URBAN AREA PARAMETERS ANALYSIS FOR NAVIGATION OPTIMISATION OF PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED PEOPLE

Obisk šole ali trgovine je za zdravega človeka vsakodnevni opravek, kateremu ne posveča večje pozornosti. Za približno 8 % Slovencev, ki so invalidi, pa lahko nepremostljivo oviro pomeni že previsok robnik ali neprimerna vrata. V urbanem okolju je opaziti veliko arhitektonskih ovir, ki gibalno oviranim osebam predstavljajo poseg v njihovo samostojnost pri vsakodnevnih aktivnostih. Ovire, ki jih posameznik lahko premaga, pa se razlikujejo glede na njegovo gibalno oviranost in tehnični pripomoček, ki ga za pomoč pri gibanju uporablja. Glavni namen magistrskega dela je bil poiskati in analizirati parametre urbanega okolja, kar bi nam omogočilo optimiranje navigacije za gibalno ovirane osebe. Poleg tega je bil namen tudi preveriti samo smiselnost razvoja navigacije za gibalno ovirane osebe. Cilj magistrskega dela je bil ugotoviti, ali gibalno ovirane osebe lahko uporabljajo elektronske naprave, preko katerih bi lahko uporabljali navigacijo. Cilj je bil tudi raziskati, v kolikšni meri se gibalno ovirane osebe lahko samostojno gibljejo po urbanem okolju in v katerih objektih v javni rabi naletijo na največ arhitektonskih ovir. Nadaljnji cilj je bil ugotoviti, katere arhitektonske ovire se v urbanem okolju pojavljajo najpogosteje in katere so v povprečju za največ gibalno oviranih neprehodne. Naš zadnji cilj je bil ugotoviti, kateri so ukrepi, ki bi gibalno oviranim najbolj pomagali pri povečanju njihove samostojnosti v urbanem okolju. S pomočjo SWOT analize smo pridobili potrebne informacije in celovito oceno o trenutnem stanju na področju dostopnosti urbanega okolja gibalno oviranim. Ugotovili smo, da nekaj literature in priročnikov o tej problematiki že obstaja in da si tudi gibalno ovirani močno želijo izboljšav. Težava pa je, da širša javnost s težavami ni seznanjena in tako spremembe potekajo počasi. Na osnovi SWOT analize smo strukturirali še TOWS matriko in razvili strategije, ki predlagajo širjenje zavedanja o tej problematiki, financiranje odstranjevanja ovir in kaznovanje za zasedanje površin, namenjenih gibalno oviranim osebam. Ugotovitve smo uporabili pri oblikovanju anketnega vprašalnika. Ugotovili smo, da si gibalno ovirani najbolj želijo dostopnega okolja, česar pa ne moremo doseči čez noč. Lahko pa jim pot olajšamo z navigacijo, ki so jo ocenili za smiseln ukrep. Rezultati so pokazali, da 71 % anketirancev lahko uporablja pametni telefon, zato bi bilo navigacijo smiselno oblikovati kot aplikacijo za telefon. Pri tem moramo biti posebej pozorni pri prikazovanju ovir v upravnih enotah, kino dvoranah in gledališčih, kjer vprašani naletijo na največ ovir. Med arhitektonskimi ovirami so v povprečju za največ gibalno oviranih neprehodni preozki hodniki in pločniki ter neprilagojeni toaletni prostori. Poleg navigacije bi predlagali še enostaven ukrep — izobraževanje širše javnosti o težavah premikanja gibalno oviranih po urbanem okolju. Z večjim zavedanjem bi postopoma lahko preprečili, da bi zdravi ljudje parkirali na mestih za invalide, parkirali kolesa na klančinah ter zaklepali kolesa na ograje ob klančinah. Z ozaveščanjem bi dosegli tudi večjo mero strpnosti in zmanjšanje diskriminacije, kar bi gibalno oviranim osebam veliko pomenilo in zaradi česar bi se z večjo samozavestjo sami odpravljali v urbano okolje.Going to school or stopping at the store is an everyday errand, for which a healthy individual does not pay too much attention. For about eight percent of Slovenians, that are physically challenged, an inappropriate curb or a non-suitable door can be an insurmountable obstacle. In urban areas there are a lot of architectural barriers, which significantly affect the independence of physically challenged people in their daily activities. Obstacles that such an individual can overcome vary according to his physical disability and technical aids used. The main purpose of this work was to identify and analyse the parameters of the urban environment, allowing us to optimize the navigation for physically challenged people. In addition we also checked the advisability of such navigation development. The aim of this work was to determine whether physically challenged people can use electronic devices for navigation. The aim was also to investigate to what extent physically challenged people can independently move around the urban environment and in which types of public buildings they face the most architectural barriers. Another objective was to determine which architectural barriers occur in urban areas most frequently and which barriers are insurmountable for most physically challenged people on average. Our last aim was to determine which measures would most increase the independence of physically challenged people in the urban environment. Through SWOT analysis, we obtained the necessary information for a comprehensive assessment of the current state of urban environment accessibility to physically challenged people. We found that some literature and manuals on this issue already exist. We also recognized that physically challenged people wish for improvement. The problem is that the general public is not aware of the issues and so changes take place slowly. Based on the SWOT analysis, we have structured the TOWS matrix and developed strategies that propose spreading awareness about this issue, financing of obstacles removal and penalties for obstruction of areas dedicated for physically challenged people. The findings were used in the design of the survey questionnaire. We have acknowledged that physically challenged people mostly wish for more accessible areas, though this cannot be achieved overnight. We can ease their way with use of adapted navigation, which was considered to be a sensible measure. The results show that 71% of respondents can use a smartphone, therefore it would be suitable to offer navigation as a mobile application. In doing so, we must pay most attention to displaying obstacles in administrative units, cinemas and theatres, where respondents encounter the most obstacles. Among the architectural barriers, too narrow hallways and sidewalks and non-adapted toilet facilities represent the biggest obstacles for a majority of physically challenged people. In addition to the use of navigation we propose a simple measure - education of the general public about the problems of physically challenged people with movement in an urban environment. With greater awareness we could gradually inform healthy people not to park in places for the disabled, not to park bicycles on ramps or locking them on fences along ramps. Greater awareness could lead to a greater degree of tolerance and decrease in discrimination, which would make physically challenged individuals more confident when entering urban environments alone