SEOUL DESIGN AWARD

 

Honorable Mention 1.

ACCESSIBLE BEACHES

 

Project Name: ACCESSIBLE BEACHES

Group Name: No Barrier

City: Mugla, Turkey

Representative Designer: Ertan Öztürk

Nationality: Turkey

 

 

Slide 2

I would like to give some information about The province of Muğla, located in the southwest corner of Turkey where the Aegean Sea meets the Mediterranean, includes popular holiday destinations, such as Gökova, Bodrum, Marmaris, Datça, Milas, Dalyan and Fethiye. Our province welcomes approximately 3.3 million tourists every year. With its beautiful resorts, impressive ruins of past civilizations, magnificent landscapes and vast beaches, thermal waters, rich flora and fauna, as well as accommodations, restaurants and entertainment choices to suit every taste, this region has something to offer to everyone. According to population surveys about 8% of the population (population is over one million) is disabled.

 

 

Slide 3

Muğla Metropolitan Municipality  (MMM) is one of the local authorities that provide the closest service to the citizen in areas that are closely related to daily life such as social work, education, health, culture, tourism, arts, sports, agriculture, environment, natural disasters, transportation, development, infrastructure and superstructure. The mission of Muğla Metropolitan Municipality; "To make our Muğla a liveable and sustainable city for all living and non-living components on it" by taking its power only from our people. In order to realize this mission, many projects that differ from each other in terms of scope, time, budget and quality have started to come up. ‘Accessible Beaches’ is one of those. Muğla Metropolitan Municipality is the largest local public institution in the city with over 3000 employee in 13 district.  

 

 

Slide 4

ACCESSİBLE BEACHES design project brings a creative solution to access to the beach by wheelchair problems of handicapped people in cities of Muğla and increase the living standards of the handicapped citizens by providing the services it produces through the project. This project started in 2016 when 21 NGOs working for the disabled made a request from the municipality to reach the beach with a wheelchair. MMM designed 19 beaches by decks in seaside and in the sea to reach the wheelchairs to the sea. By this Project many disabled people reached to the sea mostly first time in their life. 

 

 

Slide 5

Our project is the application of specially designed platforms, floating sun loungers and special changing cabins by making the beaches suitable for disabled access so that our disabled citizens can swim safely as non-disabled. The application prevents the social inequality between the disabled and the non-disabled.

 

 

Slide 6

This was a problem solving project for disabled people. Before this project, while the disabled had problems in reaching the beach and the sea, this project enable them to meet with the sea. This project was financed by the Muğla Metropolitan Municipality and the cost per beach is approximately 4000 USD. This guy is dipleji who cant use his legs he can only use his arms. He had an accident 20 years ago after his accident this was his first time meet with the sea

 

 

Slide 7

While the beaches are being designed, they are set up close to the lifeguard tower, which is the busiest place on the beach. The aim is to bring the disabled and the non-disabled people together to ensure social cohesion. It also helps socialization of the carers.

 

 

Slide 8

By this way, many disabled people drive their wheelchairs to the seaside and can swim. Swimming is one of the best sports and therapy for the disabled people and this project also helped to their health. Also if the disabled person requests, by the municipality disabled transport vehicles, disabled person is taken from his/her home and transport to the accessible beach.

 

 

Slide 9

At the beginning of the project we analysed that there were many types of beaches in our coast line (rocky, sandy, fast, deeping, wavy, shallow etc.) because of this we had to find proper material. The deck is laid in the sea and on the beach with specially designed material which wheelchairs can easily go. According to the Turkish coastal law, it is forbidden to build fixed structures on the coast lines, so the materials used in the project are mounted and disassembled at the begining and at the end of the summer season.

 

 

Slide 10

Lifeguards on the beaches where the project was implemented they were trained on disability sensitivity. It was ensured that the district municipalities that runs the beach do not charge the disabled people. If they request, we take them from their home with our accessible vehicle and transport them to the closest beach. If there is nobody accompanying to them, our experienced staff accompany them on the beach all day long.

 

 

Slide 11

A sufficient number of floating sun loungers made of stainless materials have been placed on each beach, and those who do not want to swim in the sea with their wheelchairs or those who come to the beach with their electric wheelchairs are provided with floating sun loungers. Complete accessibility has been ensured on all beaches (sloping roads, thresholds, changing cabins, toilets, etc.) applied within the scope of the project.

 

 

Slide 12

Mayor participants: Mugla Metropolitan Municipalty (Social Work Department) Accessible Mugla Platform. All (totally 21 NGO) associations and foundations working for disabled people and disabily of Mugla with thousands of association members. District Municipalties that runs the accessible beaches such as Bodrum Municipality, Fethiye Municipality, Datça Municipality, Milas Municipality, Ula Municipality. After every implementation, disabled people tried the decks and give feedbacks.

 

 

Slide 13

This project is a creative project implemented for the first time in Turkey. This project set an example for many municipalities. After the Mugla Metropolitan Municipality implementation on the beaches, many other municipalities (such as Bozcaada, Antalya, İzmir, Trabzon, Bursa cities) came to have a look and took an example of the project. Hopefully this project can share with all earth globally.

 

 

Slide 14

Accesible Beaches Project build harmony between;

Disabled – Disabled

Disabled -  The carers

The carers – The carers

Disabled - Society

as well as

Human - the environment to form sustainable city. While spending time at the sea, good friendships are formed and the bond between the disabled and carers are strengthened.

 

 

Slide 15

This is a sustainable and harmonious Human City Project because it touches to many disabled people and their carers life so possitively. This theme deals with public design issues such as city life, people, society and environment to create a sustainable and harmonious human city. MMM has been awarded the Accessible City Award given by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey for its work in the field of disability.