The contribution of information design to age-friendly cities: A case study on coimbra and public transport

Abstract

Given the growing and increasing complexity of cities combined with the aging of the population, the World Health Organization launched the “Age-Friendly Cities” initiative, which promotes the suitability of cities for accessibility and inclusion of citizens by meeting their capabilities and needs. This idea stems from the defense of the “right to the city” (Lefebvre, 1995), where daily practices intersect with the representations of space and give rise to the lived area - the representational spaces, where environments constructed by the use of the city take place. In this context, Information Design is fundamental to promote the city as a public space. This paper discusses the relevance of Information Design, Inclusive Design and wayfinding systems in fostering “Age-Friendly Cities”. We present a case study developed in the public transport of the city of Coimbra to understand how the principles of inclusive design are present in the communication with the users.