A Study on Accessibility of Disabled People: Case for Kızılay Shopping Center, Ankara

Abstract

Although legal arrangements have been made about accessibility inTurkey, their reflection the urban spaces have been inadequate.Accessibility is an issue that needs to handle at different scales toimprove the quality of life of every individual disabled or not. Analyzingmany studies, it is observed that the disabled people in the society havedifficulty in either inside of place or outside of place accessibility. It isamong the most important accessibility problems that the design of theplace with standard measures that will increase the accessibility ofindividuals is ignored. In order to draw attention to the planning anddesign criteria on the accessibility of place, it is aimed to determine theaccessibility of the space by analyzing compliance with standards inAnkara Kızılay shopping center case area. Within the scope of the study, accessibility criteria in the study area are evaluated by using anaccessibility monitoring and inspection form for buildings prepared bythe Ministry of Family and Social Policies General Directorate of Disabledand Elderly Services. As a result of the evaluation, it is revealed howaccessible the components that affect the availability of Kızılay AVM.According to this study, there is no usage area with very pooraccessibility level. Parking has poor accessibility level. The use ofemergency and building installation elements is at the medium level ofaccessibility. Perceptible walking surface signs and building entranceshave good accessibility levels. The other usage areas of the shoppingcenter are horizontal and vertical circulation in the building, toilets andorientation and markings are very well accessible. The importance ofthis study is the answer to the question how accessible the social activityarea for all in Kızılay, which is developed as the central business area ofAnkara over the accessibility criteria according to legislation.