Post-occupancy Evaluation Focused
on Accessibility: Experience
of Participation in the University
Community
Adriana Gelpi, Rosa Maria Locatelli Kalil and Wagner Mazetto de Oliveira
Abstract University campuses are the main places where the activities of higher
education are developed. To include students, teachers and the community in this
educational space it is necessary to have accessibility in open areas and buildings.
The access routes, the pedagogic environments of the campus and the coexistence
of administrative, educational and recreational activities should allow the free circulation of pedestrians and people with disabilities or reduced mobility. The inclusion
and permanence of young people and adults in university environments is a fundamental strategy to raise the level of education of the population, contributing to
achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The paper presents a post-occupancy
evaluation focused on the physical accessibility in an institution of higher education.
The methodology procedures include photography record, surveys, walkthroughs,
and interviews with the university community. The preliminary results show that the
implementation of accessibility in university campuses still needs to raise awareness
on universal accessibility and urban democracy. The participation of the university
community is essential for the implementation of accessibility as a strategy for social
and environmental sustainability, preparing professionals to face challenges of cities
and committed to the environment.
Keywords Higher education · Persons with disabilities · Lifelong education ·
Accessibility technical norms · University campus
A. Gelpi · R. M. L. Kalil (B) · W. M. de Oliveira
Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, University of Passo Fundo,
BR-285, km 292, Passo Fundo 99025-020, Brazil
e-mail: kalil@upf.br
A. Gelpi
e-mail: agelpi@upf.br
W. M. de Oliveira
e-mail: wagnermazetto@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Universities as Living Labs for Sustainable Development,
World Sustainability Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15604-6_42
697
on Accessibility: Experience
of Participation in the University
Community
Adriana Gelpi, Rosa Maria Locatelli Kalil and Wagner Mazetto de Oliveira
Abstract University campuses are the main places where the activities of higher
education are developed. To include students, teachers and the community in this
educational space it is necessary to have accessibility in open areas and buildings.
The access routes, the pedagogic environments of the campus and the coexistence
of administrative, educational and recreational activities should allow the free circulation of pedestrians and people with disabilities or reduced mobility. The inclusion
and permanence of young people and adults in university environments is a fundamental strategy to raise the level of education of the population, contributing to
achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The paper presents a post-occupancy
evaluation focused on the physical accessibility in an institution of higher education.
The methodology procedures include photography record, surveys, walkthroughs,
and interviews with the university community. The preliminary results show that the
implementation of accessibility in university campuses still needs to raise awareness
on universal accessibility and urban democracy. The participation of the university
community is essential for the implementation of accessibility as a strategy for social
and environmental sustainability, preparing professionals to face challenges of cities
and committed to the environment.
Keywords Higher education · Persons with disabilities · Lifelong education ·
Accessibility technical norms · University campus
A. Gelpi · R. M. L. Kalil (B) · W. M. de Oliveira
Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, University of Passo Fundo,
BR-285, km 292, Passo Fundo 99025-020, Brazil
e-mail: kalil@upf.br
A. Gelpi
e-mail: agelpi@upf.br
W. M. de Oliveira
e-mail: wagnermazetto@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Universities as Living Labs for Sustainable Development,
World Sustainability Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15604-6_42
697