Public Space and Accessibility

Abstract

Virtually everyone experiences a physical disability at some time in their lives; that is to say that their mobility has been restricted. An infant, en adult with an injury, a parent with a pushchair, an elderly person are all disabled in one way or another. Those who remain healthy and ablebodied throughout their lives are few. The physical environment and public services and public spaces in general should be as barrier-free as possible to fulfil the needs of all people equally. People with a disability have the same rights as other people. People with a disability are not a homogeneous group. They may include the mentally retarded. The most important item for the disabled people is the possibility of circulation; namely accessibility. Inclusive and universal design approaches have to be considered especially for the public spaces and public buildings. In this paper, some main items of circulation in relation with accessibility have been detailed as well as a workshop study outputs which has been hold in Selçuk University, Department of Architecture.

Quality of urban parks in the perception of city residents with mobility difficulties

“…The most important aspect for people with limited mobility is the possibility of pedestrian circulation. Accessibility must be considered as an essential feature of the human-centred design in the built environment ( Yılmaz, 2018 ). According to this approach, called in some studies ’universal design’, discrimination should be eliminated.…”

“…Those with limited mobility (older people, people with a physical disability, people with an intellectual disability or mental illness, children, mothers and the like) are valued and empowered. This kind of inclusive approach requires accepting that all the people are equal in the built environment ( Yılmaz, 2018 ; Arvanitis, 2004 ; Perry et al, 2018b ).…”

Challenges of Accessibility for Marginal People in Privately Operated Public Space: Linear Park, Khulna as a Case

“…Madanipour (2010) argues that these places are seen as nodes for social cohesion, bringing different people together in public places. Besides, one of the most important characteristics of public places is democracy, which provides participatory, conciliatory, and transparent public spheres (Madanipour, 1996;Yılmaz, 2018). The eleventh goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) also sets out to provide universal access to safe, inclusive, accessible, green public spaces, particularly for women and children, older people, and people with physical challenges.…”

Assistive Devices: Technology Development for the Visually Impaired

“…This study is based on the hypothesis that intelligent cities demand the project and development of technologies that allow the democratization of access to public spaces [5] and services in a personalized way on a straightforward usability model [6,7]. Therefore, it is essential to develop assistive devices for the inclusion of DP within the urban space with Designs 2021, 5, 75 2 of 23 the greatest possible autonomy.…”