Mapping the importance of specific physical elements in urban space for blind and visually impaired people

Abstract

This paper is based on a questionnaire of all Danish Orientation & Mobility instructors, assessing the importance of 34 physical elements as clues in the pedestrian environment to support blind and visually impaired people (BVIP)'s orientation. The aim is to contribute to a body of knowledge about why the design of physical elements is so crucial for (BVIP)'s orientation, accounting for the perceptual sight function and using other senses to compensate for the impaired vision. The study shows that all elements were generally assessed as being very important. Furthermore, the paper discusses how to plan urban space in the future.

Topics & Concepts