Residential Life in Balance was a knowledge and maturation project under Realdania, which was about "breaking the hardship" in vulnerable residential areas, specifically Vollsmose and Værebro Park. Kenneth Balfelt Team was in the winning "social team".
Despite many good efforts, there are still a number of vulnerable residential areas around Denmark that are experiencing problems.
In partnership with Gladsaxe and Odense Municipality, Civica, Fyns almennytige Boligselskab and Gladsaxe almennytige Boligselskab/DAB, Realdania has set up three professional advisory teams to look at the challenges in the vulnerable residential areas with new eyes and from a physical, a social and an organizational angle, respectively.
Team Organization
DALBERG in collaboration with Nordic Development Corporation.
Team Social
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT CENTER SUS in collaboration with Social+, Kenneth Balfelt Team, GivRum, acelab, Boliglaboratoriet, Troels Schultz Larsen and Kristian Nagel Delica from RUC.
Team Physical
ARKITEMA ARCHITECTS in collaboration with Lendager Arkitekter and Orbicon.
The goal of the project has been to mature the involved parties' understanding of the complex challenges, but also to find new ideas to reverse the development trends that characterize vulnerable residential areas in Denmark.
The starting point for the work is an ambition that the place where one lives should not in itself be a limiting factor, but that all residential areas can offer current and new/future residents the same opportunities to develop their lives as the rest of the population.
From cradle to job
The social team, of which we were a part, has focused on strengthening children and young people's opportunities to achieve social mobility. Our ambition is that children and young people gain the necessary skills and get jobs - regardless of the challenges they encounter in the family, in institutions, school, youth education, the surrounding community or on the way to the labor market.
Our proposal focuses on creating a much greater shared perspective on the elements in a child's life that must succeed in order to create a good upbringing. More specifically, this means that every actor who has an impact on the development of the child's skills and upbringing, from the child's birth onwards, works with a focus on a common goal: that the child acquires the skills that will enable them to have a good life, education and a job later in life. We call this vision: From cradle to job.
Read more about the project and download the project summary and material collection at: https://realdania.dk/samlet-projektliste/boligliv-i-balance-udsatte-boligomraader