Author: Jane Bringolf

Universal design is invisible

Universal design is invisible: that is, until it is not there. Refurbishments and upgrades to buildings can embed universal design without anyone noticing. Richard Duncan uses a train station in Norway as a case study and explains how it was done.

Duncan’s article, Right Under Your Nose: Universal Design in Norway is an easy to read article and is based on Olav Rand Bringa’s work. When done well, universal design minimises the need for separate designs for people with disability. For example, ‘accessible’ exit routes were previously signed with the international symbol. In the new scheme, many of the signs were removed. Yet travellers with disability did not comment on their absence. The design itself indicated where to go. 

And there is more…

There is more in the article about the work of Bringa that traces the history of universal design in Norway. Two surveys from 2018 reveal a gradual change in attitude about universal design. More people understand the concept and agree with the principle of, “Universal design is necessary for some and useful for many”. 

Norway is a global leader in implementing UD strategies. Norway Universally Designed by 2025, is their landmark document, which focuses on inclusive policies where everyone is made responsible.

Olav Bringa has written several articles beginning in 1999 when Norway first embraced universal design principles. They are:

Universal Design and Visitability: From accessibility to zoning.  It’s Chapter 6.

Progress on Universal Design in Norway: A review 

Universal Design as a Technical Norm and Juridical Term – A Factor of Development or Recession? Bringa discusses the importance of language in the quest for inclusion. It’s open access.

Richard Duncan has written a similar article on the invisibility of good universal design. This one is about automatic doors. 

Photo by Olav Rand Bringa showing the improved and uncluttered entrance to the station.

Inside out for mental health

The new building for the Center for Addiction and Mental Health. It turned the city inside out for mental health.
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

The 1980s saw a turning point for people with mental health conditions. Reagan and Thatcher declared that the asylum model was dead. Australia soon followed suit with this idea. But what to do instead? And what could be done with these huge Victorian building complexes? A facility in Toronto, Canada, came up with a great idea, which was quickly copied in South Australia. Jan Golembiewski explains how the place was turned inside out for mental health.

Golembiewski writes a short story about the Toronto experience in the Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health. Similarly to many institutions it took up a considerable amount of land. Urban Strategies won the contract to redevelop the whole site. It involved removing high walls and extending local roads into the site. So, in effect they were turning the facility inside out.

The design incorporated outward facing units which were connected to the urban grid. The open space then became shared space. Patients run a cafe which has some stories to tell according to Golembiewski. He says the people on the street are just a little more colourful. Mental health professionals are ready at hand to keep an eye out generally. The project has turned out to be good for patients and the community. 

The title of the article is, Turning the City Inside Out for Mental Health, and the Canadian facility is the Center for Addiction and Mental Health. It’s an easy and interesting read.

Age and Dementia Streetscapes Toolkit

front cover of the toolkit showing a streetscapeAround 70% of people with dementia are staying in their home environments. They can continue with their everyday lives for many years in the community if they get a bit of help in the form of supportive urban design. To the rescue comes the  Age and Dementia Toolkit. 

The toolkit is a practical guide based on participatory research. People working in local government will find it very useful as well as: 

1. Councils and built environment contractors
2. Planning processes
3. Design of infrastructure and maintenance
4. Use as and auditing tool for assessing compliance with age and dementia friendly design principles

Encouraging walking

We know that walking has health benefits for all age groups and it’s also important for dementia prevention and management. But for people with dementia, walking the neighbourhood becomes more challenging.

A street scene showing a wide footpath and a row of shops in the suburbsMoonee Valley City Council in Victoria wanted to know how to make environments more welcoming. They commissioned a project to find out what design features are most important to older residents. The toolkit is the result of much consultation within local communities and shows how a few tweaks can make places more vibrant, supportive and accessible.

The consultation process focused on one main street. It was chosen because it was surrounded by a high density of older people. They found that shops had a role to play especially where shopkeepers knew residents by name. 

The toolkit is easily accessible and simple to read for a variety of audiences, from members of the community to people working across all social and built environment disciplines. The toolkit has good examples and case studies.

