The Disability Resources Centre’s report to the Victorian Government about the public transport system shows room for improvement. The key findings were related to the provision of travel information, priority seating, and parking. Negative public attitudes extended to harassment, abuse and even assault. Being treated with disrespect, or assisted inappropriately by transport staff was also an issue. There are 8 recommendations for the Victorian Government to consider. The title of the 49 page report is, Transport for All. It is unlikely that the findings are only applicable to Victoria. Other states might like to take note as well. An affordable and accessible public transport system is essential for all travellers in carrying out day to day life. As respondents noted, what’s good for people with disability is also good for everyone else.
It is useful to note that the Victorian Government provided funding for this report.
The Norwegian Government also has a report on why people with disability are not using their accessible public transport. It’s more than infrastructure – as noted above.
At last some joined up thinking. Higher education institutions have a responsibility to create inclusive learning environments. But academic articles tend to be about UD in the built environment or UD for learning, but not both. An recent paper links both UD and UDL as the way forward for the inclusion of learners with diverse needs. The authors share experiences and four case studies from South Africa and the United States. They cover environmental issues, professional development, barriers to inclusion and a vision for developing inclusive learning environments. The paper offers five compelling recommendations:
• Focus on the functional needs of students, staff and campus visitors and do not judge based upon labels used. Students vary greatly in the nature of their needs, even within a particular area of disability.
• Make inclusion and accessibility a campus-wide dialogue. Everyone needs to be included in identifying the needs and the solutions. It is not an endeavour for the disability units or teaching staff only.
• Build a systemic foundation using inclusive models for educational design, such as UD and UDL, applicable to facilities management, teaching faculty, support services and admission procedures.
• Leverage technology to support inclusion, rather than letting it become a barrier.
• Reach out to others for ideas and help in addressing challenges. There are many great resources and organisations that support inclusive education principles, and we recommend that higher education institutions use them.
The title of the article is, Inclusion, universal design and universal design for learning in higher education: South Africa and the United States.
Users of digital technology are clear about what works and what doesn’t. This is one of the conclusions in a research report by G3ict and Knowbility. Survey questions included listing the top three most useful mobile features, and the most desirable functions that need to be improved. Questions about ability to use apps such as those for maps, banking, hotels and travel were also included. This is an in-depth look at the way users interact with digital technology in everyday life, with lots of ideas for improvement from users. Some of the key points in the conclusions are:
Users are clear about what’s working and what’s not
Accessibility innovation does have a positive impact
Barriers due to lack of alternative modes of communication remain a leading source of concern
A list of some of the most impactful accessibility innovations
Perception of the value of digital accessibility features was high
Cognitive accessibility is an area of great opportunity for innovation
The title of the report is, The Impact of Digital Accessibility Innovations on Users’ Experience. Download from theG3ictwebsite via another link, or directly from this website.
Climate change is affecting everyone, but when a catastrophic event occurs some people are more at risk than others. Evacuation, temporary shelter, and access to specialist assistance pose specific problems for older people, children and people with disability. So the UN is calling on governments to listen to those who are most affected by natural disasters.
Some countries and regions have disaster plans that pay attention to vulnerable groups. But individuals rarely have plans. Many older people and people with disability are not able to evacuate as quickly as others. Accessing assistance afterwards is also a problem. As a disaster can cause disability this aspect is all the more important. This is one of the findings in Disability and Development Report which collated data from more than 100 countries. The specific section on disasters is on page 240. The situation appears to be the same in both developed and developing countries.
Next time you have a fire drill take a moment to consider whether anyone could be experiencing difficulty getting out. And it is not all about mobility issues. In a real situation some people are likely to panic or experience high levels of anxiety. Fire wardens can be trained to manage these situations, but is the design of the building helpful as well? The guide, Safe Evacuation for Allhas some really useful information to help.
The guide is for anyone involved in planning and managing safe evacuation from buildings. This includes facilities and accommodation staff, health and safety staff, access officers, human resource professionals and others. Design professionals and fire engineers will find it useful too. The guide was developed by the National Disability Authority in Ireland. Each section is available to download separately: the guide, a risk assessment checklist and a PEEP template.
