Friends of Hebborn take matters into their own control on the field
A neighborhood festival was held on Saturday at a large playground in Bergisch Gladbach, bringing together residents and local initiatives for a day of fun, collaboration, and dialogue. The city of Bergisch Gladbach, in partnership with the Hebborn Neighbors initiative, organised the event, which featured a diverse sports program and a varied framework program.
The sports program at the festival included tryouts for hockey (Thc Rot-Weiss Bergisch Gladbach), karate (Karate-Gemeinschaft Bergisch Gladbach), korfball (SG Pegasus), hobby horsing (TS 79 Bergisch Gladbach), and movement games from the Spielmobil Bergisch Gladbach. The festival was accompanied by a varied framework program organised by Hebborn Neighbors, featuring associations, play and sports activities for children, and entertainment for adults.
Despite the rain, the positive atmosphere prevailed at the festival. The goal of these participation formats is to involve citizens early in the planning process and actively incorporate their perspectives in the redesign of public spaces. The planned redesign of the playground in the wheat field was the focus of the dialog series in Hebborn.
The advisory center for inclusion InBeCo is particularly focused on barrier-free design of the terrain. It is planned to plant insect-friendly perennials around the gray ventilation shafts of the rainwater retention basin under the playground together with children from the neighborhood. The support association of GGS Hebborn presented projects for more fun at the elementary school during the festival.
Patrons from the neighborhood have already taken care of offers like a restored table tennis table and a publicly accessible sandbox with toys. The Scouts of the evangelical church at the Heilsbrunnen presented how nature is experienced in community at the festival.
Initial planning approaches for the redesign were presented on-site, and interested visitors were invited to provide feedback and share ideas. The city of Bergisch Gladbach will continue the dialogue series in more districts. The city of Bergisch Gladbach and the Hebborn Neighbors initiative will continue to work together in the development of the neighborhood.
The participation process will continue in Hebborn, with the aim of creating vibrant, sustainable, and family-friendly public spaces together with the residents. The friends of Hebborn are certain that this is just the beginning of their involvement and that many more colorful events and actions will follow. The city administration and the neighborhood initiative benefited from the open, constructive exchange during the festival, strengthening trust, participation, and the sense of community in Hebborn.
