Tactile Pavings and Urban Places of Cultural Interest: A Study on Detectability of Contrasting Walking Surface Materials

In order to foster safe and independent mobility for blind people, Tactile Walking Surface Indicators (TWSI) are used in many countries throughout the world. Unfortunately, TWSI have witnessed a rapid and often uncertain proliferation without sufficient attention on their impact on spatial contexts in general, and on cultural assets in particular. With the aim of contributing to the ongoing debate concerning accessibility to cultural heritage, this paper proposes a critical reflection on the use of TWSI and explores the communicative capacities of a tactile paving typology (Contrasting Walking Surface Materials—CWSM) based on the appropriate combination of common paving materials. Through a structured observation study conducted in a controlled environment, this paper offers a methodological design, the first quantitative data, and some food for thought regarding CWSM detectability.