The 2021 (17-21 May) European Public Health Week dealt, among other topics, with the theme: “Your local community”; this included a Photo elicitation community project, cf. 19 May 2021 (in this website) and https://rise.articulate.com/share/1NZ67TvNiMpg_cudkTttAt2SEs0GxoNG#/.

My Hamburg contribution [21-08] is part of the overall documentation which also features contributions from the Ruhr Metropolitan region, from Greece, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Portugal, Sierra Leone, Spain, and UK. Now the Hamburg contribution is also presented here:

Part 1: Challenges in the local community [Hamburg]

Photo 1 – Wipe & swish
The mural “Wipe and swish – the cleaning ladies” (Hamburg, Große Elbstraße 164) from 1997 addresses the “typical woman’s work” of cleaning. Outsourcing and marginalization, however, are not limited to cleaning work, they continue to be a societal challenge. The words listed on the left accentuate the topic of the mural, including eczema, backache, pension, gang, stressful rush, foam-free, wipe and swish. – Artist: Hildegund Schuster. The Frauen Freiluft Galerie (Women open air gallery) has been in existence since 1994 as a long-term project, www.frauenfreiluftgalerie.de/en/putzfrauen.php.

Photo 2 – Altona Subway
While the headline euphemistically indicates a “Dripstone gallery”, many passers-by may feel they face a veritable place of dread. And not only is it intimidating, but a real challenge and barrier for cyclists, wheelchair user, and everybody with a mobility handicap. Imagine this to be part of our daily trip to school or work (Incidentally, this specific underpass is going to be replaced in the process of replacing the Altona train station; but similar places of dread continue to exist).

Photo 3 – Car park awaiting new life
This multi-storey car park (Neue Gröninger Straße 12) is located in the heart of Hamburg’s old town, not far from the town hall and the historic warehouse district. In Hamburg, affordable housing space, a prerequisite for healthy living, is in short supply. Current efforts to transform the car park building, sustainably, into social housing and affordable avant-garde workspace will hopefully be successful, https://groeninger-hof.de/.

Photo 4 – Fridays for Future – Water level 2050
Global climate change is increasingly recognized as a major challenge to human health. For Hamburg as a seaport city, one of the risks refers to flooding. Way back in 1962, a devastating storm flood caused c.340 deaths. Rising sea levels could make parts of the city uninhabitable. At the “Fridays for Future” demonstration of 29 Nov 2019, signs high up in the air indicated the “Water level Hamburg 2050”, https://fridaysforfuture.de/ortsgruppen/hamburg/

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Part 2: Signs of hope in the local community [Hamburg]

Photo 1 –  Girls in view
The mural “Girls in view – Their future in the port” (Hamburg, Große Elbstraße 210) from 2012 deals with the vocational and career chances for women in the skilled crafts and technical jobs in the port of Hamburg. Adequate job positions are known to foster good health. – Nine school girls created the mural under the artistic guidance of Hildegund Schuster. The Frauen Freiluft Galerie (Women open air gallery) has been in existence since 1994 as a long-term project, www.frauenfreiluftgalerie.de/en/maedchen.php.

Photo 2 – Hygieia fountain
The Hygieia Fountain from 1896 is located in the inner courtyard between the city hall and the stock exchange in the port city of Hamburg. The fountain was built in memory of the cholera epidemic of 1892, in which over 8,000 Hamburg residents died. Originally, Mercury, the god of trade, was intended as the central figure. In view of the dramatic nature of the cholera epidemic, a decision was made to place Hygieia at the centre, the Greek goddess of health, cf. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygieia-Brunnen_(Hamburg)

Photo 3 – Sidewalk mini gardening
Urban greenery is ecologically useful, supports our wellbeing, and probably fosters our mental health. To jointly initiate and maintain roadside vegetation can be a rewarding and inclusive engagement. Located in legal borderland and sometimes dubbed “guerilla gardening”, this may count as a good approach also for those of us who are not-very-martially minded.