“Too often when we talk about smart cities, the role that technology can play in taking care of specific needs is overlooked. For years we have been talking about the intelligent transformation of territories, an objective that we will only achieve by putting people at the centre.” As Domenico Lanzilotta commented on the working table organized at Udine on May 30th in collaboration with Willeasy within the program Accessibility for Futurethe two-day event in the Friulian municipality dedicated to issues such as inclusion, rights, but also data and technologies.
As with every stage of the roadshow of City Vision – Program of Blum And Padua Hall – those who participated as speakers at the working table brought concrete projects and best practices that tell of municipalities attentive to the needs of people, from those with disabilities (motor and cognitive) to the elderly and those who do not master the language. In other words, accessible tourism does not mean dealing with a segment of citizens, but broadening our gaze so as not to leave anyone behind.
“Accessibility is a transversal theme and must involve all policies in a PA,” he underlined Ivano Marchiol, councilor for public works of the Municipality of Udine, present at the working table. “We have started a plan to map the accessibility of around 400 places in the urban area – he continued – Being mapped means opening up to new market opportunities, those of inclusive tourism”.
Talking about accessible tourism also means discussing the offer with respect to major events, such as sporting events for example. “A new experience we are working on is the audio track – he explained Marco Panieri, mayor of Imola – In addition to the tactile maps, we transmit the experience of the racetrack with audio stories that also allow those who cannot access the racetrack to experience the track”.
With the aim of bringing together stories and best practices of large and small municipalities, the tables of City Vision they are always made up of administrators who often, in the territories, face difficulties in finding resources. “A community must first of all feel comfortable in common places, and to do so it must have places accessible to all – he underlined Mariarosa Barazza, mayor of Cappella Maggiore – And if these places are accessible, they are also accessible in the use of tourist routes”.
A reflection that emerged in Udine was that of i tourists as temporary citizens, with their own rights and needs. Accessible tourism does not only mean caring for people with motor or cognitive disabilities, but also for those who have language difficulties, families with children and many other groups. Each of these targets requires a tailor-made welcome. Lanzillotta he summed it up like this: “As Professor Alberto Vanolo says, we must aim for the autistic city”.
William Del Negro, president of Willeasy and of the social promotion association ‘I go there’, declared: “We strongly wanted to bring the City Vision and #masterclass formats to Friuli Venezia Giulia for the first time, integrating them together and creating Accessibility for Future, a two-day event that sees accessibility as the common thread of increasingly current and challengers: smart cities, tourism and open data. A perspective in which accessibility is not just limited to being a civic duty, but represents a key element for the development of territories”.
He spoke at the working table in Udine Alessia Saleri, Area Manager North East, Sicily and Malta of Booking.comwhich addressed the topic of accessible tourism from the point of view of accommodation: “From our research on 12 thousand people we found that 80% of those interviewed felt in some way not welcomed”. A sign that there is still a lot to do in terms of training, education and culture. Accessibility is an objective that brings together all these aspects.
The theme of infrastructure could not be missing. “Italian airports are accessible, inclusive places that put the passenger at the center – he said Mark De Laurentiis, director of the Passenger Rights Protection Department – Enac has created the division dedicated to passenger rights”. Giovanni Rebecchi, commercial director of Trieste Airport, added elements to the reflection. “The intermodal hub is accessible by definition,
designed and tested together with Criba. Once designed, however, you have to manage it and that’s where the complexity lies.”
City Vision continues its roadshow 2024 to Syracuse on June 12 on the topic of energy. The States General of smart cities are scheduled for 21 and 22 October in Padua, where the annual event will be held, which this year doubles with more content dedicated to the community. City Vision it is a project of Blum And Padua Hall in collaboration with A2A and in partnership with Anm, Eav, Open Fiber, Rubner, Volksbank. Community partners are Anfov, Data Valley, Entopan, Istituto EuropIA.it, indig communication, Innovation Hub South Europe, InnovUp, Living Future Europe, Milano Smart City Alliance, NAStartup, Pa Social, Rete dei Comuni Sostenibili, Smart Communities Tech. The project is sponsored by Anci, National Institute of Urban Planning and National Association of urban planners and territorial and environmental planners.
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