Inclusive Design for Urban Innovation. Designing for an inclusive, sustainable and human-centred city

The richness of a region and its urban framework depend on the potential of innovation of own spaces, intrinsic ability of building up network and optimizing resources properly. The idea of accessibility is changing, and it has to be intended as the set of all factors able to generate well-being, promote independent mobility, guarantee safety and support socialization and collaboration among people. Under this new vision of accessibility, the approach of inclusive design may be conceived a valid and reliable operating tool, as it is based on the assessment of actual and potential needs of people, thus allowing to address designing issues that are needed for developing inclusive urban environments. In the present article, we present the preliminary results achieved during a research project carried out at the Laboratory of Ergonomics for Design of Florence University. The project aimed at investigating innovative solutions and at defining guidelines aimed at the objectives listed hereafter: • To develop a city "on a human scale", inclusive and accessible for all, even to the weakest people (disabled, elderly and children). A city oriented to prefer solutions that support sustainability, usability and ergonomics, intended as a user-system (or user-product) interaction both of architectural-urban structures and services. • To create services dedicated to physical activity and sport (fitness trails, wellness providers) in order to make each user, including those most vulnerable (namely disabled and elderly people), more sensitive toward a dynamic and active lifestyle as long as possible. • To investigate the possibility for including services connected to the urban-environment intelligence, able to collect information about the city and its citizens in real time, and to improve safety and social- policies based on citizens behaviors and needs.