C.A.R.E. – ACCESSIBLE CITIES OF EUROPEAN REGIONS

3B095

Regione Emilia-Romagna
Viale Aldo Moro 44
40127 Bologna
Italy

Ms. Maura Mingozzi
Tel.:	+39051283989
Fax:	+39051284169
Email:	mumingozzi@Regione.Emilia-Romagna.it
Homepage:	http://www.interreg-care.org

1 - Spatial development approaches
1.2 - Shaping urban development

(See here for a priorities and measures overview)

2nd Call

Accessibility is a primary aspect contributing to the quality of life in urban areas for citizens and temporary residents, such as tourists. It is also an important factor in the promotion and development of urban areas. The logic of city accessibility involves a broad range of services and structures for citizens and tourists, but above all services devoted to persons with special needs. The C.A.R.E. project (Accessible Cities of European Regions) aimed at improving the accessibility of cities for everyone. In particular, the purpose of the project was to develop a network of accessible services and facilities in European cities by adopting a standardised accessibility rating method. The project helped to create "friendly cities" by building specialised service networks.

The C.A.R.E. project defined accessible urban tourist routes describing the accessibility features of the venues: the 13 routes have been published in the tourist guides "Travelling in Europe: a guide to welcoming and accessible cities". All partners used the same CARE methodology to survey and communicate accessibility to a tourist service (i.e. a hotel, museum, restaurant, tourist attraction, etc.) with the aim of offering only objective information as regards the characteristics of accessibility to people with special needs (i.e. measures instead of symbols or evaluations). CARE thus created a network of cities that recognise accessibility as a central element in the quality of life, share the same tools and philosophy and work toward attracting new members. A fundamental result of C.A.R.E. is the analysis of the demands which residents and tourists with special needs make on a city. It is the most current and exhaustive European study of this kind ever made, including 6,545 interviews with residents and tourists with special needs. Also a shared manual on how to correctly communicate disability and accessibility has been produced. It can be of use to any operator dealing with matters of accessibility. A lot of work has been devoted to create a unified image of the project in order to make C.A.R.E. a brand: identifying a network of tourist cities in Europe sharing the principles and commitment listed in the Charter of the Hospitable City and using the same methodology to describe accessibility.

Total budget (EUR):	2.008.359,90 EUR
ERDF:	1.061.232,20 EUR

Start:	01/2004
End:	03/2006

• Regione Emilia-Romagna, Bologna, Italy
• Municipality of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
• Municipality of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
• Municipality of Forlì, Forli, Italy
• Lombardia Region, Milan, Italy
• Aias – Italian Association for Spastic Help, Milan, Italy
• Umbria Region, Perugia, Italy
• Province of Ancona, Ancona, Italy
• Province of Pesaro-Urbino, Pesaro, Italy
• SiPuò – Association for project and services for people with special needs, Ferrara, Italy
• Venice card – City of Venice, Venice, Italy
• Bildungsinstitut Pscherer gGmbH / Tourismusverband Vogtland e.V., Lengenfeld, Germany
• City of Gera, Gera, Germany
• Atempo Association, Graz, Austria
• Prefectural Authority of Thessaloniki County, Thessaloniki, Greece
• North – East Regional Development Agency, Piatra-Neamt, Romania