Urban Accessibility in World Heritage Cities. Accessibility Considerations in Pedestrian Routes in Historic City...

In Spain, fifteen cities have been declared World Heritage Cities by UNESCO. This implies a responsibility to conserve all the heritage wealth of these places. However, what is the point of heritage if it cannot be known and visited? In order to be able to do this for all people, in equal and inclusive conditions, it is essential to consider Accessibility and Universal Design principles. This is a challenge that requires a personalised study in places that were precisely built with the idea of being inaccessible. In particular, the study of the urban fabric and pedestrian itineraries are the determining spaces that this article develops. The aim of this study is to determine the keys and possible guidelines for the definition of urban accessibility indicators in the routes of historic city centres. For this purpose, significant routes have been sought in historic centres from the accessibility point of view: areas of high pedestrian traffic (in many cases for tourist reasons). Thus, six of the fifteen historic quarters of the World Heritage Cities in Spain have been selected for the study, with examples of good accessibility practices and difficulties that can be identified in their itineraries. For this analysis, an initial study of the existing documentation on the subject (secondary information sources) is carried out, in addition to a direct analysis (primary information source) of the graphic documentation compiled in each of these places. Subsequently, a complementary analysis will be made of some examples of good practice in pedestrian routes in historic city centres in cities in other countries. On the basis of this preliminary analysis, a comparison will be made to establish common points and singularities among the different case studies first, and then with other cities. This diagnosis provides results that are identified as "keys to consider in the intervention on pedestrian routes in historic centres". These keys not only address issues of mobility, but also location, orientation, understanding, etc., thus addressing a holistic consideration of accessibility as a fundamental principle for all people, and in particular for the elderly sector, which is one of the groups that is clearly growing and which, without necessarily having to have a severe or recognised disability, needs an accessible environment that is easy to use. As a main conclusion, it can be said that the results of this study do not only have an internal application for these cities but can be perfectly extrapolated as a basis for the elaboration of specific indicators for any historic city centre in any city in the world, considering the necessary adaptation to the specific characteristics of each city.