“Cities are Places of Integration”

01.09.2007

Prof. Dr. Iris Reuther knows a lot
about town planning © Reuther

REHACARE.de: Since when does town planning exist?
Prof. Dr. Iris Reuther: Town planning, as we know it today, came into existence in the midst of the 19th century. It became essential, because cities were growing immensely at the time. As a result of industrialisation many people from the countryside moved to town which led to a kind of boom in the building of tenements. This marked the beginning of town planning.

REHACARE.de: In the future, how will cities develop? What will the city of the future look like?
Prof. Dr. Iris Reuther: The importance of cities will increase. The proportion of people living in cities is growing worldwide. Notably in the last ten to fifteen years there has been a trend towards town life. Beforehand many people were moving to the countryside where everything is calmer and greener. By now town life is more attractive, especially for older people or people with disabilities who depend on assistance in certain areas of life. Above all, there is better accessibility to administration, hospitals, physicians and other facilities, which makes life more comfortable. Therefore more and more people are moving to town.

REHACARE.de Does that mean you are expecting growing cities in the future rather than shrinking ones?
Prof. Dr. Iris Reuther: No. Cities are shrinking in the sense that they are losing inhabitants. Moreover the compound of their inhabitants is changing. The social structure and age distribution are changing. But all in all more people are moving to town, and cities have a better image than they used to have twenty years ago.

REHACARE.de What role does town planning play in the integration of disabled persons?
Prof. Dr. Iris Reuther: Cities are places of integration. In towns many different people are living side-by-side. Their life situations are more diverse than in the country. That’s why cities are more able to integrate people with exceptional life situations. That goes for people with disabilities as well as immigrants, for instance.

Town planning has to integrate. It has to organise the compatible coexistence of different people with different needs in a fair way. I think the situation of disabled people has become an important point in terms of a fair organisation of coexistence. Town planning has to appeal to include the requirements of people with disabilities in decision processes. Therefore it has to cooperate with contact persons and lobbyists for disabled persons.

REHACARE.de Precisely, how does town planning help with the integration of disabled people?
Prof. Dr. Iris Reuther: Town planning and even more architecture are bound to certain standards. According to this, a certain amount of accessibility has to be guaranteed. For example, streets and buildings have to be accessible for wheelchair users. This is already standard in constructing new buildings or in reconstructing old buildings.

REHACARE.de Which statutory provisions are there?
Prof. Dr. Iris Reuther: The planning and building laws have a special DIN-standard.

REHACARE.de Is it legally binding?
Prof. Dr. Iris Reuther: Yes, it is. It is also the basis for the assessment on part of the authorities. All architects and building owners have to adhere to it.

REHACARE.de Is it still possible to plan and build towns which are not disability friendly?
Prof. Dr. Iris Reuther: No. From my experience as a town planner, I can say, that it is becoming more and more important to develop handicapped accessible towns. It is essential because it will affect an increasing number of people. Moreover accessibility has become a kind of seal of quality for cities.

REHACARE.de What are the biggest obstacles in building disability friendly towns?
Prof. Dr. Iris Reuther: A large obstacle is the fact, that it requires a great deal of effort to make towns completely barrier-free. Another problem is the uncertainty about the future demographic development. How many people up to what extent in which parts of town will be affected by disabilities? Will it be five percent of the population or ten? Or maybe even more than twenty percent in one borough? That’s something you can’t exactly calculate, an instability factor in planning.

REHACARE.de What about financial aspects? Aren’t they always a problem?
Prof. Dr. Iris Reuther: Yes, but the acceptance and awareness of society and politicians have grown in recent years.

REHACARE.de How can citizens impact on town planning?
Prof. Dr. Iris Reuther: Every town has a department concerned with building. These departments offer consultation-hours. In connection with the planning process towns have to lay their plans open for public inspection. The citizens’ concerns and suggestions have to be considered. That’s required by law. In terms of planning there are also possibilities for citizens to gain information. The structure plans for example are open for everybody. By now many towns publish such documents on the internet.

REHACARE.de Will the city of the future be disability friendly?
Prof. Dr. Iris Reuther: It will definitely be more disability friendly than today. I don’t think that it will be completely barrier-free, every street and every house. But the most important locations in town will be barrier-free.

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