Mobiliário urbano para sentar em praças públicas: a percepção da pessoa idosa a partir dos aspectos da usabilidade e da emoção.

Abstract

The products that surround individuals have a direct impact on their daily experiences, potentially altering their perception of objects as well as the space around them. Urban furniture plays a significant role in this context. This research aims to analyze the relationship between usability and emotion from the perspective of the elderly regarding urban seating furniture in public squares The study environment comprises two public open spaces characterized as squares, located in the city of Campina Grande/PB, due to their higher availability of urban seating furniture within the urban context. The research is of an applied nature, with a mixed approach and exploratory and descriptive objectives. Data collection and analysis methods include structured observation and individual questionnaires administered to users, using the Semantic Differential (SD) method to explore emotional perception and the System Usability Scale (SUS) for usability assessment. Results from the first square showed a usability score of 60.9 and an intermediate level of emotional aspects, while in the second square, the usability score was 49.1 with a lower level of emotional factors. It was noticed that usability and emotion influence the perception of the elderly regarding the use of public spaces. In addition, activities in the vicinity also have a significant impact on how these spaces are used by this sector of the population.