Author: Jane Bringolf

Universal design as policy and practice

Logo of the APA - white text on a mid blue background.Universal design is commonly expressed using the seven classic principles – listing  and explaining them. But what about universal design policy statements? These are not as common. So it’s great to see a major organisation getting to grips with this. The American Psychological Association (APA) has published its Resolution on Support of Universal Design and Accessibility in Education, Training and Practice. It’s a detailed document and a useful reference for anyone tasked with writing a universal design policy.

For organisations that haven’t thought about a universal design policy, perhaps this document will get you started. Their rationale is well thought out and very well expressed. It shows how universal design is a way to create inclusive practice. An excellent piece of work. 

The APA has an overview and rationale of their position, and the policy document itself – Resolution on Support of Universal Design and Accessiblity in Education, Training and Practice. Both very useful documents and good to see mental health embracing universal design in their education and practice.  Here’s three snippets:

Psychological research has clearly demonstrated the negative impact of limited access, stigmatization, and discrimination. …There is a loss of valuable potential when individuals with diverse needs are not included in all aspects of the community, research, and policy making.

The benefits of full inclusion are not only experienced by those individuals not currently served, but also can be fully realized by the greater society as well. 

Psychologists are in a unique position to promote education on diverse identities and barriers to access and provide clinical services to meet the psychological and health needs of consumers. Therefore, it is important that psychologists have a model that incorporates universal design in education, training, and provision of services.

 

Interior design for better hearing

Interior of a room showing a white sofa with right angled sections.Sooner or later most of us will lose a portion of our hearing – some to the point where it affects our everyday life. How to design inclusively for people who are hard of hearing is the topic of an article in ArchDaily. It lists six design tips and outlines features that can assist people to work and socialise more easily:

      • Interior layout and visibility
      • Brightness, light and reflections
      • Multisensory spaces
      • Acoustic optimisation
      • Materials, objects and new technologies

The article, Architecture for People with Hearing Loss: 6 Design Tips, concludes with: “In short, a truly inclusive design does not always necessitate hyper-awareness of special considerations, but can simply mean incorporating needs that tend to be basic for everyone, regardless of their physical conditions.” There are links in the article to other resources.

Deafness is a major cause of social isolation and inability to work effectively. Hearing aids are only a partial solution – that’s because they amplify all sounds including background noise. Being able to see the face of someone talking is a great help. Captioning of live events and videos is a must for taking in information and enjoying the plot of a movie. 

 

Just and Fair Design

Museum entrance with steps and ramp integrated. The tiles are a light colour and the way the light falls the whole thing looks very confusing.How can design be fair to everyone? Is it even possible to design for everyone? Do the literal interpretations of universal and inclusive design form a paradox of inclusive design approaches. The authors of Just Design argue that justice and fairness in design is not about the output but about the process, and that inclusion is more about the social context rather than the design of a particular thing. An interesting, if long read, for anyone interested in the philosophy underpinning universal design and inclusive practice. The authors published a similar paper, Fair by Design which is available for a free read on ResearchGate.

Note on the picture: Sometimes called “stramps” – a mix of steps and a ramp are the opposite of accessible and universal design. Hardly anyone can use these without a lot of concentration to avert the risk of falling, and wheelchair users run the risk of running over the edges as the ramp section is not clear. It does not comply with Australian legislation. 

Editor’s comments: Their arguments are not new to practitioners and advocates of universal design. They understand the context of inclusion is also about the participation of users with a range of disabilities. Discussions and decisions between them help solve the fairness issue. So their argument that making things inclusive can end up still excluding some people while true, is not well encapsulated in some of their examples. The example of a museum entrance (pictured above) that integrates steps and a ramp in a way that they cross over each other is an obvious nightmare for someone who is blind, or has perception difficulties, or needs a handrail on all steps. A consultation with users would have produced a different design solution that would be considered fair. They then add the example of a child’s wheelchair – an item that is by its very nature a specialised design. This device cannot fall under the universal or inclusive design flag, but it does allow participation and inclusion in environments designed to accommodate wheeled mobility devices.

It is not clear whether the authors understand the role of user feedback and the iterative nature of designing universally. The aim of authors’ discussion is to propose a theory based on justice and fairness of universal and inclusive design. Their references include the thinking of product designers, as well as built environment designers.

The article, Just Design is by Bianchin and Heylighten and is available from ScienceDirect. 

A similar discussion by the same authors is, Ethics in design: Pluralism and the case for justice in inclusive design.  Available on ResearchGate.

 

Happy homes, friendly neighbourhoods

An older woman walks on a bitumen path in a park. Two older men are sitting on a seat along the pathway.The notion of age-friendly cities is not new, and neither is age-friendly housing design. However, researchers tend to look at one or the other but not both. A study by a group at University of South Australia has sought to join the dots showing the dependency of one upon the other. Creating age-friendly environments begins at home, across the threshold to the street and on to the broader environment. Like any chain, it is as strong as it’s weakest link. While some local authorities are doing their best to be age-friendly in their area, they are not able to influence the design of mass market homes. That is the role of state governments and their control of the National Construction Code.

