Avaliando o Desempenho da Caminhada: Como a qualidade dos passeios influencia a percepção ambiental do usuário idoso

In the central area of Pelotas, the preciousness of the tours is not directly affected by the mobility of users with reduced mobility. In this context, the research problem focuses on the lack of maintenance and planning of public sidewalks, which hinders the walkability and environmental perception of elderly users. The purpose of this investigation is to assess the performance of walking the elderly on public sidewalks with uneven pavement. With the application of the interview method, walking was possible to verify if the elderly user loses perceptual information, as attention is focused on the identification of irregularities on the walk. This study found that the mobility of the elderly user is influenced by the discontinuity in the textures of the sidewalks, since different pavements make it difficult to adhere to the floor and the person may lose or balance the performance of the walk.