Sinalização urbana com base no Wayfinding para o Transporte Público Coletivo: a experiência com pessoas idosas

Abstract

This research is developed in the environment-behavior area and studies the functional needs of location and spatial orientation of people 60 years old or over in the public space, as well as their degree of interaction with the urban environment. This study focuses on how urban signage projects for public transport are conducted in shelters in Brazil: often, only technical and cost criteria are considered by public agencies, without considering the needs and perceptions of elderly users who use that space and service. Its general objective is to analyze how an urban signage project for public transport, based on the concepts of wayfinding, can influence the experience of the elderly user. This is phenomenological research, as it starts from the understanding and understanding of the way people live in their daily lives. The city selected for the case study is Pelotas, in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The research object consists of a set of bus shelters located on Rua General Osório, a block between Rua Marechal Floriano Peixoto and Rua Sete de Setembro, in the center of the city of Pelotas. The following data collection methods are used: (i) physical survey; (ii) structured and semi-structured interviews; (iii) Policy and Practice Forum, and; (iv) behavioral observation. It is intended to contribute to the public sphere in the context of urban mobility, since a prototype of a signaling project for public transport is installed and from the interaction of the elderly, the analyzes of this research are developed with it. In this research, we identified the elderly’s lack of interest in using legends on maps, which stimulates the question culture in case of insecurity in the reading of signs. However, the use of the pictogram has satisfactory results for the elderly to read maps when it resembles everyday elements. The elderly, while using signage, are only located when they recognize the references on the map to the public space. The aim is to contribute to the academic environment, providing material that discusses issues about wayfinding, urban signage, urban mobility and especially the perceptions of the elderly about public transport.