Cities | LHAC

Sozopol

Silvia Balmas — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:23:00 GMT

The city

Sozopol is a town in south-eastern Bulgaria located on the Black Sea coast, situated on a few small peninsulas in the southern part of the Burgas Bay. With a population of 4,767 people, it is within the Burgas Province and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Sozopol, which has a population of 14,833 people. Sozopol is divided into the Old and New Town, between which lies the Sea Garden. The Old Town is located on the small peninsula of Skamniy and has been declared an archaeological reserve. The boundaries of the Sozopol bay include the island of St. John and next to it the small island of St. Peter, which have also both been declared as archaeological reserves as well as a protected areas under Natura 2000.

A beautiful coastal town, Sozopol is the successor of the Greek colony Apollonia Pontica which was founded in 611 BC and is one of the oldest Bulgarian towns. It was named after Apollo, the Greek and Roman god of music, dance, poetry, prophecy, and medicine. His 13.2m high statue used to be a symbol of the town from 460 BC until Sozopol was conquered in 72 BC and the statue was brought to Rome. From antiquity to the 17th century Sozopol was a thriving commercial centre. The town has had an important role in the trade of fish from the Black Sea, as well as grain and copper from Thrace. From late antiquity Sozopol has been an important religious centre with many monasteries, as well as a centre of fine arts. For centuries it has been the most important port in the region.

The town attracts many tourists from around the world thanks to its cultural and historical past, its preserved architecture from the 18th and 19th century, its 4-14th century fortress, its beaches and annual Apollonia art festivals, and with the relics of St. John the Baptist found in the monastery of the same name which is the largest Christian centre in medieval Sozopol.

Provision of accessible environment for people with disabilities to the natural and cultural sites on the territory of Archaeological Reserve Ancient Town of Apollonia in the town of Sozopol.

The main objective of this project is to allow a large number of people from Bulgaria and abroad to visit natural and cultural sites in Sozopol.

Some of the concrete measures of the project are the installation of tactile marking along strategic touristic points in the city. Furthermore, the provision of accessibility measures for people is also foreseen in many of the strategic point of the city such as: a urban park, the southern panoramic alley, the central beach, the architectural-historic complex southern fortress wall and tower, the municipal ethnographic museum, a tourist pier with panoramic view; the St. Cyril and Methodius’ church, the archaeological museum.

Sozopol Foundation has significant experience in development and implementation of projects related to providing access for people with disabilities to cultural heritage and natural sites. Since 2003 has developed great expertise in the use of EU structural funds and realised a great number of projects.

Working with government and municipal authorities of the Republic of Bulgaria and the National Agency for People with Disabilities, Sozopol Foundation maintains also regular contacts with NGOs, groups of people with disabilities and civil society.

► Download the document describing Sozopol's activities in favour of the people with disabilities

► NEW!!! Download the power point presenting Sozopol's activities within the LHAC

Mulhouse

Silvia Balmas — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:29:00 GMT

With its rich historic heritage and an extraordinarily favourable location - between the Rhine river and the Vosges mountains, close to Germany and Switzerland - Mulhouse is a city with a lot to offer inhabitants and visitors.

A pioneering city at the time of the industrial revolution in France, Mulhouse has flourished thanks to the textile, chemical and mechanical industries. As a result of such an exceptional history, nowadays the city has an impressive selection of museums covering a broad range of topics (including the Automobile Museum, the Railway Museum and the Fine Arts Museum), as well as several private mansions and the largest technical museum pole in Europe.

Mulhouse also has a pedestrianised historic centre, with its many houses dating back to the Middle Ages and superb Town Hall decorated with Rhine Renaissance style frescoes. There are beautiful parks and gardens throughout the city, including the famous Botanical and Zoological Garden which hosts more than 1,200 animals.

The city of Mulhouse constantly strives to improve the quality of everyday life for its 112,002 inhabitants and for the many tourists that visit it every year and is currently working on a particularly ambitious project which aims at making the city centre a safe and pleasant place for everyone to visit and discover.


	Check out the video interview with Ms Eliane Hervé-Bazin, Fondation Réunica, describing the process of developing an accessible, tourist itinerary in Mulhouse.

