Accessibility Workshop for Older People in Odense

Odense (Denmark) is in the process of drawing up an accessibility plan for older people in the city. The work began with a request for input from those people who will be directly affected: the older people themselves. At the first meeting, a group of 45 people were asked to indicate places in the city where accessibility is poor.

Participants were divided into groups to discuss accessibility, to draw maps showing places that are difficult for them to access, and to describe the problems.

After the meeting, the input was discussed and two routes were identified as focus areas for the new plan. Both routes are located in the city centre, as this was the area in which the most non-accessible places were identified.

The results were presented to a group of 30 older people at a second meeting, and various solutions were discussed.

The plan is due to be ready in August 2009, after which work will begin on implementing the routes.