Sustainable Urban Development: Spatial Analyses as Novel Tools for Planning a Universally Designed City

Joanna Borowczyk
Additional contact information
Joanna Borowczyk: Department of Architecture and Urban-Planning, The Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Lodz, Politechniki 6, 90-924 Lodz, Poland

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 5, 1-16

Abstract: The aim of the research was to analyze the “design for all” concept as a key strategy for creating social sustainability. The paper attempts to answer the question: how can universal design contribute to the rational development of the city space? The author has taken part in participatory experiments. The research took into account various criteria, including the level of the city space’s adaptation to the needs and capabilities of persons with different disabilities. Analyses included qualitative studies concerning the possibilities of developing the social capital as well as creating and preserving a cohesive social structure. The analytic process allowed determining the means of raising the quality of urban planning. Finding effective and reliable analytical tools enabling the development of healthy cities which are compatible with the principles of sustainability could become both a great chance and a great challenge for urban planners. Transition from the microplanning to the macroplanning scale and following the principles of universal design at the stage of the formation of urban concepts using spatiotemporal modelling methods will lead to the creation of harmonious accessible spaces adjusted to the needs of present and future users, which will generate sustainable development and lead to the healing of a city.

Keywords: urban planning; wellbeing; urban health; urban sustainability; spatial analytics; spatiotemporal modelling; universal design; social development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/5/1407/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/5/1407/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:5:p:1407-:d:144294

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().