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Full Length
Research Paper
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Accessibility for the disabled people to the built
environment in Ankara, Turkey
Mehmet Emin
Baris* and Aysel Uslu
Ankara University Faculty of Agriculture, Department of
Landscape Architecture, 06110 Diskapi, Ankara, Turkey.
*Corresponding author. E -mail:
baris@agri.ankara.edu.tr .
Tel: +90312 5961520. Fax: +90312 3176467.
Accepted 1 August, 2009 |
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Abstract |
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This research has been made to investigate the accessibility of
the disabled people living in Ankara to the built environment
and their problems and priorities with respect to participation
to urban life and to what extent they can share urban life. The
study made on the basis of a survey covers visually-impaired and
walking-impaired people as well as those dependent on
wheelchairs. The evaluations have provided information relevant
to the problems that the disabled people face with respect to
accessibility to the built environment, their usage of the built
environment and participation to social life and their
priorities in this respect. Findings of the research show that
the disabled people face many physical barriers in accessing the
built environment, that the barriers existing in the urban
environment limit the individual's independent movement on
his/her own and that this hinders disabled people's social
communication and causes them feel excluded. It is expected that
the results of this study would contribute to development of
social consciousness with respect to disabled people's equal
participation to social life specifically in Ankara and to
removal of the reasons excluding the disabled people from social
life and would also guide the efforts in this respect, of
individuals, institutions and public bodies who give shape to
cities.
Key words:
Disability, urban accessibility, physical barriers, Ankara. |