Throughout the year, an amazing array of activities and events liven up the city, such as the International Carnival, the Automobile Festival or the picturesque Christmas markets. Furthermore, as part of the Alsace region famous for its fine gastronomy and wines, Mulhouse has an excellent dining scene offering some fantastic local fare.

A committee has chosen a specific 3km-city tour along which every institution, museum, store and restaurant will become totally accessible for everyone. Visitors, locals, people with disabilities and parents with strollers will hence be able to visit, amongst other attractions, the Fine-Arts Museum, the Museum of Printed Fabrics, the former Town Hall and History Museum and the many ancient buildings and mansions that form part of the city's history.

► New! Please click here to see Mulhouse’s itinerary main points of interest

► New! Please click on the link below to see the "Ville Access" - a tool the City of Mulhouse made availlable to all cities, allowing people with disabilities to better move around the town: http://www.ville-access.fr/

► Download the presentation shown at the Global Forum on Accessible Cities detailing the process of developing an accessible, tourist itinerary in Mulhouse.

Turin

Silvia Balmas — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:10:00 GMT

Turin (Torino) is the capital of Italy's north-western region of Piedmont (Piemonte). Geographically located at the cross point of the Po River and the Dura River, the city is surrounded by the snow-covered Alpine arch, which offers an impressive backdrop.

With a population of 909,193 inhabitants, which reaches 2.2 million people including the metropolitan area, Turin is a major business, industrial and cultural centre.

The city, which dates back more than 2,000 years, has an extremely rich culture and history. Being the first capital of unified Italy, it still preserves beautiful squares dominated by noble equestrian statues of Savoy princes, as well as about 16 km of elegant arcaded streets for all-weather shopping and strolling.

Even though the city has for a long time been considered only as a primary industrial centre because of the presence of Fiat Cars, a major automobile manufacturer, in recent years Turin has become an increasingly popular tourist destination, with about 240,000 international arrivals each year.


	Check out the video interview with Mr Angelo Miglietta, Fondazione CRT, describing the work his organisation has undertaken to make the Palazzo Madama museum in Turin more accessible.

The major attractions of the city include the National Cinema Museum, located inside the Mole Antonelliana, a bizarre and fascinating monument which is the most recognisable iconic symbol of the city of Turin, and the Egyptian Museum. With 6,500 objects displayed and more than 26,000 in storage, the museum represents one of the world's largest collections entirely dedicated to Egyptian art and culture.

The centre of Turin, with its lively and cosmopolitan atmosphere, features baroque, rococo, neo-classical, and Art Nouveau architecture, and is well-known for its numerous art galleries, churches, elegant buildings, museums, gardens and spacious boulevards.

Turin is also one of the more accessible Italian cities for visitors with disabilities, thanks to a good range of ad hoc structures and services and highly aware customer service departments catering to the needs of those with physical disabilities and others requiring special assistance. Even though on the occasion of the recent 2006 Winter Olympics and Paralympics Games significant improvements were made to enhance the main tourist and cultural locations’ accessibility, further progress is still necessary to make a stay in the city completely pleasant, enjoyable and safe for people with disabilities.

► Video TOTO4All: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GW_v3IojsE&feature=youtu.be

► Download the presentation shown at the Global Forum on Accessible Cities describing the 'state of art' of accessibility in Turin.

► Download the presentation detailing the process of developing an accessible, tourist itinerary in Turin.

_{Credits for all photos: Giovanni Fontana}

Ávila

Silvia Balmas — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:59:00 GMT

At an altitude of over 3,000 feet, Ávila is the highest city in Spain. Due to its strategic location, it was a fortress town during the medieval period, and it still represents one of the finest surviving examples of a completely walled medieval town in Europe.

Ávila's attractions are enhanced by its spectacular location, to the extent that it was declared a Historic-Artistic Ensemble in 1982 and a UNESCO World Heritage City in 1985. These declarations have meant that Ávila has gained greater recognition both on a national and international basis.

The extremely rich cultural and historic heritage of the city reflects a wide variety of cultural influences - Celtic, Roman, Arabic and Christian. The imposing walls that encircle the city (2,500 meters long, 12 meters high and 3 meters thick in places, with nine gates and 88 towers) are among the best preserved in Europe and an excellent example of medieval architecture. They are also considered the most iconic landmark of the city.


