Alcohol and the City, is a project set up by the International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA) and Quest for Quality (Q4Q).

The project aims at assisting cities in Europe to better deal with alcohol related harm. Alcohol plays an important role in cities when people go out to enjoy themselves. However, sometimes this joy gets spoiled by drunken people who take over (semi) public space. People feel unsafe or uneasy and start avoiding the city as a place to go out. The harm reduction paradigm does not promote abstinence persé, but identifies situations in which alcohol related harm occurs and tries to come up with practical solutions on how to reduce such harm.

Experiences from around the world indicate, that a lot can be done to make places, where alcohol is consumed, safer and more pleasant places to socialise. An important feature of a succesfull intervention is good cooperation between the various stakeholders: those working in the hospitality industry, the police, decision makers, city planners, educators, prevention workers and researchers.

The longer term vision of the Alcohol and the City project is to create a network of European Cities, where concrete harm reduction interventions take place. Through this network, cities can exchange experiences and expertise and thus develop more effective interventions.

This website will keep you updated about the development of the Alcohol and the City project.

If you have suggestions or would like to join this project, please contact our secretariat.