Creating accessible cities means more than removing architectural barriers: it means ensuring that everyone can move through public spaces safely, comfortably and independently. To achieve this, municipalities need reliable information and effective tools to transform observations into concrete actions.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can play a key role in this process. More than digital maps, GIS provides a shared environment where field surveys, spatial analysis, intervention planning, cost estimation, and long-term monitoring can be integrated .
Developing digital competences is increasingly important for accessibility professionals. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are an example of how digital tools can support evidence-based accessibility planning, offering valuable insights and practices relevant to the broader objectives of the AccessCoVE project. During field surveys, streets, public buildings, parks and other relevant spaces are inspected, and each barrier is recorded directly in the GIS database, together with its exact location, photographs, measurements, and technical informati on.
Prioritization combines technical survey results with community feedback, pedestrian route continuity, and the importance of surrounding services and destinations. This helps municipalities identify interventions that can have the greatest impact, from relatively simple actions such as removing obstacles or repairing paving to more substantial works such as redesigning crossings or adapting public build i ngs .
Another important advantage is that the GIS database remains useful after the accessibility plan is completed. Each surveyed element can be linked to proposed interventions, estimated costs, photographs and technical information, allowing municipal offices to update priorities and monitor progress over time without repeating the entire s urv ey.
Città Sotto Scacco Srl, one of the technical partners of AccessCoVE, provides an interesting example of how GIS-based methodologies can support the development of Plans for the Elimination of Architectural Barriers (PEBA), integrating data collection, spatial analysis, intervention planning, cost estimation and monitoring into a single digital environment. This approach highlights the potential of digital tools to improve accessibility planning and contributes to the broader discussion on innovation and professional skills promoted by Ac c ess CoVE.
In this way, GIS helps transform the PEBA from a static document into a living tool for the continuous improvement of accessibility, supporting municipalities in creating more inclusive and welcom i ng cities.
Find out more:Link https://www.cittasottoscacco.it/index.php/en/2026/10/06/building-accessibility-skills-through-accesscove-using-gis-for-more-incl usive-cities/