Jane Bringolf, Author at Centre for Universal Design Australia

Inclusive approach to public toilet design

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) is a basic human right for everyone. And there are both technical and social dimensions to consider. A four year project in Eastern Indonesia was funded by the Australian Government. The aim was 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. The method is applicable 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

Whether 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”.

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.

Taming the wilderness with inclusive design

The natural landscapes of Norway conjure up pictures of fjords and wilderness with steep slopes. For some people, walks and bike rides in this natural environment aren’t possible. So one municipality of 1287 residents took up the challenge to create an activity park for everyone – locals and visitors of all ages. It was managed as a joint effort between the community and private and public partners. They tame

Residents had input into all the elements of the park including information signs and a BMX park. Local businesses were invited to tender for contracts, but some thought the investment too much. However, when tourism increased and the cafe trade increased the criticisms receded. The award winning Hamaren Activity Park now gets 10,000 visitors a year.

The article on the DOGA website provides more information: methods, observations and lots of pictures. There is also a video where the designers and users explain their experiences. It’s in Norwegian but has English captions. Below is a YouTube video without words.

The Stovner Tower is a similar project located in Oslo.

Teaching and learning accessibility

The technology industry needs more people who understand both technical and accessibility aspects of design. But they are hard to find. That’s because teaching and learning accessibility and inclusion in university courses is in its infancy. Helping technology students to get their head around accessibility for people with disability has its challenges. In his article based on a case study, Julian Brinkley discusses the challenges for teachers and students, but says it can be done.

“By the conclusion of the semester students were able to both describe the characteristics of various disabilities and how they relate to computer and technology use while demonstrating a baseline ability to design technologies for use by disabled persons.

“These findings collectively suggest that stand alone courses focused on accessibility may prove effective at supporting the goal of introducing topics of accessibility to computer science students and students from related disciplines.”

The title of the article is, Participation at What Cost? Teaching Accessibility Using Participatory Design: An Experience Report.

From the abstract

As institutions recognise the need increase awareness of accessibility to computer science and informatics curricula. Advocates suggest three strategies for including accessibility and discussions of disability in courses. Either changing a lecture, adding a lecture or adding a new course.

In this paper we share our experiences with the latter – a new course. We incorporated accessibility within two new graduate and undergraduate inclusive design courses taught concurrently.

Participatory design methods were very effective in supporting student learning and ameliorating ableist attitudes. However, creating and managing teams comprised of students and visually impaired co-designers proved challenging.

Despite these challenges, overall, students demonstrated steady growth in their grasp of inclusive design concepts as they tackled accessibility challenges through a series of mobility-related group projects. Our experience may help others interested in teaching accessibility related courses, specifically in course design and execution.

This paper is from the 51st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE ’20), March 11–14, 2020, Portland, OR, USA. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 7 pages.

You might also be interested in another paper from the same symposium: A Systematic Analysis of Accessibility in Computing Education Research.

From the conclusion, “Our study highlights two main needs in computing accessibility education. The first need is to create a research roadmap for covering and reinforcing accessibility knowledge with clear learning objectives and evaluation methods across several core and elective courses. Second, to implement this roadmap, we need to create and investigate the efficacy of usable accessibility teaching materials to support instructors.”

Last impressions might count more

First impressions might not be as critical as we first thought or were taught. This is especially the case with website start or landing pages. The Axess Lab has a good article on a flipped approach to web design. It seems the critical points for website visitors is their “peak experience” – best or worst- and the last experience. The last experience is the most important. This is based on Nobel Prize winning masterpiece, Thinking Fast and Slow. The article goes on to explain how to get the best impact for the last experience using the peak-end rule.

For an example of a good end experience, the article links to a UK Government thank you page. It was so well done that they encouraged more people to sign up as organ donors. There’s also some advice on footers.

As always, Axess Lab uses good techniques and design for its own web pages and this article. That makes it an interesting read for anyone, not just IT people. More good material in other articles as well.

Graphic courtesy of Axess Lab

Creating Safe Space for Everyone

How many urban planners think about accessibility and disability from the outset? Some, no doubt. Urban planners also have to think about personal safety – it’s a core concern. But what about safety for people with disability? Do community norms play a role in design decisions? An article in The Conversation discusses this issue and begins:

“Creating safe and secure urban spaces is a core concern for city managers, urban planners and policy workers. Safety is a slippery concept to pin down, not least because it is a subjective experience. It incorporates our perceptions of places and memories, but also norms in society about who is expected to use spaces in the city, and who is considered to be out of place.”

So it is much more than designing out crime. Different population groups experience safety in different ways – much more nuanced that matching with crime statistics. A study from the University College Cork has looking at this issue in more detail. An overview is in an article in The Conversation by Claire Edwards.

The study looked at three cities in Ireland and some obvious places where people with disability felt unsafe were transport hubs, bars and shopping centres. The Conversation article concludes:

“Urban safety is as much about changing social relations as it is about technical fixes. Disabled people’s experiences show us that it is only by challenging assumptions about who has a right to inhabit urban space that we can create more inclusive, just and safer societies.”