Getting out and about in the community is part of the picture – home design needs to be considered too. 

yellow background with a black call-out box with Age n Dem in it

The process of developing the toolkit was also published in the Journal of Transport and Health. Extracts from the abstract follow.

Extract from Abstract

Age’n’dem was a participatory design process with older residents of Moonee Valley. It informed streetscape design, ensured access for older people including people with dementia, and to ensured measures were inclusive. The experiential learning process informed redesign of Union Road streetscape in Ascot Vale, Victoria. This street operated as an intact and attractive environment for shopping, and was surrounded by the highest density of older people in the municipality. Shops played an important role in supporting people to age in place.

Shopkeepers played an informal role by looking out for regulars, and helping out when and if something happened. Residents relied on it. Walking up the street, passing the time in a familiar place and dropping in on shopkeepers had become part of a daily ritual for many locals. What the shopkeepers did informally was better than any response any community service could offer.

Our role became one of supporting a natural and organic response by listening, watching and learning. We knew that If we made the street more comfortable we could sustain older residents’ interest as they age. We also knew that walking plays a key role in dementia prevention. Investing in local’s knowledge was important. Process is everything. Our most articulate supporters are the older residents themselves talking on national radio, and statewide press.

 

Poorly designed building wins award

A larege campus building with lots of glass and angled pillars and lots of steps.How can a building that compromises safety win an architectural award? Answer: by avoiding any reference to accessibility. A public building in Canada won an award, but the building is not user friendly for all. The video below shows how designing for designers or awards instead of users can produce hazardous results. That’s how a poorly designed building wins an award.

A blind user demonstrates the hazards whether using steps, the ramp, or even the elevator! It is easy to see how some users would think this thoughtless design. This is a great educational video on why handrails and ramps need to be done in a particular way. Universally accessible design is clever design, but this building is not clever. You can also read the article in the star.com

Road safety for wheelchair users

A person in a powered wheelchair riding along the footpath. We need more road safety for wheelchair users.
Powered wheelchair user

A study in Sweden tackles the issue of ‘vulnerable’ road users, particularly powered wheelchair users and older people. European Union data show that fatal accidents involving vulnerable road users is equal to vehicle accidents. So what are the issues for the road safety for wheelchair users?

Researchers watched wheelchair users moving around the streets to see how they interacted with the built environment. Dealing with traffic was one aspect, but uneven surfaces, steep slopes and other pedestrians also play a part in safety.

Traffic conditions have not adapted to vulnerable road users and this is an area for improvement. Safety relies on individual coping strategies to deal with risks. Researchers found that one third of accidents were due to differences in ground level, typically the kerb. 

The title of the article is, Obstacles and risks in the traffic environment for users of powered wheelchairs in Sweden. It is open access. The study was included different disciplines: design, physiotherapy, disability studies and biomechanics. The long term goal is to reduce accidents and reinforce active participation for people with disability.

Highlights from the study 

      • Video observation and interviews can identify risks and obstacles in traffic environment.
      • The degree of accessibility affects the degree of risk taking in traffic environment.
      • Identified risks were due to deficiencies in built environment and poor maintenance.
      • Other risks were related to interaction with other road users and poor visibility
      • Negative impacts of coldness, precipitation and poor snow clearing.

From the Abstract

The aim of this interdisciplinary qualitative study was to identify obstacles and risks for Powered Wheelchair (PWC) users by exploring their behaviour and experiences in traffic environments.

Videos and in-depth interviews with 13 PWC users aged 20–66 were analysed for this study. The videos include real-life outdoor observations exploring experiences of PWC use on a daily basis in Sweden. 

Participants faced and dealt with various obstacles and risks in order to reach their destination. For example, uneven surfaces, differences in ground levels, steep slopes, as well as interactions with other road users and the influence of weather conditions. This resulted in PWC users constantly accommodating and coping with the shortcomings of the vehicle and the environment.

There are still major challenges for preventing obstacles and risks in the traffic environment for PWC users. To discern PWC users in traffic accident and injury data bases, a start would be to register type of aid used for persons involved in an accident.

Furthermore, to emphasise PWC users’ role as vulnerable road users, it may also be advantageous to describe them as drivers rather than users when navigating the traffic environment.

