Page 81 - World Heritage and Tourism Innovation

Accessibility in Vernacular Settlements:

A Holistic Experience and Sustainability Key

Maria Griva
National Technical University of Athens, Greece
marilygriva@gmail.com
Constantinos Caradimas
National Technical University of Athens, Greece
ccara@arch.ntua.gr

Charikleia Kanari
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
kanarichara@nured.auth.gr

Cultural heritage protection and inclusive human settlements constitute a sustain-
able development pillar. Vernacular settlements are architectural ensembles whose
idioms limit accessibility adjustments, while location and geomorphology often
contribute to settlements’ exclusion. Accessibility in the context of Universal De-
sign is a crucial factor for vernacular settlements’ sustainability as tourism destina-
tions and living places. Enhancing their accessibility, and thus their functionality,
usability, and inclusivity, as well as providing learning opportunities, is expected
to improve residents’ lives and strengthen people’s relationships with heritage and
place. At the same time, it offers new options for attracting new groups of visi-
tors and creating new tourism destinations while enhancing existing ones, enabling
economic growth benefiting local communities, and thus contributing to heritage,
settlements, and cities. The present research aims to contribute to this field by in-
vestigating new approaches to Greek vernacular settlement sites, including cities’
historical centres, towards rediscovering the visitor experience, including persons
with disabilities. The research is in the literature review and situ research stages. The
paper presents the research objectives, the methodology and the first results of the
literature review that form the interdisciplinary theoretical framework of the study.
Finally, we discuss gaps and challenges related to the accessibility, sustainability, and
holistic experience for all, including persons with disabilities, in vernacular settle-
ments.
Keywords: accessibility; vernacular settlements; visitor’s experience; inclusion;
settlements and cities’ sustainability
https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-417-0.77-100

Introduction ments, recognisably impacting architectural heritage
Pandemics and evolving socio-economic and envi- environments. The present research focuses, within
ronmental crises have greatly changed human settle- the context of architectural heritage environments,

Proceedings of the 7th UNESCO UNITWIN Conference | 77