Author: Jane Bringolf

Ageing is more than a health issue

A view of George Street Sydney showing pedestrians walking across the mall created by the light rail system. Ageing is not just a health issue.
Picture by Ashleigh Hughes

Guidelines, toolkits and policy frameworks related to population ageing have been around for a while. But are they being used? Ageing is more than a health issue – it’s an urban planning issue as well. COVID-19 has made this very apparent. And so has the 2023 Intergenerational Report. A case study based on Greater Sydney highlights the issues. 

The authors discuss an “ageing city” in the first part of the article where they focus on Australian data on ageing and dementia. The second part of the article provides more information on what is working well and what needs to change. The article uses data, state and city policies to assess how well Greater Sydney is doing as a city for older people. 

Key themes

Sydney has many blue and green spaces that are great for mental and physical health. However, these are inequitably distributed across eastern and western parts of the city. Access to shops and services likewise. 

Active and social places are for the most part good for everyone. Quiet places are important too especially for people with dementia. Feeling safe is related to how active an older person is in their community. The more they get out and about the less worried they are about crime. 

The researchers report on interviews with health and planning professionals, and provide several first hand quotes. 

Key themes from the interviews included: the need for intergenerational spaces, considering mobility and distance between key services, and better access to gardens. Familiar landscapes and architectural landmarks provide a sense of security along with quiet ‘slow spaces’. Ageing and dementia could get lost when nested under policy words such as “liveability” and “universal design”.

Many things are possible and easy to do if planning and health professionals work together. That seems to be the way to go. 

The last part of the article discusses the many toolkits, guidelines and policy frameworks for age-friendly cities. They range from international policies through to the work of the Greater Sydney Commission. The article concludes with recommendations.

The title of the article is, Age-friendly urban design and mental health in Sydney, Australia: a city case study. It is published in the Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health Edition 7: Aging City. There are other articles on the same topic in this edition. 

Authors are, Safia Moore, Associate at Arup, and Georgia Vitale, Practice Leader at Grimshaw. 

 

Diversity and Inclusion in the Design Studio

aerial view of three people at a desk looking at a set of construction drawings. Diversity and Inclusion Design Studio.We live in a complex and fast-changing world – the pandemic has told us that. Designers have to keep up and that means design educators also need to keep up. But it’s not just content that matters, it’s the way it’s taught in the design studio. So, universal design meets universal design for learning. Understanding indigenous ways of knowing is just one aspect of diversity and inclusion for teachers and students. A book chapter explains.

Experiential learning is a popular way for students to practice skills and apply knowledge. In their book chapter, Sandra Abegglen and Fabian Neuhouse discuss their interdisciplinary design studio course. Bringing together planning and architecture students is not new. However, bringing them together with a traditional Knowledge Keeper is different. This makes it cross-cultural as well. 

The authors describe the setting for the students, the methods and the task scenario. The intention of the course was to engage with Indigenous ways of knowing and living. In this way students could develop proposals that pay respect to traditional stewards of the land. Considerations for accessibility and inclusion were also part of the task. 

Lessons Learned

At the end of the chapter, the authors offer their reflections. 

“As instructors and researchers, we aim to enrich the quality and breadth of learning for our students. We also strive to create learning experiences that meet the demands for future professional practice. … Students learned a lot about Indigenous culture and cross-cultural approaches to design through the inputs of Hal Eagletail, Tsuut’ina Elders and Indigenous design professionals. They learned to work with others, and to appreciate different views and approaches. At the same time, through their projects, they explored what it means to develop ‘inclusive’ design proposals.”

“The outcomes demonstrate that a cross cultural approach in both course instruction and course content supports an inclusive practice. It is a setting that all learners can access and participate in meaningfully, modeling the idea of UDL and projecting it through studio practice onto the work produced by students.”

In our studios, Universal Design was implied and fostered through UDL practice, challenging the traditional one-size-fits-all model. However, for this approach to be successful, instructors need to actively support and foster collaboration and, especially online, allow enough time for a meaningful exchange.”

