Análise de orientação espacial no Campus da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria

Abstract

Spatial orientation is the ability of an environment to provide subsidies for users to reach their destinations independently and safely. The more complex the environment, the more resources it must provide in order to understand the space in its entirety. Just like in a city, a university campus has elements and characteristics that make it an environment of difficult navigation and great spatial complexity. Therefore, this work aims to understand the spatial orientation needs on the main campus of the Federal University of Santa Maria, located in the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, and to generate guidelines to improve its orientability conditions. The methodological procedures developed and applied are divided into three stages, which help in the understanding and analysis of the study area, both from the perspective of the researcher and the population. The first step consists of recognizing the campus and classifying its structural elements, the second is related to a technical analysis of the lack of spatial orientation in the study area, and the last is an evaluation with the user of the difficulties in navigating the campus. From the results obtained with the research procedures, it was possible to generate guidelines that solve the problems of the campus in relation to the wayfinding process, highlighting the creation of a signaling system for the entire campus, and the adaptation of roads and sidewalks in accessibility ratio. Based on these guidelines, the process of changing the campus towards a more accessible, egalitarian and fair environment can be started.