Outlines for accessible routes on sidewalks: a big challenge for small Brazilian cities

Resumo

Sidewalks in Brazilian cities still have physical conditions that hamper pedestrians to move, especially those citizens with mobility impairments. Despite improvements on legal provisions, aiming to build more accessible cities, its fulfillment is still far from what is desired. The purpose of this paper is to present a method (virtual audit) to support local administrations, in particular of small cities, to define accessible routes on sidewalks. In order to illustrate the method application, it is shown an exploratory study in the Central Business District of Quitandinha municipality, located in Curitiba Metropolitan Area. The method allows a comprehensive knowledge of site problematic, and it is expected to stimulate local administrations to evaluate their sidewalks situation in order to include their suitability in their investment agendas; and regional and federal administrations to develop public policies towards urban environment qualification.