Acceso universal al medio físico: Diseño de espacio público y centro de rehabilitación física y recreo adyacente al Parque Ciudad Blanca, Ibarra

Abstract

In Ecuador approximately 916,156 people suffer from a disability, which represents 5.65% of the population. Despite efforts to provide accessible and inclusive public spaces, the lack of inclusive elements is often evident even in relatively new public infrastructures. The focus of this research is to determine the degree of inclusion and accessibility that the sidewalks and perimeter streets present in a public facility. Therefore, the accessibility and inclusion of 34 segments of streets, perimeters, and adjoining sidewalks in the Ciudad Blanca park, in Ibarra-Ecuador, were evaluated. The research is based on the quantitative evaluation of streets and sidewalks with the E-maps evaluative method. Similarly, qualitative methodology based on surveys regarding the perception of public space adapted to the national context are applied. Thus, the perception data were collected from both passers-by and from the evaluator too from a technical point of view. The information obtained at a quantitative level is shown by means of maps, with a color scale, in which green is very good and red is very poor, so that the accessibility and inclusion indices in the sections analyzed are visualized graphically. The results obtained at a qualitative level are arranged in statistical diagrams that allow to understand in general dimensions the perception of people with respect to the streets and their immediate environment. After obtaining the results, an information cross-referencing of the applied methodologies is carried out in order to determine the sections with the greatest problem in terms of inclusion and accessibility. In this way, a segment of 1km length is determined on the Ave. Camilo Ponce, where an urban design proposal is presented to guarantee universal access for the eradication of urban inequity. In response to the problem at the architectural level, a physical rehabilitation and recreation center is proposed. This facility is intended to generate a suitable space for the improvement of physical motor skills, which allow people to improve their quality of life in the development of daily activities. Similarly, people there will be able to have a physical preparation to avoid obstacles or face in a more positive way the urban environments with low levels of accessibility and inclusion.