Accessible Museums: approaches, methods and tools to stress inclusivity

This paper presents the results of a research grant completed at the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAr) of the University of Pavia. The research focuses on the development of an assessment tool able to define the accessibility level of the historical buildings and, in particular, of the Museums. The tool breaks down the building under investigation into environmental units and connections, and each of them into indicators and parameters objectively measurable, giving as final result the building accessibility levels. The assessment takes into consideration the instances of both mobility impaired people (M) and visually impaired people (V). The approaches and the methods followed in the research encourage the improvement of the accessibility in respect of the historical values, enlarging the concepts of the tourism for all, the inclusion and the social sustainability.