The title of the book chapter is, Diversity and Inclusion in the Design Studio (chapter 4). It’s open access.

The title of the book is, Incorporating Universal Design for Learning in Disciplinary Concepts in Higher Education Guide. You are likely to find other chapters of interest. 

 

Ageing in Place: Not there yet

A suburban house in UK showing before and after the ramp. The ramp makes several zig-zags up the front of the house. It looks ugly.What home modifications are needed most and how much are they needed? Mary Ann Jackson analysed 50 home modification reports in Victoria to get an answer. She found that when it comes to ageing in place we are not there yet. 

The homes visited all had a doorsill or step at the front door and tight spaces. A screen door complicated matters, and meter boxes also intruded on entry space. Many of the fittings, such as taps and handles were poorly designed to suit ageing in place. 

Jackson advises that accessibility issues are endemic to Australia’s existing housing stock. This is a big problem when 39.5% of households include a person with disability. 

Architect and Planner Jackson says, “Cooperation, collaboration, and a clear recognition of the emotional, physical, and economic cost-benefit of ageing in place will be needed to rebuild Australia’s housing stock to better accommodate all inhabitants throughout life.” The title of the newsletter article is Ageing in place – are we there yet?  

The picture above is famous for its technical compliance, but not usability, and definitely not aesthetics.

Older people and perception of home

Within the findings of an AHURI report is a section on the qualitative research on older people and the perceptions of their homes in terms of ageing in place. The report is titled, “The role of home maintenance and modification services in achieving health community care and housing outcomes in later life”, and is by Andrew Jones, Desleigh de Jonge and Rhonda Phillips for the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, 2008. 

A man in a bright yellow T shirt is painting and archway in a wall inside a home. The wall is grey and there are tools on the floor.Phillippa Carnemolla’s conference paper expands on some of these ideas for ageing well at home. She found that home modifications address both social and individual needs. The title of the paper is,  The potential of a home modification strategy – a universal design approach to existing housing. 

 

Cognitive disability digital accessibility guide

Front cover of the cognitive disability digital accessibility guide.The ability to access online content provides access to goods and services, and in COVID times, each other. But content on websites and smart phones is not user-friendly for everyone, particularly people with cognitive disability. However, digital communication is here to stay and it needs to be inclusive. The Cognitive Disability Digital Accessibility Guide explains the important aspects for organisations that publish documents online. 

The Guide is designed to provide practical, step-by-step information for designing and delivering effective best-practice digital communication. Some of the guidance is easy to do, for example, defining abbreviations and acronyms. The Guide provides useful information on:

    • How to support people with cognitive disabilities to use computers and mobile devices.
    • Developing documents structured and written in ways that support people with cognitive disabilities.
    • Guidance on policies and standards for people with cognitive disabilities in an organisational context.
    • Preparing communication messages for people with a cognitive disability.
    • Creating websites that support people with a cognitive disability.

The Guide also covers traditionally-implemented accessibility guidelines of WCAG 2.0 Level AA as well as looking at the increasing relevance of Level AAA requirements. It also delves into the role of affordable consumer devices such as tablets and helpful apps.

Of course, if the design is suitable for people with cognitive disability, there is a very good chance it is going suitable for everyone. This has been shown with the use of plain language summaries. 

Centre for Inclusive Design (formerly Media Access Australia) produced this guide. Although it was published in 2016, most of the information is still relevant. 

People with cognitive disabilities or impairments include: acquired brain injury, autism, dementia, developmental disability, Down syndrome, intellectual disability, dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, and learning difficulties in general.

Model Universal Design Position Statement

Seven ring binders standing upright on a shelf each in a different colour of the rainbow. They could contain a universal design position statement.Has your organisation has been wanting to draft a universal design position statement and not sure where to start? Well, CUDA has devised a model document to get you going. 

The CUDA Universal Design Position Statement covers all the basics in a straightforward way. At the end of the document, organisations can insert links to their own policy documents that relate to the position statement. There is also an appendix with key references. 

