Healthy and Inclusive Cities. Overcoming Architectural Barriers, in the Social, Safety, and Health Spheres of the URBAN-HUMAN Interaction Systems

The essay assumes the concept of “health” not as an urban reality that has already reached a particular health status, but rather an active and participatory city that is committed to guaranteeing greater conditions of comfort and well-being to the citizens. In this context are introduced some theoretical and applied experiments on the territory of Friuli-Venezia Giulia - a region of the north-east of Italy - to prepare the PEBA, Plan for the Elimination of Architectural Barriers, to increase the accessibility and the use of public spaces in the cities. The focus is shifted from the quality of the public space towards the quality of the whole process that precedes the planning and programming phases. The experiments are at the basis of the international guidelines of universal design and planning, sanctioned by the United Nations Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and in line with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, following also the local provisions referred to the Friuli - Venezia Giulia Regional Law 10 / 2019, “Principi generali e disposizioni attuative in materia di accessibilità”.