Wayfinding no planejamento de campi universitários: reflexões com base na percepção ambiental de pessoas com deficiência visual

Abstract

The increase in inclusion policies in higher education has resulted in a greater number of enrollments of people with visual impairments (PDVs*) in undergraduate courses in Brazil. Despite this, in the physical spaces of Brazilian university campuses, many gaps are still observed regarding the orientation and mobility of these people, a condition that hinders the wayfinding processes, that is, navigability in the environment. Based on this understanding, this research asks: how can the planning of university campuses of Federal Institutions of Higher Education (IFES*) incorporate knowledge about the wayfinding processes of people with visual impairments, based on the perception of these people, in order to improve the environmental quality of these areas? The hypothesis defended indicates that the study of the relationships between the mechanisms of perception/cognition and the environmental attributes required by people with visual impairments on university campuses can contribute to guiding planning, aiming to improve the wayfinding processes of these people and be useful for the general public. The main objective of the study was to investigate the wayfinding processes of visually impaired people on three university campuses of Federal Higher Education Institutions in northeastern Brazil (UFC*, UFPB*, and UFRN*), in order to support planning processes that optimize their navigability in these spaces. To this end, the investigation used a multi-method strategy consisting of exploratory visits, semi-structured and unstructured interviews, focus groups, commented routes, accompanied tours and accessibility analysis. The following participants were recruited: (i) PDVs* of these institutions (students, professors, and administrative staff); (ii) professionals from the physical space planning sectors working on the campuses; and (iii) professionals who work with accessibility issues on the campuses. It was concluded that the PDVs* map the campuses in a fragmented way, with a lack of orthogonality, labyrinthine morphology, and scarcity of sensory references in these spaces, implying deficient wayfinding processes. The thesis developed a conceptualization of wayfinding from the perspective of PDVs*, considering the main factors involved, and presented guidelines and practical orientations for the spatial planning of university campuses aiming at improving the orientation and mobility of this public, many of them also useful for the general public, thus confirming the study hypothesis.