We have chosen not to abbreviate universal design to UD because acronyms are not accessible to everyone.  We also decided not to use the proper noun version, ‘Universal Design’, because it makes it sound like a product. It also gives the impression of being a special design. So, we have used lower case throughout to emphasise that it is a process and an approach to design thinking rather than a thing.  

For greater accessibility we have devised a companion document in plain language. This is a one page version that has all the key points. This document will be useful for advocacy organisations and others who are new to the concepts. 

If you use these documents in whole or part, we ask that you make the appropriate acknowledgement to CUDA. 

Download the Position Statement in Word:  

Download the Position Statement in PDF:

We welcome feedback on the policy statements.

You can also see the Hobsons Bay City Council Universal Design Policy Statement. 

Size matters in urban design

Aerial view of the city block plan in the city of Barcelona. Size mattes in urban design.
Barcelona architecture: high angle view of the city’s typical urban grid
Walkability is much more than paved walkways. To encourage people to get out and about, places and spaces need to be inviting. We know that urban design impacts our health and wellbeing so it’s important to get it right. Whether people go by foot, e-mobility or mobility device, size matters in urban design.  Nikola Babic says that the scale and form of buildings has a big impact on walkability. Height and width of places and spaces play their part. For example, the sense of scale is blurred when streets are too wide. Active frontages such as shops and cafes, good lighting and a sense of safety are critical factors in attracting pedestrians. Green infrastructure is another important element to include.  With the outbreak of COVID19, more people are aware of the importance of walking. However, most footways are too narrow to provide physical distancing. A good case of where size matters. It also matters for accessibility. Having welcoming streets should be part of the accessibility plan.  Babic discusses the “superblock model” in Barcelona and the 15-Minute City in Paris as examples of what works and what doesn’t. His article is very readable and good for anyone new to this topic. Babic encourages discussion with others to further develop ideas.  Babic ends with, “This short paper is just a beginning of a more in-depth research of walkable and ‘healthy’ urban forms which will explore the complex relationship between the history of urbanism, urban form, urban design, social processes and well-being.” The title of the article is, Superblocks – The Future of Walkability in Cities? It can also be downloaded from the Academia website.    

Doing plain language is a process

An empty page in a notebook with a pencil and sharpener. Doing plain language is a processAccessibility and universal design have arrived in written language. People who can read and write well sometimes forget that not everyone else has that capability. But writing a document or webpage in plain language takes a lot of thought. Doing plain language is a process. This point is well made in a blog article.

Kelsie Acton writes about her plain language experiences in a blog post. As with any new idea, we grow with practice. That’s also one of the tenets of universal design: do the best you can with what you have at the time. Then do it better next time – it’s a process of continuous improvement. That’s exactly in the spirit of universal design.

Acton’s article is a great example in itself. It isn’t plain language as such, but it is very easy to read. She explains the process of thinking about plain language and the difficulties it poses sometimes. For example, words can feel flat – it’s all about facts and less about feeling. 

Having more than one version of a document is important. Writing in a way to make people think or to express values are difficult to do in plain language. Acton gives an example of this where she takes an emotive paragraph and turns it into plain language.

Acton says that plain language uses:

      • The most common vocabulary possible so that readers aren’t stopped by unfamiliar words
      • Active voice, so it is clear who is doing what
      • Short sentences
      • Headings, lists, bullet points, and white space to make information clearer
      • Definitions to introduce readers to complicated vocabulary

It makes you think

There is no doubt that writing complex ideas in a straightforward way takes time and effort. Acton says the process makes her think about her own understanding of a topic. Writing in an active voice makes her think about who is doing what. It also makes her think about her relationship to the topic.

So, doing plain language is more than a case of clever wordsmithing. It’s a learning process as well. Kelsie Action’s short article is on the Critical Design Lab website and worth a read. Note the design of the webpage for easy access and reading. 

Plain language communication

A young woman with long curly hair has her hands to her face and looks stressed. It’s assumed that by the time students leave school they can read and write. However, even with remedial work, some students will leave school without a working level of these skills. More than 40% of Australians do not have the literacy skills for everyday living. Included in this group are people with English as a second language. This is why plain language communication is important – and good for everyone. It is a universal design approach to communication.

