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Maria Griva et al. Accessibility in vernacular settlements

bly leading to these groups’ exclusion. Available Greek for an architectural narrative for the access and per-
population statistics (Hellenic Statistical Authority, ception of vernacular settlements’ identities; this is
2002) show that 18.2% of the population has various also deemed an educational challenge and a challenge
chronic health problems or types of disabilities lead- regarding tourism boosting. Particularly in education,
ing to mobility limitations, which is a considerable the association of the architectural and, precisely, the
percentage and brings to the surface the issue that technical part with the academic part constitutes a
inclusion and involvement of all should be a priority. challenging concept and research procedure.
The literature review and first stage of in situ re- The lack of facilities -and infrastructure in general-
search in Greek vernacular settlements has revealed for conservation and sustainability is a characteristic
the heterogeneity of the settlements, which, in combi- of the Greek reality. Focusing on buildings as a funda-
nation with the heterogeneity of the group of persons mental element of vernacular settlements and historic
with disabilities, creates a multi-parametric research centres of cities, it is a fact that numerous Greek-listed
problem. Dealing with the limitations of the Greek and traditional buildings are abandoned or even col-
settlements’ place idioms (location, geomorphology, lapsing. The prospect of contributing to these build-
architecture, history, place memory) for addressing ings’ sustainability by enhancing their accessibility
the various needs of persons with disabilities and with- and functionality within the heritage preservation
in the context of accessibility legislation undoubtedly context, particularly their reuse, is challenging.
constitutes a big challenge. The relationship between Another major issue in the Greek context is the
heritage and technology regarding special equipment insufficiency of information regarding accessibility
and digitalisation is a big issue. The first stage of the for persons with disabilities, particularly regarding
in situ research revealed analytical problems of trans- architectural heritage. Difficulties also exist in getting
fer, approach, access, entrance, routes, horizontal and official data from ministries, public organisations,
vertical circulation, crossing and stops, orientation, and museum sites. We generalised the problem of the
perception of landmarks, ways of escape, signage for dissemination of relevant information. Accessibility
all, function, services, urban equipment and mainly chain and participation of all parts -built environ-
the accessibility chain. In the Greek context and re- ment, services, products- is indispensable. The need
garding relevant issues about monuments, a method- for cooperation and participatory processes becomes
ology for accessibility and perceptibility improvement even more significant in contemporary times when
interventions has been built, applied and tested at cities and settlements face threats to their sustain-
the Byzantine monuments of Thessaloniki by a re- ability due to crises like pandemics and wars. These
search group of the Aristotle University of Thessalon- crises pose risks to the sustainability of architectural
iki (Naniopoulos & Tsalis, 2017). This methodology heritage. Additionally, in the same context, there are
relies on existing accessibility evaluation methodolo- difficulties in synergies and collaborations at scientific
gies, such as the Checklist for Buildings and Facilities and various operators’ levels, which hinder the partic-
of the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility ipation of all stakeholders in processes regarding ac-
Guidelines (ADAAG) (1992). The city-level assistance cessible heritage and tourism and other accessibility
tool also constitutes the Disability Inclusion Evalu- fields.
ation Tool (DIETool) (Rebernik, 2020). Hence, we
must stress that in some cases, settlements, or parts Conclusions and Suggestions
of them cannot be subject to in situ improvement ad- The promotion of accessibility, including the en-
justments or can only be limited ones. In these cases, hancement of functionality and perceptibility in ar-
other means, such as digital accessibility, should be in- chitectural heritage environments, is expected to have
vestigated as the primary means for accessing and per- a tremendous social and economic impact. Ensuring
ceiving architectural heritage. The issues mentioned accessibility and perceptibility generally, particularly
above stress the importance of developing a strategy in vernacular settlements, is a heritage valorisation

Proceedings of the 7th UNESCO UNITWIN Conference | 85