PROBLEMS OF OPTIMIZATION OF THE PARK ENVIRONMENT TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Abstract

The main social needs of people with limited mobility in urban conglomerations are to ensure the possibility of face-to-face social communication, transportation, and recreation. Implementation of the National Strategy for the Creation of Barrier-Free Space in Ukraine for the period up to 2030 is impossible without the arrangement of green space adapted for the movement of LMG in Ukrainian cities. The article outlines the problem of adaptation and optimization of the modern urban park environment of the Central Forest-Steppe of Ukraine, taking into account the needs of persons with disabilities, including low-mobility groups. To better understand the problem of building a barrier-free park environment, a map of accessibility to thirty recreational facilities in Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Bila Tserkva districts of Kyiv Oblast, the southern part of Vinnytsia Oblast, and Kryvyi Rih district of Dnipro Oblast was developed using seven indicators. These indicators include a detailed description of recreational facilities, namely: convenient location of access roads and parking areas for public and private transport; availability of ramps, accessibility to public restrooms, infrastructure, entertainment venues, etc. It was found that the high and partial level of accessibility of LMG to recreational facilities is 27.7%. At the same time, the low level of accessibility is 72.3%, which indicates an urgent need to reconstruct most parks and adapt them to the needs of people with reduced mobility. The highest level of adaptation of the studied recreational areas to the needs of MHM and other people with disabilities is in Bila Tserkva district of Kyiv region (28.9%) and Kryvyi Rih district of Dnipro region (27.3%). It should be noted that parks and squares built in 2015–2022 have a higher level of accessibility compared to parks built before 2014 in terms of all key indicators. Based on the analysis of the current regulatory framework and the state of green space in the urban environment (on the example of the Central region of Ukraine), a number of problems have been identified in the arrangement of green areas, namely: design, verbal, and mental. Identifying the problems of optimizing the green space of recreational facilities will help improve their accessibility for people with disabilities.