	Check out the video interview with Ms Beatriz Rabadan Lopez, Fundación ONCE, describing the process of developing an accessible, tourist itinerary in Avila.

The city also has a deeply spiritual and mystic atmosphere, thanks to a great number of perfectly preserved Romanesque churches (like the Basilica of San Vicente, or the San Andrés, San Segundo, San Pedro churches), the magnificent Monastery of Santo Tomas, which was the summer residence of the Catholic Monarchs, and the Cathedral, which is considered the first Gothic cathedral in Spain.

As an historic city in a mountainous region, Ávila has had to overcome particular geographic and cultural challenges to achieve good levels of accessibility for people with disabilities. In spite of the difficulties, several monuments (including the walls, the San Vicente church, the Monastery of Santo Tomas or the Cathedral) were recently made fully accessible. As a pioneer in introducing the analysis of accessibility in artistic and historical heritage, in 2010 the city was awarded with the European Commission Award for Accessible Cities.

► Download the Customer Services, all-inclusive services brochure (Spanish only).

► Download the presentation shown at the Global Forum on Accessible Cities detailing the process of developing an accessible, tourist itinerary in Ávila.

► Check out the Geographic Information System (GIS) for accessible environments developed by Vía Libre for the city of Ávila.

_{Credits for all photos: The Municipality of Ávila}

Viborg

Nikos Vaslamatzis — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:38:00 GMT

“Accessibility in Historical City Centres – New Ways to make the Cultural Heritage of Viborg accessible to all” was launched in the summer of 2011 as a project competition in two rounds. The winning project, by the architectural firm Schønherr A/S, focuses on ‘accessibility for everyone’. The initiatives are discreet and seamlessly incorporate equal access into the historical framework of Viborg.

Beauty, authenticity and a unique history

With its 35,000 inhabitants, the city of Viborg is one of Denmark’s oldest cities, dating back to 900 AD, as well as an important administrative centre. Located in the middle of the Danish region of Jutland, and enthroned on the top of a ridge, the city enjoys a magnificent and varied view of nature and a ribbon of lakes.

Traces of its historical past can be seen everywhere. In several streets of the city centre the cobblestones have been preserved and the old buildings are maintained with great care. The most famous sight in town is the Viborg Cathedral, which was built from 1864-1876 as a round-arched Romanesque granite church and is still an impressive feat of construction. It is also an Episcopal residence and the city where kings were crowned.


	Check out the video interview with Mr Christian Andersen (Realdania) and Ms Signe Marie Rohde (Bygningsarv) describing the process of developing an accessible itinerary in Viborg.

Thus Viborg features beauty, authenticity and a unique history, offering at the same time a lively urban life that resembles that of many other Danish cities. 1.3 million people visit the city each year. Tourism is mostly based on one-day visitors coming from the many summer houses in the surrounding area. Thus the commercial city centre and the notable historical buildings attract people from all parts of the region, who rub shoulders with locals going about their everyday life.

Unfortunately, this potential is not being fully realised and tourists are not always able to make the most of all Viborg has to offer. Narrow sidewalks, cobblestones and stairways conspire to make it difficult for the elderly and those with physical impairments to make their way around.

Thus Viborg is at once both quite special and completely normal, which is why deploying an accessible itinerary in this city will set a great example.

An architectural competition in two rounds

The partnership behind the project is formed by four Danish funds (Realdania, the Bevica Foundation, The Labour Market Holiday Fund and the Danish Disability Foundation) together with the local municipality. The objective is to create an accessible itinerary within the historical city centre of Viborg, while at the same time preserving its historical authenticity.

A design contest was launched to gather different ideas on accessible itineraries. The main task for the competitors was to show how the experience of the historical city centre could be made accessible to everyone, regardless of physical ability. Additionally, participants were asked to provide suggestions on how to integrate ‘innovative communication’ in the improvements, to help boost the overall accessibility of the city centre.

