Cultural accessible pedestrian ways. The case of faro historic centre

In a historic city the existence of accessible pedestrian routes constitutes an essential feature to a true access to culture heritage, contributing for processes of social inclusion. It is necessary to create accessible pedestrian infrastructures network to hold a set of attributes that guarantee usability for all citizens. The creation and design of an accessible physical environment should be considered as a criterion of urban quality, which will make walking more pleasant not only for the elderly and people with disabilities but, also, for the entire resident population and tourists. In this case study it is ascertainable whether the physical characteristics of pedestrian infrastructures of cultural interest, located in the Historical Centre of Faro (Portugal), comply with the requirements of the National Law of Accessibility. There has, therefore, been created a methodology for evaluating the accessibility of pedestrian infrastructure through the construction of performance indicators. The analysis is achieved through a model of evaluation of the degree of conformity of the spaces, and presented, spatially, with appeal to a Geographical Information System, which is a tool to support the decision taking in the processes of urban rehabilitation, thus contributing to the choice of priority areas of intervention in the field of accessibility. The diagnosis confirms the existence of inaccessible pedestrian infrastructure and concludes the need to trigger processes of urban renovation. En una ciudad histórica, la existencia de rutas peatonales accesibles constituye una característica esencial para un verdadero acceso al patrimonio cultural, contribuyendo a los procesos de inclusión social. Es necesario crear una red de infraestructuras peatonales accesibles para mantener un conjunto de atributos que garanticen la usabilidad de todos los ciudadanos. La creación y el diseño de un entorno físico accesible debe considerarse como un criterio de calidad urbana, lo que hará que caminar sea más agradable no solo para las personas mayores y las personas con discapacidad, sino también para toda la población residente y los turistas. En este estudio de caso se puede determinar si las características físicas de las infraestructuras peatonales de interés cultural, ubicadas en el Centro Histórico de Faro (Portugal), cumplen con los requisitos de la Ley Nacional de Accesibilidad. Por lo tanto, se ha creado una metodología para evaluar la accesibilidad de la infraestructur