The report of the study titled, Towards Age-Friendly Built Environment, supports previous research and recommendations. Given that not much is changing, this is another worthy paper. The key point is linking life at home with life in the community and showing how it supports the health and wellbeing of older Australians. This in turn takes the pressure from government funded home modifications and support services – not to mention tax payers.

Abstract: The population of aged people is increasing dramatically throughout the world and this demographic variation is generating different challenges for societies, families and individuals in many different ways. One of the effective approaches for responding towards demographic ageing is to have more evidences on creating age-friendly communities. Despite of having number of researches on ageing, there is limited knowledge on identifying components for developing age-friendly communities and cities. This research therefore, aims at discovering the benefits of properly designed age-friendly communities and interrelationships of key related concepts. To accomplish this aim, relevant research papers have been reviewed and subjected to thematic analysis.This study emphasizes on improving the overall wellbeing of elderly not only by finding out the improvement strategies on the health care facilities but also by finding strong evidences on benefits of designing their housing and immediate outdoor environment. Therefore, this study recommends future research directions on developing built environments responsive to the aspirations and requirements of aged population which can not only assist the adoption and maintenance of an active lifestyle, but it can also be beneficial to the physical and psychological overall well-being of aged population. More studies on planning urban environmental settings targeting aged population can be beneficial to not only aged people but for people from every age group. Thus, these settings will be advantageous for anyone with varying requirements with changing generational needs and lifestyles from a child to a couple to aged people.

Gay neighbourhoods: an urban typology?

Three young men lead a street march with rainbow banners. It's a gay pride event. Gay neighbourhood typology.Last century lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) individuals felt the need to band together for safety in numbers. Some argue that successive human rights legislation has lessened the need for this to continue. Or has it? The notion that gay neighbourhoods are no longer needed is premature. Other neighbourhoods based on ethnicity or socio-economic factors haven’t completely disappeared.

Alex Bitterman discusses the lack of academic documentation and research on gay neighbourhoods. These neighbourhoods will likely continue and be important to future generations of LGBT residents and families. He argues that gay neighbourhoods are neither dying nor flourishing – just existing – in the same way as any other typology. Gay neighbourhoods will also need to adapt to other trends such as gentrification and affordability. The notion that gay neighbourhoods are self-sustaining, or that they are diminishing is erroneous. 

Bitterman concludes his essay; “Through unglamorous scholarly inquiry, the true account of the evolution and trajectories of gay neighbourhoods will be revealed. To better understand the longitudinal progression of gay neighbourhoods, researchers should endeavour to differentiate between well-established gay neighbourhoods and emerging gaybourhoods, carefully studying the trends and demographics that lead to shifting LGBT populations and changes in gay neighbourhoods. This evolution, occurring in plain sight but largely undocumented, is LGBT history in the making and the opportunity to chronicle these unique and important changes is ours to lose.”

The title of the online essay is, Rainbow diaspora: the emerging renaissance of gay neighbourhoods.  You can also download a PDF copy. 

 

Designing software with adolescents with autism

Two male adolescents sit on the kerb looking at the phones.With the right supports and understanding adolescents with autism can make a significant contribution to software design. Applications for people with differing needs is a challenge for designers. So going directly to the users and working with them is the best solution. An Australian study did just that and found that once participants felt safe they readily engaged in the workshop activities. Participants also learned from their input and engaged with the iterative design process. The agreed overall goal of all stakeholders was to devise a platform where adolescents with autism could interact and socialise. Designers usually start out with goals in mind, but they used an open-ended approach so that participants could explore their needs to determine their goals for the software. The outcome was a co-designed app for smartphones and smartwatches. 

While this article is about software design, the processes and learnings are relevant to other design disciplines. The article uses the term “Autism Spectrum Disorder”. However, the notion of autism being a disorder is challenged by many people with autism. The article is titled Co-designing with Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: From Ideation to Implementation.  It is open access and the researchers are based at James Cook University.

Abstract:  Most co-design-based Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) research is conducted with children and does not involve the participants directly. Studies have shown that people with ASD can take on the co-designer role in early phases of the software design process. We present a longitudinal study that investigates how adolescents with ASD participate as co-designers in an iterative software design process. In this work, we conducted seven co-design workshops with six adolescents with ASD over eight months. The team exchanged ideas and communicated through group discussion and drawings. Our findings suggest that: (1) parents, community group and fellow participants play a pivotal role in supporting a longitudinal ASD co-design study and (2) adolescents with ASD are also able to make better design decision over an iterative software design process. These findings should be considered when engaging adolescents with ASD as co-designers in a software design process.

