The Matera City Council has approved the policy document that marks the start of activities for the drafting and approval of the Plan for the Elimination of Architectural Barriers (PEBA), a fundamental tool for planning, programming and monitoring interventions aimed at ensuring full accessibility to public spaces and buildings owned by the municipality.
With this measure, the Municipal Administration is initiating all the necessary procedures to identify the best possible path, with the aim of building a participatory and constantly updatable PEBA, capable of responding effectively and concretely to the needs of citizens.
In order to ensure a participatory and multidisciplinary approach, an Accessibility Committee has been set up, coordinated by the Head of the Land Management Department and composed of managers and officials from various municipal departments. This body will be responsible for coordinating all activities preparatory to the drafting of the PEBA, encouraging the involvement of public and private entities, associations and local organisations, so as to make the process as inclusive and shared as possible.
‘The elimination of architectural barriers is a priority objective and one that is strongly desired by this administration,’ said Mayor Antonio Nicoletti. “It is an act of civilisation: we want Matera to be a truly accessible city, where everyone can live and move around without obstacles. With this policy document, we have laid the foundations for serious, participatory and structured work that will enable us to plan concrete and measurable interventions. The PEBA will be the tool through which we can build a more inclusive city together, one that is attentive to the rights of all and capable of looking to the future, aware that the first and most important step to take is a change in mentality, starting with the designers of public and private works. A change of pace that is first and foremost cultural.”
The municipal administration thus reaffirms its desire to promote a model of an accessible, sustainable and innovative city, where quality of life and respect for human dignity are at the heart of public policy.
