Accessibility for visually impaired persons: an analysis of urban parks

Author(s)

Virginia Magliano Queiroz

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FAU/SBI)
• Defense date: 2014-08-15

Examining board members

Rosaria Ono; Nubia Bernardi; Sheila Walbe Ornstein

• Advisor: Rosaria Ono

Abstract

Parks are places for leisure activities, they are essential for society\'s coexistence and interaction, being by definition public sites that should offer equal possibilities and universal use, never segregating or excluding. However, in fact, urban public parks in Brazil still do not dispose of basic requirements for the safe and independent displacement of the visually impaired persons. The present research seeks to identify the restrictions imposed by the environment to this group of individuals, as well as knowing their needs, abilities and limitations, understanding their perception of space and identifying the influence of the cognitive elements that assist this perception. Additionally, the present work intends to evaluate the effectiveness of the accessibility measures implemented in urban parks for the visually impaired individuals, analyzing their relationship with those public free leisure sites. In order to do so, a deep bibliographic review about the theme was done, with special attention to the current rules and legislations; interviews with specialists from other fields of knowledge such as psychologists, teachers and specialist in orientation and mobility. The research has been aided by visually impaired persons whom have participated in several activities for data collection, interviews, focus groups, participant observations, as well as accompanied tours through some parks of Sao Paulo. This study is guided by a qualitative approach research method, which results highlighted the importance of parks as leisure sites for visually impaired individuals and the actual lack of accessibility of those free public sites. Even though the Brazilian legislation and specially the Sao Paulo municipality laws do establish that access and use of the parks by the visually impaired citizens is guaranteed, the public forces do not comply with such determinations, though those forces answer for the management and maintenance of urban parks. In relation to the current laws, this dissertation suggests some additions and recommendations so that parks really enable the independent and self-governing displacement of the blind and of the low vision persons. Conclusively, the present research allow us to perceive that environments that are very open, wide and crowded are naturally challenging for the visually impaired, but it is possible to make those environments completely accessible to this audience, and it is rather necessary, once part of this population showed great interest and should be fully included in the public sites concerned. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 12/07916-8 - Squares and parks accessibility for individuals carrying visual deficiency
• Grantee: Virginia Magliano Queiroz
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master