An alternative system to improve accessibility for wheelchair users: The stepped ramp.

Ramps are one of the main solutions for people with motor disabilities to overcome small disparities in height, both across cities and inside buildings. To permit the autonomous use of ramps, they must satisfy specific requisites. In particular, the slopes must not be excessively steep but adhere to the values identified in regulations and validated by scientific research. In historic cities, however, the placement of ramps is often complicated by a lack of space required for their length. In Venice, in particular, its urban morphology often makes it impossible to conform to the required slopes. For this reason, a specific ramp, known as "stepped ramp", has been designed by technicians of the City of Venice with a steeper slope than allowed by regulations. It offers many possibilities but even some key problems. This paper presents a scientific analysis of ten different ramps to evaluate the structures that directly influence the feeling of comfort or discomfort of a wheelchair user with assistance, as well as the coefficients of friction of the different flooring surfaces. This study aims to understand objectively if this solution is efficient to improve accessibility in some specific circumstances, where it is not possible to follow the regulations using flat ramps.

SMARTAGING in Venice. Toward a Definition of Age-Friendly Neighbourhood.

The growing population over 65 years old and the process of urbanization are two of the major challenges that the contemporary city has to address urgently. These issues require a rethinking of public spaces to ensure health and well-being and stimulate active ageing. The theme of age-friendly cities emerges in this context; it's about inclusive cities harmonised with the Agenda 2030 goals and the Universal Design principles since they support people's lives regardless of age, gender, and abilities. In particular, the neighbourhood scale represents the optimal one able to implement experimentations for the sustainable development of the city. Furthermore, the neighbourhood is generally the place of the elderly's everyday life where they are encouraged to go out and maintain their daily habits thanks to the existence of a safe and good public realm. Starting from the case study of the Santa Marta neighbourhood in Venice, the author has conducted a multi-phase analysis to investigate the quality of outdoor public spaces and which activities are played in these spaces to understand how the urban experience and the quality of life of the elderlies can be improved. At the same time, both the good practices listed by the WHO for the achievement of age-friendly environments and some of the major neighbourhood sustainability assessment tools were studied, paying attention to the social dimension of sustainability, seen as an "accelerator" of urban well-being and inclusiveness. This paper aims to present the first results of an ongoing research, whose purpose is to draft a new tool able to measure the age-friendliness - called SMARTAGING protocol - of a selected neighbourhood. Specifically, the methodological framework will be better described. In this regard, the new protocol shall support administrations in the understanding of the phenomena related to ageing by directing active policies and design choices with an increasing focus on citizens and local and social issues acting complying with the principles of Universal Design.