In the first round of the competition, five prequalified interdisciplinary teams – including architects, landscape architects, and accessibility and communication experts – developed and illustrated their ideas for improving the accessibility of the historical city centre. In November 2011, two finalists were chosen to continue to the second round – ‘procurement by direct negotiation’ – and subsequently elaborated and clarified their proposals on the basis of the jury’s remarks. The second round concluded in April 2012, when the winning proposal submitted and headed up by the architectural firm Schønherr A/S was announced.

Choosing the winner

The team behind the winning proposal operates on the basic premise that accessibility must be discreetly established. The jury found that the proposal put forth carefully worked-out solutions that improve accessibility while maintaining great respect for the historical surroundings of the city centre.

►New! CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PROJECT SHORT FILM

►Latin Garden - poster of the architectural competition (At Hans Tausens Memorial the entrance is made accessible by changing part of the paving making it smooth and by simple levelling)

►Hans Tausens Memorial - poster of the architectural competition (Equal access is made by tempering traffic and at the same time creating an entrance to the garden, steps are levelled and through small adjustments

most of the Latin Garden is made accessible to everyone)

► Download the Jury’s reasons for choosing the winning proposal.

►Download the Jury's report describing the two winning proposals of the first round of the competition.

► Download the presentation shown at the Global Forum on Accessible Cities detailing the process of developing an accessible, tourist itinerary in Viborg.

_{Credits for all photos: The Municipality of Viborg / Dansk Bygningsarv A/S}

Lucca

Silvia Balmas — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:39:00 GMT

Lucca is a city and a province of Tuscany, which is located in a broad alluvial plain near the Serchio river. With approximately 85,000 inhabitants, the city of Lucca is a rich historical centre, retaining not only its Renaissance-era walls, but also a network of houses, towers, churches, Renaissance palaces and 19th-century little piazzas. Today Lucca is an important tourist and commercial centre, which is renowned for its art and traditional culture, as well as for its paper, chemical, metal, textile and agricultural (olive and wine) industries.

Work on the Renaissance walls, which are the best preserved ramparts in Italy, started in 1544 in order to replace the medieval walls that had become insufficient in defending the city against the expansionist intentions of Florence. This was a massive undertaking and was not completed until 1650.


	Check out the video interview with Ms Elizabeth Franchini, Fondazione Banca Monte di Lucca, describing the work she has undertaken in partnership with local authorities and disabilities groups and town planners to make Lucca an accessible city for tourists and citizens with disabilities.

Measuring approximately 4 kilometres in length and 12 metres in height, the walls comprise an imposing series of barricades, ditches, gun outposts, barriers, large underground chambers and 10-spurred ramparts. Under the Bourbon dynasty, the walls lost their military might and were gradually transformed into a public walkway. In the 1800's, the top of the thick walls were planted with trees transforming it into the park that it is today. The park, which is off limits to cars, offers visitors numerous scenic paths and is a daily destination for the people of the city.

Lucca's historic centre, with its medieval towers, handsome churches and excellent restaurants, is an ideal place for walking, biking and shopping. Lined with ancient craft workshops and shops, the narrow city-centre streets give visitors a true feeling of the bustling, daily life of the city, while the wealth of locally-grown produce offer visitors a chance to taste typical Tuscan cuisine. Top attractions of the city include the National Museum of Villa Guinigi, the Romanesque St. Martin’s Cathedral (which is close to the Fondazione Banca Monte di Lucca headquartera), Porta San Gervasio (part of Medieval walls), the Roman Amphitheatre, S. Maria Forisportam, Piazza Bernardini, Chiesa dei Servi, Agorà and St. Michael’s Church, or just a walk through the Botanical gardens, with its small lake and large collection of water and mountain plants. Other attractions include a large antique fair on Piazza San Giusto, Piazza S. Martino and Via del Battistero on the third weekend of each month and a craft on the last weekend of every month.

NEW!! http://www.luccaaccessibile.it/

►See the videos featuring Lucca's project on you tube:

Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUzvDzDCUcs
Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooMe0UqB25w
Official video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jOASITA8ho

► Download the presentation shown at the Global Forum on Accessible Cities detailing the process of developing an accessible, tourist itinerary in Lucca.

► Download the presentation describing the LHAC project making headway in Lucca.