• To strengthen the area’s identity
• As many active participants in the process as possible.
• To increase environmental consciousness.
• More people in employment.
• Fewer problems with substance abusers.
• Increased leisure-time activities.
• A joint effort which will reduce crime.
• More families with children who can create a different make-up of residents.

Kvarterløftsekretariatet
Project co-ordinator, Karen Sommer Møller
Peter Toftsvej 21
6000 Kolding
Tel: +45 75 53 94 74
Fax: +45 75 50 97 99
E-mail: ksmo@kolding.dk
Homepage: www.kolding.dk

Description of the area.
The Southwest-area in Kolding has not been chosen as one of the seven urban regeneration areas because it is a black hole of social and physical problems. On the contrary, the area is a typical urban area in a greater provincial town with old villas, new detached houses and small and large blocks of flats woven together.

The area contains some of Kolding’s most beautiful buildings and most attractive avenues and at the same time, a massive concentration of social problems in a cluster of old council flats.

Originally an area with no name.
One of the purposes of "Kvarterløft", is to encourage residents to feel connected with their area, which has approx. 5000 inhabitants. As a part of this, one of the first projects in the "Kvarterløft" was to give the area a name. A competition among the residents in the late summer of 1997 resulted in the name, "Sydvest Kvarteret" (The Southwest-area) being chosen. The Southwest-area is situated to the Southwest of Kolding’s town centre and is bounded by, for instance, Haderslevvej, Tøndervej and Tankedalsvej.

The Southwest-area is a fairly mixed area with open built-up areas consisting of one- and two-storeyed single-family houses, along with three to four-storeyed blocks of flats. Especially in the blocks of flats there are social problems. There is no industry and retail trade to speak of, though there is however are various small industries and three fairly large convenience stores on the outskirts of the area.

With regard to the dwellings in the area, there are 54% flats, 37% single-family houses and 8% terraced houses. Approx. half of the dwellings are rented housing with the municipality of Kolding and "Kolding Almennyttige Boligselskab" (Kolding non-profit making cooperative housing society) as the biggest landlords.

The majority of the green spaces in the area; consist of private gardens and the outside areas by the blocks of flats. There are also two sports centres, two allotment areas, a graveyard and "Stejlbjerganlægget", which is a park area seldom used and which lies neglected as "The forgotten park". Finally, there are three playgrounds, which all need extension and improvement.

Within the area, there are five kindergartens and one nursery with 328 places in total, along with 32 child-minders catering for 108 children. There is no municipal school in the area but there is a private school, St. Michaels Skole, with 379 pupils.

The area is characterised by monotonous and lifeless stretches of roads and open spaces. The area is also marked by fast moving, heavy through-traffic There are hardly any cycle-paths in the area, which, when combined with the heavy traffic, makes it unsafe to cycle on many of the roads.

Conversely, many parts of the area have a distinctly good atmosphere and there are quite a few valuable buildings and green areas. At the same time, the area is situated close to Kolding town centre and it has a good public transport.

Description of the area.
The purpose of the urban regeneration project is to use the "strong" residents’ resources to lift the "weak" residents, by means of joint projects, joint activities and the building up of a joint identity.

With regard to the age and sex distribution, the residents in the urban regeneration area roughly corresponds to the average of the municipality. Large parts of the area are inhabited by generally well-functioning and resourceful people. There are also many families with children and many of the residents actively participate in the athletic and association life of the area.

There are, however, considerable isolated discrepancies in some parts of the area.

In certain of the blocks of flats, the number of people receiving cash benefits is four times above the average. Almost one in four of the people who are treated for alcohol abuse in Kolding come from the blocks of flats in the urban regeneration area and there are also visible drug related problems in several parts of the area.

Correspondingly, there are more unemployed people in these areas than in the rest of Kolding. One specific part of the area is characterised by neglected children, which has prompted the local authorities to undertake social measures.

A survey carried out in the area, showed that 52% of the residents were dissatisfied with the traffic conditions and considered the road- and traffic conditions to be a major problem. With regards to the recreational spaces within the area, it was a widespread opinion that the various areas are in need of extension and refurbishment. It was also expressed, that the area in general lacks good play areas, which are safe from traffic.

Furthermore, the survey showed, that the residents are divided into two camps regarding the substance abusers. 40% believe that the substance abusers in the area are a problem, while 45% do not consider them to be a problem.

The survey clearly showed that there is a great demand for a stamping ground in the area, which can accommodate different groups simultaneously.