Urban Space and the Handicapped Guidelines for Adapting Urban Spaces to the Handicapped Needs

Social rehabilitation of the handicapped requires that the physical environment accommodates the needs of the physically challenged population. To this end, the standard dimensions and properties of the wheelchair are compared with the current situation of urban streets, services and furniture. This yields a set of key problems encountered in different street widths. Another set of problems include those concerning use of certain urban services such as bus station public telephone, dustbin, postbox, drinking fountain, residential access and parks as well as signage and lighting. A series of recommendations help to eradicate these problems. These recommendations address both the physical properties of the urban space and removal of permanent or temporary obstacles. Another set of recommendations are also presented with regard to the physically challenged, visual disabilities and audibility impairment.