Draft Urban Design Guidelines for Regional NSW

Street scene showing level footpath, shade treas, shade umbrella and lots of seatingRegional and rural areas of NSW have a higher percentage of older people, particularly in areas popular with older tree-changers and sea-changers. So the draft Urban Design Guidelines for Regional NSW should take this into account. The seven objectives in the draft guidelines are: Better Fit, Better Performance, Better for Community, Better for People, Better working, Better value, and Better look and feel. They are explained in detail and will typically apply to the public realm, town centres, infill developments, and greenfield developments. This 90 page guide also includes a useful profile of each region. The website has a FAQ sheet and a webinar on good urban design in the regions.  

Each of the design objectives would benefit from an overlay of universal design concepts. The document explains that “Design draws together many fields of expertise … [with] often competing requirements … that meets the needs of many and diverse groups”.  A universal design approach automatically draws these groups together. However, such an approach is left up to individual councils.

Note: These draft guidelines were open for public comment during 2018-2019, but they are still in draft form. 

Disability in Museums: Then and now

Front cover of the book Representing Disability in Museums.Representing Disability in Museums: Imaginary and Identities is an e-book about how disability has been, and currently is, portrayed in museums. The aim of the publication is to show empathetic and ethical ways of representing difference in museums of all types.

Chapters cover the representation of disability in collections, the link between museums and disability, and cultural accessibility. The open access e-book comes from Europe where museums have a long history and play a large part in tourism activity. 

From the Introduction:

In recent years the representation of disability in museums has raised much interest among the academic community as a social group. However, disabled people remain sub-represented in museum narratives.

The discussion about the issues is regarded as an important way to better understand disability. In particular, its potential to gradually counteract forms of oppression and exclusion of disabled people in the museum context.

Integrating narratives on disability in museums’ shows how imagery has influenced the attitudes and social values towards disabled people. The ways disability is represented show how identities were subjected to discriminatory and exclusion practices.

The social function of the museum also refers to ways to deal with these shortcomings and has significant impacts both on the cultural approach to disability and on the construction of more positive identities which aim for the inclusion of disabled people in today’s society.

The title of the book is: Representing Disability in Museums: Imaginary and Identities; it is a 15MB PDF file.

Inclusive approach to public toilet design

Front cover of the report showing a young woman holding up a floor plan drawing of a toilet.Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) is a basic human right for everyone. And there are both technical and social dimensions to consider. The Australian Government funded a four year project in Eastern Indonesia to improve the lives of women and people with disability by focusing on improving access to public toilets. The project report outlines the issues, the context and how the researchers developed an inclusive participatory action research (PAR) approach. 

There is significant learning from this project, particularly about their inclusive PAR method. It shows how the method can be applied to any marginalised group. The learning as it applies to women and people with disability are listed and include: attentive listening, accommodating differences in language, meaning and ability, building on individual differences, and encouraging creative expression and being flexible.

The recommendations include being open about the risks, challenges and failures of a PAR project; moving towards more transformative ways of working with marginalised people, and engaging in inclusive dialogue about concerns and contextual issues with all stakeholders.

When it comes to public infrastructure, the humble toilet is essential. No matter where you live in the world, they are essential for getting out and about. For many, toilets make or break any activity outside the home – they are the deciding factor about where to go and how long to stay out.

The title of the report is, Participatory Action Research (PAR) In Practice – WASH for Women and People with Disabilities. 

Project partners included Plan International Australia, Water for Women, and Edge Effect.

Thinking UDL for all learning situations

Adults seated at tables in a classroom setting looking forward to the instructor at the front of the roomWhether doing on-the-job training or giving a seminar presentation, we should all think about utilising the principles of universal design. Universal design for learning (UDL) isn’t just for schools and universities. The aim is to get the message across as clearly as possible – but our audiences are diverse. A resource that has a set of universally designed slides as well as the academic version in a paper is a refreshing change. The link to the resource begins with the slides about universal design and applying it to learning. Showing an example of a wordy slide and how to turn it into a slide with just key take home messages is very useful for anyone that makes presentations.

The academic paper covers the basic ground of UDL, which is familiar territory to experienced practitioners. The focus is on including people with disability rather than creating separate material. However, there will always be some people who will need separate or additional learning material. As with universal design in the built environment, all learners benefit regardless of the learning context. Good for anyone new to the topic.

The title of the academic article is, “Tips for Creating Inclusive and Accessible Instruction for Adult Learners: An Overview of Accessibility and Universal Design Methods for Adult Education Practitioners”.

Cartoon drawing shows a person shovelling snow from steps next to a ramp. The text says, clearing the path for people with "special needs" clears the path for everyone.Editor’s comment: I look forward to the day when all presenters take the time to create slides for learners instead of slides for their own teaching benefit. I shake my head when a speakers says of a slide, “oh I guess people can’t see that” and then goes on to explain it. They lose me at that point.

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