Accessible Zaragoza

Accessible Zaragoza is a collaborative mapping project of aspects related to urban accessibility and disabilities in Zaragoza driven by the research group OpenSource Architectures of the School of Architecture and Technology of the San Jorge University and developed jointly with Collaborative Mapping group at Zaragoza Activa. Based on field observations made by volunteers using OpenStreetMap, we aim to make a map of Zaragoza that facilitates the mobility of people with functional diversity, hence, increasing their autonomy.

About the map

The map we are working on has the following characteristics:

1. Online: The map will be accessible through the web, which allows interactions that are not possible on paper and allows it to be shared and inserted into other websites, thereby improving the dissemination and visibility of the project.
2. Based on observations: the data reflected on the map come from a thorough and systematic field study conducted by the project team and by OpenStreetMap volunteers, which allows to have updated data that does not appear on any other map or service (which would require having a license to use them).
3. Collaborative: Given the nature of the project, it is necessary to give a collaborative approach in which any interested person, and with minimal technological and local knowledge, can add data to the map. This not only makes it possible to aspire to be able to map an entire city (something unthinkable for a small team of researchers) but also allows constantly updated data.
4. Open Data: all data collected in the field study (as well as all data found in OpenStreetMap) they are open, that is, anyone can use the data collected in the study for any purpose, provided the source is cited.
5. OpenStreetMap (OSM) is the most important collaborative map worldwide. A good part of the project Accessible Zaragoza uses OSM’s infrastructure, data and community to store, manage and visualize the data collected.
6. Agnostic/Neutral: Unlike similar activities that focus on identifying architectural barriers (something eminently negative), the Zaragoza Accessible approach is to map accessibility from the analysis of predetermined categories which offers an agnostic and objective look at the current state of accessible mobility.