EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Heerlen: Neighbourhood sports project helps young people

Heerlen: Neighbourhood sports project helps young people

Introduction

Studies have shown that sport and play facilities enhance the quality of life and safety in a neighbourhood. They increase social cohesion in a neighbourhood and act as an effective tool for social activation and integration.

Problem

Create a low-threshold sports facility for young people from underprivileged areas. Sport is an effective and educational tool for stimulating the social development of young people.

Description

Sport has a constructive influence on young people and therefore plays an important role in the prevention of vandalism and criminality. The project will focus initially on young people (between 6 and 16 years old) from the urban district Heerlerheide. Some 250 people will participate in the project. The project involves close cooperation with educational and welfare organisations, sports clubs and community associations.

Approach

The spearheads within the Heerlen programme document are:

Innovative neighbourhood philosophy: links between policy levels (regional and local level) in the approach to problem areas.
Neighbourhood development programmes: promoting self-activation in the neighbourhoods.
Following on from and fitting in with the developments and innovation pilots from government.
Station district Centrum-Noord: station district is pilot point between the privileged and the under-privileged.
Working on self-awareness and improving one's image.

Results

Improved quality of life and safety in the neighbourhood as young people will be engaged in sport and play activities instead of "hanging around".
Greater involvement in the neighbourhood because volunteers from the neighbourhood will help run the neighbourhood project and because young people and older people from the neighbourhood will be brought into contact with one another.
Young people whose development is lagging behind will be identified on time and follow-up programmes will be set up on the basis of the neighbourhood sports project.
Young people will develop greater social skills.
The lack of movement amongst young people will be reversed.

EU involvement

URBAN II is an initiative of the European Commission. The aim is to support innovative projects in the field of urban regeneration in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. The URBAN II projects will set an example for national urban policy. In the Netherlands, areas in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Heerlen have been allocated for the period 2000-2006. In Heerlen the URBAN II project involves six neighbourhoods with a total of 43,806 inhabitants, in the north and east of the city.

Financing

European subsidy: € 116.771
Total cost: € 259.492

Contact info

The local programme management, tel. +31 45 5604209

Project start date

01/10/2004

Document type

case

Themes

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Quality of life

Keywords

Health