The very few Christmas lights, which have not given a Christmas atmosphere to my neighborhood, are more than compensated by the selfless work of a group of municipal workers, who have spent a good part of these days adapting the old sidewalks of Simón Benito Street Boxoyo, Pedro Ulloa, Ana Mariscal and others, making them viable, accessible to all people, including those with different abilities. It is only a matter of lowering the accesses, leaving them at the level of the roads, to make them practicable for all. But in addition, it is necessary to incorporate into the new design of the pavement, tiles with reliefs adapted to people with reduced visibility, who use these signs on the pavement to orient themselves and thus be able to walk ‘normally’. Therefore, this effort is appreciated, which goes beyond the annual street paving campaign. This design strategy for everyone also includes the generalization of canopies at the main bus stops, and other types of urban furniture suitable for all people. It is about that, to democratize public and private goods, as a right of citizenship. It is about designing the city considering the different capacities of the people who inhabit it. Consequently, urban planning, in this light, goes beyond physical infrastructures. For example, although those responsible may not know it, cultural and social actions, structurally implemented in neighborhoods and peripheries, can also be part of this type of design, if they are framed in a deliberate strategy of making cities friendly places. for all.
This is called universal accessibility. I like that policy of proximity that puts neighborhoods in the center, and considers that everyone should have access to everything, regardless of different capacities. Although it might be necessary to have a shared, known and publicized universal accessibility strategy for Cáceres, which puts everyone at the center.
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