Public output
Board game: This Abled City: A Steampunk Adventure in Groningen
Developed with co-researchers, the creative team at Alfa College, researchers, and graphic designers, this prototype board game invites players to reimagine Groningen as an accessible, inclusive steampunk city. It challenges the players to see challenges of inaccessibility and exclusion in everyday spaces, routines and practices. Through everyday stories and participatory design, the game challenges assumptions about mobility, space, and disability. The project began in 2023 and was playtested at the European Researchers’ Night in September 2025 and at "The Future of Game-Based Learning and Gamification" event in House of Connections in April 2026.
Funded by the Rudolf Agricola School for Sustainable Development.
Impression of the board game "This Abled City: A Steampunk Adventure in Groningen"
Impression of the board game "This Abled City: A Steampunk Adventure in Groningen"
Impression of the board game "This Abled City: A Steampunk Adventure in Groningen"
Impression of the board game "This Abled City: A Steampunk Adventure in Groningen"
Pop Up Exhibition Forum Groningen - a collaboration with Zorgbelang Groningen/ Zavie
In October 2025 during the ‘Week of Accessibility’, This Abled City turned the Forum Groningen into a pop-up space for questions we too often avoid. Our exhibition brought together ten years of collaboration with co-researchers from ’s Heeren Loo, alongside partners at Academy Minerva and Alfa-college Groningen. Through art, research, and lived experience, we explored how accessibility and inclusion in everyday city life can become visible, especially where they are usually ignored.
Our guiding theme was “The Elephant in the Room”: the unspoken barriers in our city and society. Not just physical obstacles, but also cultural assumptions, administrative hurdles, rushed communication, and the quiet absence of representation. The exhibition invited visitors to look again and to notice what is normally overlooked. We used five windows into accessibility:
Fashion — can everyone express themselves?
Fashion presents a simple but sharp question. Clothing is identity, confidence, belonging but not everyone is equally welcomed by the world of style and shopping. This project was created with students from University College Groningen and co-researchers Lisa Tuin and Tessa Meijer (‘s Heeren Loo).
Stories & Heroes — where are disabled protagonists?
Most heroic journeys are written without people with disabilities. When disability appears, it’s often framed as tragedy, villainy, or inspiration, rarely as ordinary heroism. This installation responded with a rich mix: a photo-story from a visit to Storyworld, a video, a flag, prototype game art, and links to prototype computer games developed with students from the University of Groningen, Academy Minerva, and Alfa-college Groningen (Buro Bouma).
Similarity & Difference — the elephant is never simple
Some like to think difference is obvious: “the wheelchair user” versus “everyone else.” But the work we showed challenged that certainty. In the poster, everyone stands apart in their own way; in the collage, visitors literally become part of the whole; in the flag, difference seems present—yet everyone drinks the same thing, just in a different shape. The point: difference is never as clear-cut as it seems.
Communication — what if the world slowed down?
Our cities run on speed: fast talk, long texts, complex systems. But what if someone communicates more slowly, uses a speech computer, or needs simpler language? Too often there is little patience—little space for a different pace. This installation (video + flag) made that mismatch visible, not as a personal problem, but as a societal design choice.
Policy & Collaboration — inclusion must be built in, not added later
Policy and planning are still too often developed without disabled people, despite what the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities demands. Barriers persist; physical, but also administrative and institutional. The exhibition showed what collaboration can look like in practice: going into the city together, collecting data, mapping inaccessible places, and making experiences visible. The elephant here is structural: as long as experiential knowledge isn’t standard in planning, “inclusion” risks staying a promise on paper.
The event also featured a demonstration of our prototype Storymap from the project (to be finalised and shared soon) as well as a Stopmotion workshop. In this workshop, visitors were able to create short stories using serious, adventurous, funny and fantastic prompts to explore being and becoming disabled.
This Pop Up exhibition was a preview for a bigger exhibition at the House of Connection in Groningen, in collaboration with Rudolph Agricola School.
