Examination in terms of accessibility and use of place of Unimpeded Wellness Center: The Case of Ankara

Abstract

Objective: Cities represent spaces where individuals with different characteristics live together. Amongst these individuals, there are people who have permanent disabilities and people who sometimes have disabilities. People with disabilities may not be able to adapt to the needs of normal life, such as healthy people. For this reason, various arrangements should be made in open and closed spaces in order to enable individuals with disabilities to act independently. Thus, participation of disabled individuals in social life will also be ensured. In our country, there are facilities and practices with certain support and arrangements that provide service for the disabled. In this study, the compliance of one of these facilities with the standards in terms of field usage was investigated.Material and Metod: Within the scope of this study, open for the use of disabled people and their attendants, “Ankara Sacettin Gürbüz Unimpeded Wellness, Special Education and Rehabilitation Center” was examined. Forming the physical environment of the center, the interiors of the building, the open green areas and their transition areas were examined within the framework of unimpeded space design. Accordingly, the current situation analysis was conducted in indoor and outdoor areas of the center in terms of size-dimension, unimpeded and sufficient area, surface quality, directives and warnings. The results obtained were examined in terms of “Basic Accessibility Handbook for Local Governments”, “The Guide for Universal Standards for Disabled” and “Turkish Standards Institution’s (TSI) Standards” in order to support accessibility and use.Findings: In the facility, roads, ramps, staircases, children’s playgrounds, play equipment, sports fields and equipments, surface coatings, sing and symbol, lighting elements and trash cans are found to meet the standarts. But, it is found that they are not positioned in the resting pockets, and some of the equipment elements are not ergonomic for the disabled.Results: As a result of the evaluation of the study findings using standards, it was determined that there is not a big problem in the facility for the disabled individuals while they are using it. In our country, increasing the number of qualified facilities such as Ankara Sacettin Gürbüz Unimpeded Wellness, Special Education and Rehabilitatio