Smart Accessibility: Design Process of Integrated Geospatial Data Models to Present User-Customized Universal Design Information

Environmental accessibility information measured by universal design guidelines does not exist in a form that can be effectively implemented as a geospatial database. Thus, this study explored the design process of a smart accessibility data model that integrates geospatial data with environmental accessibility information in a mixed indoor/outdoor environment. First, a typology of accessibility information integrated with universally designed geospatial information was identified, and a field experiment was conducted to observe components of the built environment and environment-behavior interactions during travel in a sightseeing area of Seoul, South Korea. The analysis found that each user group, namely people with mobility impairments, visual impairments, or hearing impairments, had different barriers, and facilitators in the environment. Certain barriers for one group could work as facilitators for another, and vice versa; also, some components previously classified as facilitators failed to actually fulfill that function. Additionally, the user groups demonstrated different prioritization of spatial attributes. The findings of the field study were organized in the data model as priority information and weighted values according to user group. The smart accessibility data model developed in this study has implications for designing user-customized multimodal systems, such as wayfinding services and web-based maps, that are useful to everyone, regardless of their ability or age. Furthermore, it increases the users’ decision-making power to plan a trip and can exert invisible pressure inducing physical improvements in the areas that lack accessibility, through visually displaying accurate information on the physical environment.