Project description
Creating inclusive urban spaces
Urban spaces often fall short in meeting the needs of people with disabilities and older adults, which limits their access and comfort. This lack of inclusivity hampers social cohesion and exacerbates the challenges posed by climate change. Traditional urban design frequently overlooks the diverse requirements of community members, resulting in environments that are difficult to navigate and use. Solutions are needed to create more accessible, inclusive and sustainable cities. The EU-funded InclusiveSpaces project addresses this issue by pioneering the co-design of urban environments with direct input from people with disabilities and older adults. By developing tools like comfort-based accessibility maps and assistive technologies, InclusiveSpaces promotes universal design principles and climate-friendly practices.
Objective
InclusiveSpaces realizes the inclusive design, monitoring and evaluation of urban space. InclusiveSpaces introduces co-design accessibility concepts, engaging people with disabilities and older people to improve inclusiveness, social cohesion and climate change mitigation and adaptation. It develops socially innovative solutions that foster universal design principles, empower diverse target-groups, and promote climate-friendly practices. Five essential planning and design tools will be developed to enhance accessibility and comfort: 1) a travel demand data collection and evaluation of accessibility tool, 2) a comfort-based accessibility mapping tool, 3) an accessibility routing tool tailored to visually impaired and mobility-impaired individuals, 4) a first-of-its-kind digitized tool for conducting accessibility audits in buildings and public spaces, and 5) a Universal Design Manual for the Built Environment, including Mobility Hubs. In addition, InclusiveSpaces develops advanced assistive technologies: 1) a Mobility Kiosk of shared electric wheelchairs powered by solar panels and providing shared mobility options to people with disabilities, 2) a device offering enhanced accessibility to beaches and waterfronts, 3) an Upright Tricycle providing inclusive personal mobility to people with reduced mobility, 4) and 5) Indoor and Outdoor Assistive Technologies enhancing the accessibility and mobility of people with disabilities. The InclusiveSpaces planning and design tools and the climate-friendly assistive technologies will be demonstrated, assessed, and evaluated in real-world demonstrations in 6 European cities and countries, including Athens-Penteli, Geneva, Madrid, Larnaka, Hamburg and Budapest. Project findings will be translated into actionable policies and recommendations. inclusiveSpaces is a project, and an initiative to standardize and digitize design frameworks towards a transition to an inclusive and climate-friendly built environment.
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Funding Scheme
HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation ActionsCoordinator
28012 Madrid
Spain
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.