O caminhar da pessoa cega: análise da exploração de elementos do espaço urbano por meio da bengala longa

Abstract

The way blind individuals move on foot and perceive space happens differently from that of the normovisuais. The urban environment needs to be designed to meet the unique accessibility needs of people with visual impairment. Despite the existence of Brazilian technical standards that guide the design of projects aiming at accessibility for better mobility of blind people, many are still doubts about this projection in urban contexts. The architect and urban planner needs to understand the way of perception and the mechanisms of displacement of this public, to serve him satisfactorily. This master's thesis in Architecture and Urbanism aims to analyze the relationship between the form of space exploration by blind person through long cane in the urban context environments. The research has a qualitative character and approaches the personenvironment relationship. The companion walk method and structured interview were applied to two blind volunteer participants. The structured interview sought to apprehend the difficulties, facilities and insecurities encountered by the participants on a daily basis as passersby of the city. Already on the guided tour, participants' habitual itineraries were observed to understand which were the architectural elements, normalized or not, that favored their walk. It was found that tactile floors are not the main resource used by the participants. Elements such as beaconing, walls and contrasts were more relevant during the course. It was observed that the technique of two displacement touches with the long cane does not allow a tactile textile response satisfactory to the user and that other factors may be associated to the habitual use of tactile floors. It is concluded that other guiding elements, such as beacon guides, should be explored together with the directional tactile floors. It is hoped that this study may contribute to projects in urban environments that favor mobility and the accessibility of blind people using long cane.