By incorporating emerging knowledge of PWC users’ prerequisites and needs, and including them in research and traffic planning, the society will grow safer and more inclusive, and become better prepared for meeting future demands on accessibility from an ageing population.

Buying power of people with disability

Are marketing people missing out on a buying power of people with disability? The answer is likely, yes. A Nielsen Report on consumers with disability, including older people, states what is obvious to anyone interested in universal design and inclusion. “Disabilities span across age, race, and gender so there is reason to believe consumers with disabilities should not differ much from the general population.” So what is the buying power of people with disability?

Graph showing the percentage of people with different disabilities. It represents the buying power of people with disability

The report, Reaching Prevalent, Diverse Consumers with Disabilities found that one in four households of their sample group of 86,000 people had one or more person with a disability. That’s an important statistic because consumers with disability are higher spenders in some categories. That’s despite tending to have lower incomes. 

Marketing and advertising people will find insights into disability and their significance in this report. For example, consumers with disability are more likely to have a pet. So they are more likely to buy pet food and related products. 

Marketing departments influence what is designed – it’s their job to find out what to sell. If marketing professionals dismiss people with disability, their company will too. An inclusive marketing approach helps the cause of inclusion albeit with a profit focus.

Nielsen statistics on the prevalence of disability within disability segments.

This report is also featured on the Silver Blog which is focused on marketing to older people. There is another item on the dangers of marketing specifically to older adults as this borders on ageism. Older people want brands to focus on needs and interests, not their age.

The title of the report is Reaching Prevalent, Diverse Consumers with Disabilities, and was published in 2016. However, the content remains current. The graphs are from the Nielsen Company report. 

 

Upgrading Existing Buildings handbook

front cover of the upgrading existing buildings handbook.The regulatory framework for the built environment is moving away from reliance on regulation. Instead, the Australian Building Codes Board is developing handbooks for performance solutions. The Upgrading Existing Buildings handbook is one such publication. It relates to all buildings other than private housing. The handbook is only a guide, leaving potential for other ways of getting the same outcome.

The 57 page document includes appendices for each of the states and territories. Also included are legislation, regulations and design responsibilities. The key content is in the five steps:

      1. Locate related documentation
      2. Undertake an on-site inspection
      3. Compare expected performance
      4. Identify actual deficiencies
      5. Alleviate actual deficiencies

There is a section on people with disability which refers to the Access to Premises Standard. The handbook refers readers to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s guidelines for help. The five step process is applied with explicit reference to accessibility. For example, paths of travel and sanitary facilities. 

The takeaway message is that Performance Solutions may be the only practical solution to address actual deficiencies, and this is where a Universal Design approach will be most beneficial.

The 2020 version of the Upgrading Existing Buildings handbook updates the 2016 version. It reflects the move away from mandatory regulation to performance requirements.

Architecture, aesthetics and universal design

A view of the open plan kitchen. The home has a lot of timber in the construction and the furniture. It is architecture, aesthetics and universal design.
Frank Lloyd Wright considered aesthetics in architecture

The principles and goals of universal design have no criteria for aesthetics. It’s focus is on functional requirements rather than sensory experiences. It doesn’t help when architects and planners continue to associate universal design with regulations and standards and leave aesthetics out. But the key to designing environments for everyone is to draw together architecture, aesthetics and universal design.

Carolyn Ahmer’s paper discusses universal design in the context of renowned architects. She explains how their designs include inclusive elements together with aesthetics. For example, Frank Lloyd Wright’s work which includes the famous Guggenheim Museum. The article covers visual and non-visual information and movement through space.

The aim of the paper is to highlight the qualities of design essential to creating buildings that stimulate our senses. One source of inspiration is in our architectural history. 

She concludes that inclusive architecture should be based on qualitative and quantitative measures. Quantitative assessments are based on controllable data and standardised specifications. Qualitative assessments focus on sensory experiences of an architectural project. These are features that cannot be measured but should not be discounted. 

The title of the article is, The Qualities of Architecture in Relation to Universal Design.  The paper was presented at the UD2021 conference in Finland. It’s published in Universal Design 2021: From Special to Mainstream Solutions. 

Are architecture educators teaching universal design?

