The PEBA Project for an Accessible city for All
Mirca Montanari
The contribution draws attention to the importance of accessibility and usability in urban spaces as aspects favourable to citizens’ quality of life. It emphasizes the need to develop lively, safe and healthy urban spaces to support a culture of accessibility and equality based on the systemic approach of inclusive universal design. The Plan for the Elimination of Architectural Barriers (PEBA), being a valid tool at the disposal of municipal administrations, assumes a structural role in improving urban accessibility and guaranteeing the usability of public spaces in coherence with the main inclusive models such as universal design (UD). In particular, an initial research program, promoted by the city of Fano (PU), which actively involved high schools co-designing the PEBA and creating possible solutions to remove and reduce large and small architectural barriers, is illustrated. The data, collected using a questionnaire addressed to students and school staff of the high school «Nolfi-Apolloni» in Fano, which the student of a year-five class drew up during their PCTO (transversal skills and guidance or work placement) project, are analyzed and shared. In addition to the emergence of specific critical issues related to urban accessibility, universal design’s cultural and political value is reinforced by the awareness that the relationship between security, inclusion, and urban regeneration is essential to promoting sustainable cities for all.
Keywords
PEBA, Accessibility, Barriers, Inclusion, PCTO.