Governments now are producing Easy Read documents as adjuncts to their main documents. But other fields of endeavour are not catching up. In particular, academic writing has always been exclusive to those who can read at this level. The bottom line is, if you want your document and information read by as many people as possible, write in plain language. Alternatively, provide a plain language summary. But this is another skillset.  

Black and white logo for easy read, has a tick and a open bookWe are seeing more accessible formats for people who are blind/low vision and Deaf/hard of hearing. So, we need plain language and Easy Read too. 

Cathy Basterfield presented a paper on this topic at UD2021, and also see a previous post on plain language. 

Heritage no barrier to accessibility

A street in medieval Chester, UK. Heritage no barrier to accessibility.
A street in Chester, UK

Medieval cities with cobblestones, castles and Roman city walls are not the most disability-friendly places. And they are not easy to make accessible either. However, heritage is no barrier to accessibility in five European cities. They’ve made accessibility a top priority thanks to technology, design and engineering so that heritage is no barrier to accessibility.

The five cities are the Dutch towns of Breda and Rotterdam, Lyon in France, Slovenia’s Ljubljana, and Chester in the UK. The motivation is that these are popular tourist destinations. These examples show that where there is a will there is a way. 

Some of the solutions are:

    • lifting cobblestones, slicing them and re-laying them upside down
    • an app that lets you tell the council about paving issues and follows progress until the remedial work is completed
    • sound beacons that tell blind people when and what bus or tram is pulling into the stop
    • an app for the most accessible restaurants, hotels and hotspots
    • building cascading ramps to the upper walkways of ancient city walls 

Part of the motivation is the tourist trade, both nationally and internationally. However, the EU also takes inclusion seriously and gives access awards to cities that prioritise accessibility in urban planning. The title of the article is Cities without barriers. Heritage is no longer an excuse for exclusion.

Medieval cities need not be “disabled”

A medieval town square with a cobbled pavement.When the user of a place or thing is most likely to be a person with disability, it is often labelled “disabled”. But what about places being disabled? “Disabled” in it’s original meaning is something that doesn’t work. So, if the chain of accessibility for everyone is missing, the place is indeed disabled. This was pointed out in an article in The Guardian: “People aren’t disabled, their city is“. 

The story is about the Dutch medieval city of Breda – now one of the most accessible in Europe. This is because there is “joined up” access throughout – not a bit here and a bit there. They have pulled up cobblestones and re-laid them upside down to create a flatter surface. Hotels are on board too. The key point is that the local authorities have a commitment to inclusion and accessibility and that’s what makes the difference. The next major step will be improving digital communication. See the article for more information.

How will we know when we have achieved inclusion? It will be the day when separate labelling for places and things is no longer required. 

 

Walkability in neighbourhood design

Wide footpath in a shopping strip which has a veranda overhead. There are planter boxes and a seat.Health professionals say the lack of walking is a major factor in poor long term health. But do planners consider the breadth and diversity of the population? Perhaps we need a broader definition of walkability in neighbourhood design.

Lisa Stafford and Claudia Baldwin discuss the issues in their paper. They say few articles on walkable neighbourhoods include people with diverse abilities across the age spectrum. We need to design equitable space – places where everyone is welcome. They recommend that studies on walkable neighbourhoods encapsulate diverse abilities and ages. 

The title of the article is, Planning Walkable Neighborhoods: Are we overlooking diversity in ability and ages? It is available through Sage Journals via your institution. Or you can access for a free read through QUT e-prints. 

