Public Open Spaces: Enabling or Impeding Inclusive Evacuation during Disasters

Abstract

During disasters the death of persons with disabilities is higher than that of the rest of the population. This problem has many causes, and one of them has to do with the conditions of the physical environments which are not accessible for all, implying that people with disabilities require more time and effort to try to escape from dangerous places, protect themselves, and reach safety areas such as public spaces where people can gather, help each other, and remain safe at least during the first hours of an emergency. Thus, identifying the main problems that could prevent public spaces from becoming risk handling and inclusion resources during a disaster within social production settings is the main purpose of this research. The methodology used includes literature review, spatial audits based on inclusion and risk reduction standards within all public spaces of three neighborhoods of the city of Quito in Ecuador, and focus groups with the neighbors, persons with disabilities and their families. The three case studies selected are Atucucho, Carapungo and Auqui de Monjas, all present high disaster risk levels and have characteristics of social production of their territories. The results show that the conditions that need attention to enable public spaces become risk handling and inclusion resources during disasters have to do with three different dimensions; the first one refers to their physical characteristics and informational elements which must comply with universal accessibility requirements that provide autonomy and safety to all; the second dimension has to do with their connectivity, both on their ability to generate a network close to the community as well as to multi-modal mobility; the third dimension has to do with social and cultural aspects as persons with disabilities often feel that public spaces are not friendly for them because these are being occupied by other groups such as young people or that they are privatized in some way.
 
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