SolPlat

Currently, many spontaneous initiatives are emerging that strengthen solidarity in society and cohesion in the crisis. The pandemic brings people together in many places and awakens social awareness of the importance of the common good. Digital platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp groups and also neighbourhood apps etc. play a key role, especially in times when contact is prohibited. The researcher within the "Solidarity Platform" project – SolPlat for short – are pick up on this and develop the already existing Arrenberg Web App into a medium that enables citizens in the Arrenberg pilot district to interact and participate. The project is supported by the chair of Interface and User Experience Design at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal (Prof. Dr. Hemmert, Department of Industrial Design).

In the long term, the platform is intended to create a space of opportunity to explore questions about the future-oriented positioning of neighbourhoods: What do pandemic-proof cities and quarters of the future look like? What can we learn from the crisis about the resilience of cities? How can neighborhoods and local economies be strengthened? In order to achieve the broadest possible diffusion in the Arrenberg neighbourhood, we are working closely with the association Aufbruch am Arrenberg e. V. and the Alevi community of Wuppertal. The solidarity platform is to be offered in several languages and, with the help of an action guide, is to be transferable to other districts or towns.