The barrier-free suburb of Marjala in Finland: The city for all – the Marjala Model

Abstract

The barrier-free suburb of Marjala in Finland is the first Finnish barrier-free suburb built in 1995. It received the golden Helios-prize from the European Union Program for disabled persons [8]. The suburb is designed for life-long-living for all: for families with young children, for the visually impaired, other disabled and older persons. But the development was not only restricted to well-designed buildings and environments. The city of Joensuu created the Marjala Model as to how to plan new buildings and services in a multi-professional group together with the citizens. New information and communication technologies were also taken into account. The experiences of the working group with internet (teleshopping, internet corners, support) were utilized later in other projects of the city and in the region of North Carelia. The Marjala project was EU-funded and it co-operated with many other EU-projects.