The program, titled “Going Out for Health,” is based on integrating the fields of public health and spatial planning and carries out various activities, ranging from research and pilot testing to knowledge transfer, awareness-raising, and promotion. It includes the development of an Expertise for the Spatial Planning of Green Spaces to Promote Physical Activity Among the Population, within which a comprehensive review of various aspects for appropriate planning, renovation, and management of green spaces to achieve a healthy, high-quality living environment that will enable an active, healthy lifestyle for residents of all ages and social groups. It includes several topics addressing the role, importance, and potential of green spaces from a public health perspective, the typology of green spaces and aspects of their quality, as well as the field of sustainable mobility (planning for walking and cycling), consideration of the demographic characteristics of local communities, safety, and equitable access to public green spaces,  issues of spatial perception and attitudes, and aspects of participatory planning and co-creation.

The program’s outcomes will include general guidelines for planning green spaces to promote physical activity among residents, as well as a guidebook to support municipalities in developing approaches and making decisions. The relevance of various aspects and the usability of the developed guidelines for both strategic and detailed planning levels are being tested using the municipality of Kočevje as a case study.