The aims of this publication are to:
encourage anyone preparing an evacuation plan to consider the needs of people of all ages, sizes, abilities and disabilities;
help those responsible for buildings to recognise the evacuation features relevant for people with disabilities;
give guidance on providing safe evacuation for everyone; and
identify good practice in providing safe evacuation for everybody.
Systems and devices expect people to adapt to them – to work out how to use them and to use them successfully. But it should be the other way round. This is the point Edward Steinfeld discusses in The Conversation article. Whether it’s phones, smart watches, car technology and hearing aids, they all have options that aren’t always easy to activate and manage. And it isn’t just the older population that gets confused.
“In many ways, advanced technology is inherently complicated: If users want devices that can do incredible things, they need to deal with the complexity required to deliver those services. But the interfaces designers create often make it difficult to manage that complexity well, which confuses and frustrates users, and may even drive some to give up in despair of ever getting the darn things to work right… With manufacturers’ help, more seniors could enjoy the benefits of advanced technology, without the frustrations”.
Tourism is big business, but some operators are missing out. State and local governments have an interest in tourism and they can lead the way for operators. The Accessible Tourism for All Manual shows how.
The manual is a simplified version of a larger research project and this makes it easy to follow in five separate modules.
Module 1 gives a definition and context for accessible tourism. Module 2 is about accessibility chain, and Module 3 is about action and implementation.
Module 4 is about evaluation and progress, andModule 5 provides principles, tools and good practice examples.
The Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: Principles, Tools and Good Practices is intended to provide stakeholders with a useful tool to understand the needs of the tourism sector in terms of accessibility, the competitive advantages of tourism for all, and the methods for its implementation.
A home builder in Queensland, is building Livable Housing Silver level homes and he wants everyone else to follow his lead. He has persuaded Townsville City Council and industry stakeholders to come together to make this possible.
In a promotional video accessibility is only mentioned once at the end, but the key features are pointed out throughout the video. It’s a slow 11 minutes so recommend viewing at an increased speed setting. Although Silver level is promoted, the size and design of the dwelling makes it closer to Gold level.
In a 9 minute video (below) various people explain the importance of Silver level to them. The best parts of the video are in the second half where Martin Locke shows how Silver level homes are modern and “normal”. One key point is that it shows there are no design or technical impediments for having Silver (or Gold) level in all new housing.
Wheelchair users are only one part of the story of universal design in housing. The emphasis on wheelchair users perpetuates the idea that this is “disability housing” and this puts it in the “specialised housing” bracket. The Livable Housing Design Guidelines are about everyone, not just wheelchair users.
Locke believes Silver level can be rolled out without additional regulation. However, after ten years of voluntary guidelines, industry has not participated. The industry, particularly mass market builders, rely on regulation to hold the system together so that all the designers, engineers, and trades know what they are doing and can work in tandem.
It’s great to see at least one community trying to make a difference in this space. Martin Locke and the Townsville City Mayor are to be congratulated for their efforts in bringing people together to show the way for the house-building industry.
While airlines and airports are making an effort to be accessible, the same cannot be said for tourist destinations. An article on ThiisCo website reports on a new study that has evaluated Europe’s capital cities for accessibility. Luxembourg takes top spot and Chisinau, Moldova is ranked bottom with four others. London came in 11th place. It would be interesting to have the same study done in Australia. The full list is in the article, Europe’s most and least accessible capital cities ranked for disabled travellers. Here is the information on Luxembourg:
“The research highlights that the most accessible city in Europe is Luxembourg, with 18.56 percent accessible accommodation available, 33.33 percent accessible attractions, a fully accessible airport, an Access City award and an ongoing council campaign for accessibility.
The small European city won third prize at the Access City Award 2018 after it actively raised awareness of various disabilities. It reduced the stigma associated with them and coined the term “specific needs” to reframe the way people discuss disabilities.
In addition, the city overhauled its public transport system to improve accessibility for all residents and visitors.
Finding out what older adults might want and need in their daily living experiences takes more than just asking them, especially if they have a cognitive impairment. Using creative methods, such as drawing and creating models, older people can express their needs in a tactile format. This also creates rapport with designers who can then devise better mobility, dining and leisure activities. This method is enjoyable for all participants.
This paper discusses co-design experiences with various stakeholders to explore latent needs of older persons in their daily living using a universal design approach. Through iterative use of creative methods, freehand sketching and physical models, older adults express their needs in a more accurate, tactile format.
