Anna Solderer

Since 1983, the Austrian road code includes a paragraph about residential streets, in German called “Wohnstraße”. On these streets, children are explicitly allowed to play on the street and car traffic is only allowed in walking speed. There are currently 21 “Wohnstraßen” in Graz but not all of them are played on by children. On some of these streets, the original usage is not in the minds of the residents anymore, as children grew up and moved away. Therefore, “Wohnstraßen” have to be reanimated. It is obvious that playing outside and not only indoors or in playgrounds is crucial for the development of children.  It seems like the kids need an impulse to start playing on the “Wohnstraße” again. To show the children the benefits and fun of playing on a “Wohnstraße”, the Metamorphosis partner Fratz Graz organized several game events so far. They bring a cargo-bike filled with games and tools to play in the street to every event. Also, the Metamorphosis project made it possible to develop the booklet “The residential street playbook”. This booklet contains several games for children, which can be played in a “Wohnstraße”. It is available in German and in English language.

You can download the booklet here.