The title of the article is, The experiences of people with disabilities show we need a new understanding of urban safety.

Web accessibility made easy: the how and why

Everyone should know about web accessibility, not just IT people. That’s because so many of us contribute to the digital world one way or another – social media, personal blog sites and the places we work.

If you want to find out about web accessibility the easy way – and why you should do it, help is at hand. The Commons website has a guide that’s easy to read, understand and follow. While there are many different guides around, this one is comprehensive without being overwhelming. It brings the key points together and makes it easy to understand why web accessibility is so important – for everyone.

The nice part about the design (we should take note) is they don’t try to give you too much information in one go. You can get the general idea and principles first. Then when you need to know more, the links will provide it.

The topics start with the usual ones – text size, colour contrast, etc., and then some of the things most people don’t think about. It nicely concludes with a section on inclusive language and disability etiquette. Remember, 44% of Australian adults have difficulty reading and writing. One of the best guides around.

Note: The Commons Library website has a host of resources and information about advocacy.

Graphic courtesy The Commons website.

Towards user-centric transport in Europe

Transportation researchers in Europe are seeking the best solutions for innovative and inclusive mobility. The Mobility 4EU project is all about the user perspective in different types of transport. It covers technological, social, legal and economic aspects of mobility and transportation. The project ended in March 2019. It resulted in several conference papers published in a 2020 book by SpringerLink titled Towards User-Centric Transport in Europe 2. This follows the 2019 publication under the same title. Some of the chapters are freely available on ResearchGate – use a Google search to find them.

Three chapters from ResearchGate

Mainstreaming the Needs of People with Disabilities in Transport Research argues mainstreaming disability should not exclude conducting disability-related transport research. Using the method of mainstreaming disability does not exclude the necessity of conducting special disability-related transport research. Available on ResearchGate.

Universal Design as a Way of Thinking about Mobility looks at universal design as a policy objective for transport policy using the Norwegian experience as an example. Universal design is a useful vision, but a difficult policy objective. It’s also available on ResearchGate.

Older People’s Mobility, New Transport Technologies and User-Centred Innovation reports on findings from four focus groups examining mobility challenges and automated vehicles were also discussed. There were mixed feelings about automated vehicles, often dependent upon the individual’s willingness to accept technology taking over their own skills and abilities, trust in the technology and concerns over future built environments. It’s also available on ResearchGate.

There are other chapters on active mobility, car sharing, mobility as a service, and the door to door travel chain.

Universal design and talking human rights

Universal design isn’t just or only about disability. But it does have a major role to play in improving the lives of people with disability. The UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, cites universal design as the way to gain inclusion and equity. So does Australia’s National Disability Strategy. But discussions and actions on human rights often get diverted by politics and ideologies. The way we frame and word our responses can make a big difference in cutting through. But what words and what frame?

A Brilliant Way of Living our Lives: How to Talk about Human Rights by Anat Shenker-Osorio has some good answers and examples. The first part of the document looks at messaging pitfalls and fixes. The second part of the document looks at words that work, and the third part covers common critiques. Here is Shenker-Osorio’s introduction to the document:

“Using language data from advocacy, opposition, political speech and popular culture, I analyzed why certain messages resonate where others falter in the human rights sector in Australia, the UK and the US. Complementing this written discourse were 53 interviews with advocates in these three countries in order to draw out what we wish people believed – the vision for which we’d like to inspire increased activation from present supporters and persuade new ones. Recommendations
here also draw upon previous research and empirical testing across issues related to human rights.”

This article was featured in a longer piece on The Commons Social Change Library. It covers a long list of issues for advocates for all kinds of social change.

Editor’s note: It is worth noting the change in public attitude in the same sex marriage campaign. It gained momentum when it moved from the right to marry whoever you want to being about marrying the person you love. In that vein, universal design is about the people we love.

Liveable, accessible, sustainable and biophilic: which to choose?

Aspects of sustainability – social, economic, cultural and environmental – are all opportunities for designers. But what to consider and how to design? An article on ageing populations looks at design for all, universal design, inclusive design, human centred design, and biophilic design. The authors considered liveable, accessible, sustainable and biophilic designs. They conclude that universal design and biophilic design concepts create the best outcomes.

The article covers many of the well known facts in this field of research, and addresses the different design approaches and terminology. “Sustainable ageing” is discussed in terms of well-being, economic inclusion and the living environment.

The best approach is universal design

The authors conclude that in considering sustainability, the circular economy and social cohesion, the best approach is universal design. That’s because the universal design concept encourages diversity and social integration. It also creates favourable conditions for healthy ageing concepts.

Universal design is also applicable in the ageing at home concept. The design solutions of buildings and environment can be adapted for older people, avoiding the necessity of further reconstructions as the people age.

The article is titled, “Aging, Living Environment, and Sustainability: What Should be Taken into Account?“. A well-considered discussion that draws together the many approaches to designing for a diverse population.