Architecture blueprint with rule and pencil. Are architecture educators teaching universal design.Some government funded projects require designers to show how the project will embody the principles of universal design. But what do architects think about universal design? How are they dealing with the implementation? And are architecture educators teaching universal design? 

A survey of architects, educators and technologists were asked those questions. The aim of the survey was to find out:

1. How inherent is Universal Design knowledge to current building design practice?

2. What are the current Universal Design education and training needs of Architects and Architectural Technologists practising in Ireland?

3. Which Universal Design themes and topics are of most interest to Architects and Architectural Technologists practising in Ireland?

4. To what extent does existing CPD for Architects and Architectural Technologists practising in Ireland address Universal Design topics?

5. What can motivate Architects and Architectural Technologists practising in Ireland to access Universal Design CPD?

6. What are the most effective means by which to deliver Universal Design CPD to Architects and Architectural Technologists practising in Ireland?

There is still work to do with the data, but the initial findings are that face to face works best rather than online sessions for CPD. Respondents wanted to know more about people with mental health conditions and people with hearing impairments. They also wanted to know more about applying universal design to specific building types. 

The title of the article is Universal Design and Continuing Professional Development for Architects: An Irish Case Study. It is an open access article.

Promoting universal design in education

Some design tutors perpetuate negative attitudes towards changes to design thinking or processes. This was one finding in Promoting Universal Design in Architectural Education. Consequently, practices don’t change. The article discusses ways that design schools can include universal design into their courses. For example, working with other disciplines such as occupational therapists who can explain the functionality of designs. The article also discusses the ‘critical eye’ and the ‘appreciative eye’.

Critical Eye and Appreciative Eye

It’s easy to see the barriers and missing design features. These stand out. The ‘critical eye’ tells us what not to do, but doesn’t tell us the remedy. The ‘appreciative eye identifies the positive aspects which provide good examples. 

Good inclusive design, done well, is inconspicuous and needs a trained eye to notice it. A walkway that is flat and barrier free can be taken for granted. But we do not know how much design effort it took to make it so. The trained eye also needs to see what is not there – what is missing. A handrail or contrast stair nosings, for example.

Unfortunately this paper is published in a small Italic font and is difficult to read. 

Also see Students’ Attitudes to Universal Design in Architecture Education, by Helen Larkin, Kelsey Dell, and Danielle Hitch. It was published in the Journal of Social Inclusion, 2016.

See also Hitch, Dell and Larkin from Deakin University, who also review some of the related literature. The title of the article is, Does Universal Design Education Impact on the Attitudes of Architecture Students Towards People with Disability? Published in the Journal of Accessibility and Design for All.

Inclusion, Human Rights and the Market

Graphic with four circles: one each for exclusion, separation, integration and inclusion.How can we attain our rights within a market-based economy, when those who do not experience social and economic exclusion have the the power of the market in their hands? The cost of inclusion is often said to “cost too much”. This is illustrated in the proposed changes to the NDIS. Cost is also the argument some states are using to stall the implementation of accessible housing. Human rights do not feature in these arguments. 

In Western societies, justice and fairness are not inalienable rights, but a negotiated process based on mutual advantage. According to Mutual Advantage theory we have to be pragmatic about human rights in a market-based economy. The excluded need to bring a benefit to the negotiating table. Rights get enacted only after a cost-benefit analysis has been carried out and “the excluded” are assessed as being “affordable”. That is, “can we afford to include them?”. This is the wrong question. It should be, “what does it cost to exclude people?” And who is listening to the position of the excluded? 

Market economists rarely reside in the excluded group fighting for rights. Measuring disadvantage and exclusion is not something they find easy to measure. Yet they do have a cost to individuals, society and the economy. 

For more on this discussion, see my paper from the 2014 Brisbane Housing Forum. The content is once again current. It includes an explanation of Mutual Advantage Theory by Lawrence Becker. 

PDF document Housing Forum Brisbane 2014  

Word document Housing Forum Brisbane 2014  

Reference: Becker, L.C., 2005. “Reciprocity, Justice and Disability”, Symposium on Disability, Ethics, Vol 116 No.1, University of Chicago Press, p 9-39.