Findings reveal that commonality of interest among older persons are important in building rapport among other participants. It also helps designers develop designs related to health care, mobility, dining and leisure activities.
Older adults and co-design
Older adults want the same designs as anyone else. Too often older people are gathered together under the umbrella of “the elderly”. This term assumes everyone is the same. It’s applied to people as young as 60 or 65 and every age after that. We can debate the terms but in the end, we are talking about people and design.
An article in Design Week challenges assumptions about older people and design. It reports on a study involving older people in design projects. They found older people “want what we want”. The ‘we’ in this context is young designers.
A key point is that people can live independently for longer if things are designed around their needs. In the end, age isn’t relevant. But designing inclusively is. That’s why devices designed specifically for older people are bought but often abandoned.
What does ‘ageing in place’ actually mean? For some it means staying put in the family home in their later years. For others it means staying in the same community.
Researchers at the University of Manchester developed a ‘village’ model of support based on those in the US. The residents came together to identify the services that they need and how they could be better managed. Storytelling was an integral part of the data collection. Ideas were generated for supporting ageing in place at a local level.
Front cover of the report
The report recounts the difficulties recruiting volunteers and participants as well as overcoming distrust of decision-makers. Access to formal and informal meeting places was also an issue.
Recommendations include building social infrastructure and strengthening organisations led by older people. The title of the report is, Community interventions to promote ‘ageing in place‘. This is a large file.
Co-designing with people living with dementia
A diagnosis of dementia used to mean staying home and being cared for. Those who work in the area of dementia are doing their best to change this view. But is the design community prepared to embrace people living with dementia? Paul Rogers reports in Co-designing with people living with dementiadisruptive design interventions to break the cycle of well-formed mindsets. The co-design method has provided ways for people with dementia to continue contributing to society and have fulfilling lives.
The co-design project was to create a new tartan design. Each person with dementia directed the researcher to co-create their digital design one colour at a time.
The Disrupting Dementia tartan project shows how co-design methods and tools can enable people living with dementia to make a significant contribution to society after diagnosis. Although dementia changes some aspects of a person, it does not affect their sense of self. Projects such as these not only inform designers, they also give a sense of inclusion and belonging to people with dementia.
From the abstract
This paper illustrates methods for co-designing with people living with dementia in developing a mass-produced product. The research was carried out in collaboration with Alzheimer Scotland using a range of disruptive design interventions. The aim was to break the cycle of we-formed opinions, mindsets, and ways-of-doing that remain unchallenged. The research has resulted in co-designed interventions to help change the perception of dementia.
People living with dementia can offer much to UK society after diagnosis. Co-designed activities and interventions help reconnect people recently diagnosed with dementia to help build their self-esteem, identity and dignity. Co-design processes help keep people with dementia connected to their community, thus delaying the need for formal support,
We worked collaboratively with over 130 people with dementia across Scotland in the co-design and development of a new tartan. The paper concludes with recommendations for researchers when co-designing with people living with dementia.
The paper reports on three design interventions using co-design activities with people diagnosed with dementia. The interventions offer innovations for co-designing with this group.
To move or not to move?
We expect to grow old, but because we don’t aspire to grow old, we rarely plan for it. “I’ll worry about it when the time comes” is a usual response. A report from AHURI looks at the housing situation for older Australians and some previous research is confirmed.
Most respondents felt their current home would suit them as they grow older, but they are not planning ahead. If they are, they lack information on how to go about it, what to look for, and what their options are other than age-segregated housing.
A significant proportion of respondents hadn’t thought about planning ahead for their living arrangements. This is one reason why we need the Livable Housing Design Standard adopted in all states and territories. It is in the 2022 edition of the National Construction Code and there is a handbook for designers.
It is often said that older people want to stay put, but this may not be the case for everyone. A study from Berlin, Germany looked at this issue in depth. While some of the findings might be specific to Berlin, the article raises interesting questions.
The researchers found that social class, gender, age and migrant history were not necessarily measures of movement behaviour. The top three reasons that emerged were: to have a smaller apartment, an obstacle-free apartment, and to have to a cheaper apartment.
