During the course of my life, working as an architect in both the public and the private sector, I have regularly encountered the problem of accessibility. While trying to resolve it, numerous related issues have confirmed its increasing importance. There are between 60 and 80 million disabled people in the European Union, a figure that is due to grow considerably as the population ages. By the year 2020 it is foreseen that a quarter of the population will be over 60 years old. It should be noted that 70 % of disabled people are currently in this age group.
With Professor Fernando de Terán Ph.D. Arch. as my PhD supervisor, I have been compiling and researching all possible materials on the subject for some time now, drawing them from relevant publications, press articles, TV and radio broadcasts, accessibility courses, the Internet, and international institutions such as the United Nations, the European Union, the International Union of Architects and the various national bodies for the specific disabilities. I have also visited many cities, including Edmonton, Copenhagen, Berlin, Curitiba and Barcelona, where, equipped with a notebook, a camera and a drawing pad, I interviewed those responsible for accessibility policies..
I have approached the matter systematically and rigorously with the aim of clarifying ways to conduct research into the previously little studied area of accessibility. My analysis of the materials studied took place in the public spaces of the cities. My work can be divided into three distinct parts.
The first part has a denser and more conceptual content, with the intention of establishing a theoretical frame of reference for understanding the complex interrelation of accessibility, disability and public use areas within the city. I have tried to unify the innovative efforts of architecture, town planning, transport systems and alternative communications, taking into consideration valuable contributions from disciplines such as sociology, psychiatry, education, pedagogy, psychology, law and anthropology.
