Accessibility index for urban walkable spaces

Silva, Otavio Henrique da; Pitilin, Taiany Richard; Gobbo, Caio Augusto Rabello; Caxambu, Marcelo Galeazzi; Sanches, Suely da Penha; Neto, Generoso De Angelis

doi:10.4025/actascitechnol.v42i1.45181

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…While some physical features (e.g., ramps at intersections) cater to the needs of different user categories (in this case, blind people, wheelchair users, and people using walking sticks), others may conflict. For example, tactile pavements for blind people, much like the bevelled edges of interlocking concrete pavement blocks, can cause trepidation for wheelchair users [24]. Therefore, it is most efficient to co-design and test accessibility with users with different disabilities to reconcile conflicts early.…”

Section: Introduction and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Needs and Requirements of People with Disabilities for Frequent Movement in Cities: Insights from Qualitative and Quantitative Data of the TRIPS Project

Hatzakis,

Alčiauskaitė,

König

2024

Urban Science

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Moving is an indispensable component of travelling. This paper discusses the experiences of persons with disabilities when moving around cities on foot or wheels, based on research conducted during the EU-funded project TRIPS. Findings comprise participants’ vignettes from 49 interviews in seven European cities, views on smart assistive technologies (e.g., Augmented Reality) from a pan-European quantitative survey, and design concepts related to walking based on a co-creation workshop that actively engaged persons with various types of disabilities in ideation. Findings suggest that people need reliable and clear wayfaring information on accessible travel routes featuring the coordinated design of streets, pavement, stops, stations, and vehicles to ensure seamless, step-free, and obstacle-free access, as well as disability-sensitive management of disruptions such as maintenance works, for example. Findings also suggest that users are open to using any assistive technology that can enable them to live more independently, assuming it is accessible, and are keen to co-innovate. Finally, we make recommendations for policy changes that can facilitate the redesign of urban infrastructure to make cities more accessible for people with disabilities and drive structural changes in urban planning.

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Section: Introduction and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Needs and Requirements of People with Disabilities for Frequent Movement in Cities: Insights from Qualitative and Quantitative Data of the TRIPS Project

Hatzakis,

Alčiauskaitė,

König

2024

Urban Science

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“…Research has been conducted in specific fields such as beach management, green space management or accessible tourism management [61][62][63][64]. Much of this research has been oriented towards the definition of indicators, as well as indices of the relationship between different types of indicators [40,62,[65][66][67][68][69][70][71].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Participatory Management to Improve Accessibility in Consolidated Urban Environments

et al. 2021

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There is a wide range of regulations on universal accessibility, but our cities are still inaccessible in many cases. Most accessibility problems in cities occur in consolidated areas that were developed prior to the development of current accessibility regulations. This leads to consider the importance of focusing more effort on managing the improvement of the accessibility of existing public urban environments. As such, the objective of this research is to design a conceptual model for accessibility management in consolidated urban environments. Unlike other research focusing on city users to collect information on accessibility problems or to provide services to improve wayfinding, this method has a focus on urban accessibility managers. The model is based on the assessment of the level of accessibility of urban environments together with the assessment of management processes in which city users are actively involved. It consists of a set of basic indicators for the identification of accessible pedestrian routes, and provides a dynamic accessibility index for the evaluation of their efficient management by the responsible governments. The inclusion of this assessment framework in the management process itself enables the necessary improvement actions to be identified and taken in time. ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) provide the communication channel between the responsible governments and city users, making this a more dynamic and efficient management model based on assessment possible.

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How accessible are cities for visually impaired pedestrians? A case of Greater London

Cohen,

Dalyot,

Natapov

et al. 2024

Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science

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Urban planning and design aim to encourage active mobility by promoting various models that assess a city’s transportability and accessibility. In practice, these models are not attuned to a huge part of the population that have mobility impairments, therefore they uphold a flawed city design and prevent these populations from being an equal part of the inclusive city vision. We suggest an approach to develop new visually impaired mobility accessibility indices of urban space using open-source geospatial data and showcase them across different wards and boroughs in Greater London. Results show the various urban accessibility levels for visually impaired pedestrians, pointing to existing problems this community faces when navigating the city, such as challenging street network connectivity and dangerous walking areas. These indices can be used for more inclusive city planning and design, enhancing urban mobility and walkability equality, and improving this community’s quality of life.

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Accessibility index for urban walkable spaces

Cited by 3 publications

References 10 publications

The Needs and Requirements of People with Disabilities for Frequent Movement in Cities: Insights from Qualitative and Quantitative Data of the TRIPS Project

The Needs and Requirements of People with Disabilities for Frequent Movement in Cities: Insights from Qualitative and Quantitative Data of the TRIPS Project

Participatory Management to Improve Accessibility in Consolidated Urban Environments

How accessible are cities for visually impaired pedestrians? A case of Greater London

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