The United Nations is planning to actively include people with disability at all levels of their operations. It’s one thing to have a Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability, but not a good look if the UN itself isn’t leading by example.
UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, said, “Realizing the rights of persons with disabilities is a matter of justice as well as a common-sense investment in our common future”, but “we have a long way to go in changing mindsets, laws and policies to ensure these rights”. Global Accessibility News has more detail on this story. Better late than never.
What is “reasonableness’ in the concept of reasonable accommodation” when it comes to applying accessibility and universal design? Professor Rafael de Asis Roig discusses this philosophical questionin the context of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability. He contends that the content of universal accessibility is “constrained by three types of circumstances that could be considered as the bounds for what is necessary, possible and reasonable”.
Universal Design and Reasonable Accommodation
For anyone interested in the debate about reasonableness, and the application of “unjustifiable hardship” rulings by the Australian Human Rights Commission, this article explores reasonableness from different perspectives and concludes,
“Therefore, in accordance with the foregoing, it is possible to have a comprehensive vision about reasonableness in the disability domain. This demand makes it necessary to deem a measure as reasonable in the context of disabilities when:
It is justified because it adequately provides for full participation in society.
It shall be deemed as possible, taking into account the state of scientific, technical and human diversity knowledge.
It shall be deemed as a non-discriminatory differentiation or undifferentiation which is not harmful for physical and moral integrity and at the same time does not prevent from meeting basic needs nor avoids participation in society on an equal basis.
It shall be deemed as proportional and, therefore, entails more advantages than sacrifices within the context of human rights.
It shall be deemed as acceptable by the community to which it is addressed.”
An earlier unpublished article tackles the issues of human rights and “unjustifiable hardship” in the Australian context by Schraner, Bringolf and Sidotiwhich discusses the issues from an economic perspective. Written in 2012, it pre-dates the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
The Disability Resources Centre’s report to the Victorian Government about the public transport system shows room for improvement. The key findings were related to the provision of travel information, priority seating, and parking. Negative public attitudes extended to harassment, abuse and even assault. Being treated with disrespect, or assisted inappropriately by transport staff was also an issue. There are 8 recommendations for the Victorian Government to consider. The title of the 49 page report is, Transport for All. It is unlikely that the findings are only applicable to Victoria. Other states might like to take note as well. An affordable and accessible public transport system is essential for all travellers in carrying out day to day life. As respondents noted, what’s good for people with disability is also good for everyone else.
At last some joined up thinking. Higher education institutions have a responsibility to create inclusive learning environments. But academic articles tend to be about UD in the built environment or UD for learning, but not both. An 
Users of digital technology are clear about what works and what doesn’t. This is one of the conclusions in a research report by 
Climate change is affecting everyone, but when a catastrophic event occurs some people are more at risk than others. Evacuation, temporary shelter, and access to specialist assistance pose specific problems for older people, children and people with disability. So t
Next time you have a fire drill take a moment to consider whether anyone could be experiencing difficulty getting out. And it is not all about mobility issues. In a real situation some people are likely to panic or experience high levels of anxiety. Fire wardens can be trained to manage these situations, but is the design of the building helpful as well? The guide, 
Systems and devices expect people to adapt to them – to work out how to use them and to use them successfully. But it should be the other way round. This is the point Edward Steinfeld 
A home builder in Queensland, is building 
While airlines and airports are making an effort to be accessible, the same cannot be said for tourist destinations. An article on 
Finding out what older adults might want and need in their daily living experiences takes more than just asking them, especially if they have a cognitive impairment. Using creative methods, such as drawing and creating models, older people can express their needs in a tactile format. This also creates rapport with designers who can then devise better mobility, dining and leisure activities. This method is enjoyable for all participants.
Older adults want the same designs as anyone else. Too often older people are gathered together under the umbrella of “the elderly”. This term assumes everyone is the same. It’s applied to people as young as 60 or 65 and every age after that. We can debate the terms but in the end, we are talking about people and design.
The United Nations is planning to actively include people with disability at all levels of their operations. It’s one thing to have a Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability, but not a good look if the UN itself isn’t leading by example. 
For anyone interested in the debate about reasonableness, and the application of “unjustifiable hardship” rulings by the Australian Human Rights Commission, this article explores reasonableness from different perspectives and concludes,