Walk'n'roll: Mapping street-level accessibility for different mobility conditions in Cuenca, Ecuador

Introduction: Approximately 66 million people with disabilities (PWD) live in Latin America and the Caribbean. Despite the important advances in regulations for social inclusion in this region, urban public spaces are not accessible to PWD. In this study, we assess street-level accessibility in the city of Cuenca (Ecuador) to examine the disparities for people with different mobility conditions. Methods: We designed and implemented a mobile-based tool to audit street-level accessibility related to two key issues: the compliance level with the national standard for accessibility (NAMF) and the presence and characteristics of obstacles that hinder pedestrian mobility. A set of 214 street segments were audited by volunteers with different mobility conditions (unrestricted, restricted, or impaired). The collected data were analysed to compute accessibility indices (AIs) for each condition ranging from 0 (totally inaccessible) to 1 (totally accessible). AI values were examined to determine the differences among conditions. Results: None of the 214 audited street segments fully complied with the NAMF. The AIs were: unrestricted mobility = 0.4, restricted mobility = 0.29, impaired mobility = 0.12. Eighty-three percent of the audited streets were perceived as highly inaccessible by wheelchair users, whereas for individuals with restricted or unrestricted mobility, the rates were 50% and 34%, respectively. Most streets were affected by obstacles that hindered mobility, with curb ramps and driveway ramps having the highest impact on accessibility. Conclusion: The urban streets of Cuenca are highly inaccessible, mainly due to their flawed design and the presence of obstacles, creating excluding environments for people with mobility restrictions or impairments. National regulations are failing to tackle all the issues that hinder accessibility and must be revised. Cuenca, together with other intermediate cities in Latin America, must redesign their sidewalks and pedestrian facilities to allow universal accessibility.