An environment conducive to physical activity and social interaction

The surroundings play a big part in facilitating or preventing movement and social interaction.  

The pictures shows a woman on a stair

That is why the FOPH is working with other federal offices to promote active mobility and establish areas conducive to movement and social interaction as well as attractive, secure and accessible playgrounds and free spaces, footpaths and cycleways. Disadvantaged sections of the population can benefit in particular from an environment conducive to movement and social interaction. An environment conducive to social interaction can also make people mix more, thus contributing to mental well-being. Innovative models will be supported and new forms of action identified.

The key working groups, programmes and projects in this field are:

  • Federal coordination of human-powered mobility
  • Model projects for sustainable spatial development
  • Coordination Office for Sustainable Mobility
  • Guide to developing open spaces in agglomerations

Those pages are available in German, French and Italian.

Architecture and spatial planning facilitate movement

How can architecture and spatial planning facilitate physical exercise? Hochparterre publishing house has issued a series of articles entitled “Bewegung bitte!” (which translates as - let’s get moving) in cooperation with the FOPH with input from an expert committee comprising various federal offices and other organisations from the fields of spatial planning and health.  

Dokumente

Accompanying study “Exercise, encounter, enliven in the neighbourhoods of Bern and Zurich” - Model project for sustainable spatial development (PDF, 16 MB, 23.02.2024)Report in German, summary in German, French and English
Angela von Däniken, William Fuhrer
Berner Fachhochschule, 2024

Bewegung, bitte! (PDF, 5 MB, 01.12.2021)Themenheft von Hochparterre, Dezember 2021

Bewegungsfreundliches Umfeld in der Schweiz - Good Practice Projekte und Erfolgsfaktoren (PDF, 1016 kB, 30.11.2018)auf Deutsch, Zusammenfassung auf Deutsch, Französisch und Italienisch
Adrian Fischer, Hanspeter Stamm, Markus Lamprecht
Lamprecht und Stamm Sozialforschung und Beratung AG, 2018

Last modification 08.04.2024

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Contact

Federal Office of Public Health FOPH
Prevention of non-communicable diseases Division
Schwarzenburgstrasse 157
3003 Bern
Switzerland
Tel. +41 58 463 88 24
E-mail

Print contact

https://www.bag.admin.ch/content/bag/en/home/gesund-leben/gesundheitsfoerderung-und-praevention/bewegungsfoerderung/bewegungsfreundliches-umfeld.html