Sustainability of Pedestrian Paths

Generally, when we talk about sustainability we think the main reference is the respect of the natural environment, but the concept of sustainable road infrastructure may be even wider especially if you think the pedestrian paths, where the concept of sustainability is closely linked to that of quality of the road. In this regard it is known that the quality of a road is perceived differently by different users, whose behaviours vary according to the motivations of the displacement, the length of the path to follow, the security and the comfort perceived. These differences are even more pronounced in the case of pedestrians, for whom the concept of sustainability/quality of the path takes a key role, even in just the choice of the same. When designing a pedestrian path, often it still refers to '"average user", ignoring the great variability in the skills, abilities and knowledge that characterize the population that already moved or which in fact see denied the possibility of moving. This article analyzes the pedestrian behavior with specific attention to critical detectable along the existing pedestrian routes especially for the mobility-impaired pedestrians, analyzing the difficulties of moving people with disabilities. In the first part of the article are briefly described the basic principles of Design for All and the characteristics of pedestrians in relation to age and motor skills, in order also to highlight how the concept of the average user in the design of spaces pedestrian is obsolete. The second part analyzes the perception of the quality of pedestrian paths by pedestrian themselves, paying particular attention to those with reduced mobility. The work, reported in this article, is the first part of a broader research work that sees the authors engaged with Psychologists, Botanists and Architects, about the quality of the urban road