With thanks
We’re grateful for financial support for research and knowledge sharing from NWO (Dutch Research Council), University College Groningen, the Jantina Tammes School of Digital Society, Technology & AI, the University of Groningen, and the University of Groningen Public Engagement Award and Open Research Award, and for collaboration and invitation linked to the Week of Accessibility by Zorgbelang Groningen/ ZaVie.
Podcast: On the (in)accessibility of the city and science, RUG & Co. podcast - University of Groningen.
In this episode, Leon Lodder and Bettina van Hoven discuss accessibility, inclusivity, and the collaboration between the University of Groningen and the care institution 's Heeren Loo.
Link to podcast
Presentation: Public Engagement Community Event, University of Groningen.
On 11 November 2025, the public engagement community of the North met at the House of Connections. Bettina van Hoven presented the project 'Let’s Roll – This Abled City: cinematic storytelling to shift perspectives on disability'. In this project, Bettina van Hoven and her team of students created a prototype documentaries about everyday experiences of wheelchair-users. They used different approaches to visual storytelling and ways in which to engage audiences. The project connects first-hand, lived experiences with scientific concepts and cinematic approaches to storytelling. In her presentation, Bettina shared some shifts in approach which followed initial testing. Furthermore, Bettina also suggested some tips for future Seed Fund applicants.
Screening and Talk: Cinema Politica Screening - The Ride Ahead
On 9 October 2025, there was a screening of the documentary The Ride Ahead (by Daniel and Samuel Habib). This was followed by an aftertalk of Johan Kolsteeg (Director of Studies for the Cultural Leadership Research Master’s program at the Faculty of Arts) and Julia Munuera Garcia (PhD, University College Groningen/Faculty of Spatial Sciences).
Workshop: Equitable Recognition and Reward through Open Science: Disseminating Groningen's Open Research Award across the Netherlands, Netherlands National Open Science Festival 2025.
This workshop aimed to broaden the conversation around fostering a healthy and inclusive Open Science ecosystem and to explore how collaboration in organizing and supporting such initiatives can enhance research practices and strengthen the Open Science culture. The workshop was organized by the current coordinators of the ORA. It included an introduction to the ORA, and a short presentation by a past award recipient (Bettina van Hoven) sharing their experience. This was followed by an open discussion on the following key questions:
- How can we facilitate and strengthen initiatives that recognize and reward Open Science practices, both from institutional and grassroots perspectives?
- How can the sustainability of initiatives like the ORA be ensured, especially in times of uncertainty? What strategies can promote the continued relevance and support for such efforts?
News article: Hoe rolstoelvriendelijk is de stad Groningen? Boek 'This Abled City' voor wethouder Manouska Molema, Groninger Gezinsbode.
Hoe toegankelijk is de stad Groningen voor mensen met een beperking? En wat kan er beter?
Bewoners van wooncentrum Groningen, een locatie van zorgorganisatie ’s Heeren Loo De Noorderbrug, hebben samen met onderzoekers van de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RUG) onderzocht hoe rolstoelvriendelijk de stad is.
News article: "A normal, fun activity" – An interview on participatory research and the importance of accessibility for everyone, University of Groningen website.
In this interview, Bettina van Hoven and her research team, including co-researcher Leon Lodder, who lives at a residential home for people with disabilities, delve into the world of participatory research. They talk about the transformative power of involving communities in their research, and shed light on their current NWO-funded project "Everyday Geographies of Being and Becoming Disabled". Focusing on the everyday experiences of people with disabilities, this project utilises community-based participatory research to foster inclusion and understanding in urban settings.
Podcast: Being and Becoming Disabled, Open Science Bites - University of Groningen.
In this episode, Bettina van Hoven, Associate Professor of Cultural Geography at the University College Groningen, emphasizes the importance of relationships and collaboration in research. For the project Being and Becoming Disabled, she closely collaborated with people with disabilities as co-researchers, focusing on accessibility in urban spaces, such as the city of Groningen, aiming to shift societal perspectives.