Walkable, rollable, seatable, toiletable

A busy pedestrian street with lots of restaurant tables on both sides.We need a broader term than walkable to explain how everyone can be actively mobile in the community, says Lloyd Alter. In his blog article he adds that unless you are “young and fit and have perfect vision and aren’t pushing a stroller… many streets aren’t walkable at all…” Alter takes his point from a new book where other terms are coined:

    • Rollability. Walkability isn’t enough anymore
    • Strollerability, for people with kids
    • Walkerability, for older people pushing walkers
    • Seeability, for people with vision impairment
    • Seatability – places to sit down and rest
    • Toiletability – comfortable places to go to the bathroom

“All of these contribute to making a city useable for everyone. So we need a broader term for this” says Alter. His suggestions are activemobility, or activeability to cover all the ways different people get around in cities. He says he is open to suggestions for a better word. 

The title of the blog article is, We need a better word than ‘walkable’. The title of the book is Walkable City Rules by Jeff Speck.

Pedestrians First: A Walkability Tool

Front cover of the Pedestrians First resource showing a wide footpath with people of all ages walking across the full width of the path.Cities are expected to hold seventy percent of the the world’s population by 2050. In planning terms that is very soon. Encouraging walking is talked about as if it was just a matter of persuading us to do it. However, planners and urban designers need to focus more on pedestrian needs and find out what the barriers are to getting out and about on foot and with wheels. The Institute for Transportation and Development has a new tool, Pedestrians First: Tools for a Walkable City.

Joe Chestnut, author, says, “but walkability is not just a sidewalk, it’s a whole system of design and infrastructure”. The tool aims to create a better understanding of walkability and ways to measure features. Their interpretation of walkability also includes people with disability. Best practice examples from around the world are provided.  But note – an even footpath or sidewalk is still required!

What about the stairs?

Looking up a long flight of stone steps in a park. No handrails.Walkability is discussed as the solution to keeping people active and engaged in their community. A research study on stairs and older people concludes that the presence of stairs “may deter older persons (and others) from walking outdoors.” The study was a systematic review of the literature. The full article is available online from BMC Public Health. Or you can download the PDF. The title is “Examining the relationships between walkability and physical activity among older persons: what about stairs?” by Nancy Edwards and Joshun Dulai. 

1000 Play Streets Toolkit

A man is drawing chalk lines on the roadway. In the background children are gathered. 1000 Play Streets Toolkit.The play street movement has taken off and councils across Australia are taking an interest. Play streets are run by residents for a few hours at quiet times of day. They can be weekly, fortnightly or monthly, or even one-off events. Regular times bring the best results for creating connection, and it’s all explained in the 1000 Play Streets Toolkit.  The aim of the 1000 Play Streets project is to reclaim quiet residential streets as places for neighbours of all ages to connect. Older Australians will remember playing in the street as they were growing up and this is a way to recapture some of that value. But now neighbours need help to make it happen and this is where local councils come in.  The Toolkit is specifically designed to provide planning advice to local governments that want to build local communities. It requires the approval of temporary street closures and support for neighbourhood groups. The overall aim is to create a play street movement that develops organically through citizen action. The Toolkit is for local government to help them on their Play Street journey.  There are several supporting documents to the Toolkit including case studies. Blue and white logo for the 1000 Play Streets Toolkit. The online Toolkit links to online case studies, templates and other resources. It includes issues such as traffic, public liability and a risk benefit assessment. There is a video of the national launch of the Toolkit and the Play Street movement. There is also a slideshow with the key elements of how and why the project is important.  Frequently Asked Questions provides answers to the typical questions councils would ask. This document provides similar information to the Toolkit, but in a different format. 

Neighbourhood fun for everyone

A suburban street in Bristol with cars parked on both sides of the road. Children are playing in the street.Roadways take up a lot of land. Time to make that land more flexible for more than just vehicles. The video below shows how closing down a residential street for two hours can produce a lot more activity just for people, not people in cars. It’s neighbourhood fun for everyone!  The video explains how this has reduced obesity and social isolation. It also shows how it can become an inclusive space for everyone. When there is an inclusive communal space at your front door there is no excuse not to get involved. See the video for how this idea got started. Would be good to see more of it. But as always, it takes a leader to get it going. Would, or do councils in Australia support this initiative? This looks like a cost effective method for tackling childhood obesity. See also the History of Play Streets in the UK and how to get started with a playstreet.