News article: Van der Scheer, R. (2024). Rolstoel in plaats van raceauto; Kevin (20) maakt game voor mensen met een beperking. 'Ik hoop dat mijn grootouders trots zijn'. Dagblad van het Noorden.
Auto’s ontwijken in een rolstoel: het is slechts één van de games die eerstejaars studenten van het Alfa-college voor mensen met een beperking bouwden. ,,Één van de onderzoekers was vastberaden om te winnen.’’
News article: Folkerts, N. (2023). Binnenstad Groningen slecht bereikbaar voor mensen met een beperking. 'En als ze er kunnen komen, krijgen ze met hindernissen te maken'. Dagblad van het Noorden.
Mensen met een beperking worden elke dag geconfronteerd met beperkte toegankelijkheid van de Groningse binnenstad. Hoewel Groningen aanvankelijk vooruitstrevende plannen had om ‘de meest toegankelijke stad van Nederland en Europa’ te worden, blijft de praktijk achter.
Link to article
News article: Bodde, A. (2022). Zit je met complexe problematiek in een rolstoel? Dan is een dagje Groningen verre van eenvoudig. RuG en 's Heeren Loo doen samen onderzoek. Dagblad van het Noorden.
Voor wie met complexe problematiek in een rolstoel zit, is een dagje Groningen verre van eenvoudig. Waar zijn de rolstoeltoiletten, is er een EHBO-ruimte, is de pinautomaat toegankelijk? De Rijksuniversiteit Groningen brengt samen met 's Heeren Loo de toegankelijkheid van Stad in kaart.
Link to article
Article: Dul, A., & van Hoven, B. (2019). Break Out! Op visuele ontdekkingstocht door een (inclusieve?) stad. Geografie, (1), 30-32.
Samen naar de dierentuin, 30 kilometer fietsen, naar de fysiotherapeut of een ijsje halen. Groningse studenten en mensen met een beperking breken een half jaar uit hun eigen leefwereld om die van de ander te ontdekken: ziedaar het project Break Out!
Link to article
Impression of Pop Up Exhibition, Forum Groningen
Impression of Pop Up Exhibition, Forum Groningen
Impression of Pop Up Exhibition, Forum Groningen
Impression of Pop Up Exhibition, Forum Groningen
Book: This Abled City - Samen werken aan een toegankelijke en inclusive stad met mensen met een handicap (2024) (Open Access)
Ondanks vooruitgang in het kader van het VN verdrag handicap and inclusie agenda's in diverse gemeenten, blijven mensen met een beperking geconfronteerd worden met veel uitdagingen bij het gebruik van openbare ruimtes. Op dit moment is de stad nog niet toegankelijk en inclusief voor iedereen. Toch worden mensen met een beperking weinig betrokken bij samenwerkingen en besluitvormingen. Dit boek laat zien hoe dit gedaan kan worden. In plaats van een vragenlijst voor feedback over de stad online, of een inloopmiddag, laten we via een participatief project en design thinking zien hoe we samen op pad gaan met rolstoelgebruikers. We volgen in dit boek het proces van het eerste idee naar dataverzameling en analyse. We willen op die manier een inspirerend voorbeeld geven voor beleidsmakers, onderzoekers, studenten, maatschappelijk werkers en andere geïnteresseerden.
Link to eBook
Preview of "This Abled City - Samen werken aan een toegankelijke en inclusive stad met mensen met een handicap"
Preview of "This Abled City - Samen werken aan een toegankelijke en inclusive stad met mensen met een handicap"
Preview of "This Abled City - Samen werken aan een toegankelijke en inclusive stad met mensen met een handicap"
Preview of "This Abled City - Samen werken aan een toegankelijke en inclusive stad met mensen met een handicap"
Preview of "This Abled City - Samen werken aan een toegankelijke en inclusive stad met mensen met een handicap"