UDL: An Indigenous perspective

Placed in a rural setting a wooden barn type building displays the cultural icons and two totem poles of the Alaskan Natives. UDL an Indigenous perspective.The education system in Alaska is an interesting place to research the potential for applying universal design for learning (UDL) in a culturally diverse and indigenous context. Indeed, UDL and indigenous approaches to education have much in common. An article by Krista James explores examples of implementation of the Alaska Cultural Standards for Educators within a UDL Indigenous perspective.

Similarly to Australia, Alaska’s indigenous population has experienced loss of culture and forced assimilation with Western educational systems taking over the education of their children. James concludes that the Standards and the UDL framework are easy to connect. That’s because many of the Standards are already ingrained in the core principles of UDL. You don’t have to be an educator to appreciate this article.

The title of the article is: “Universal Design for Learning as a Structure for Culturally Responsive Practice”, in the Northwest Journal of Teacher Education. 2018. There is a link to a 30 minute video at the end of the article.

From the abstract

Alaska is rich with cultural and ethnic diversity. In fact, it is one of the three most diverse parts of the country. Culturally relevant practice is both needed and required in Alaskan schools. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework that may assist educators in this endeavor.

The Alaska Cultural Standards for Educators tell us what best practice looks like for our diverse student population, especially our Alaska Native students. This article explores examples of implementation of the Standards within a UDL framework.

Out and About with Universal Design

Pedestrians are walking towards the camera. They are on a wide walkway. Some people are looking at their phones. They are dressed for warm weather. There are buildings on each side of the walkwayGetting out and about is part of staying active and connected within the community, but some people find that more difficult than others. Inner Sydney Voice has an article explaining the 8 Goals of Universal Design and how they can be applied in the urban environment. The examples given are not exhaustive, but do help with thinking about including everyone. The 8 Goals of Universal Design extend the concepts of the classic 7 Principles of Universal Design that are most often quoted in academic articles. You can download the PDF of the article.  

The 8 goals are: Body Fit, Comfort, Awareness, Understanding, Wellness, Social Integration, Personalisation, Cultural Appropriateness. They were devised by Steinfeld and Maisel (2012).

Housing for Life Guidelines

Front cover of handbook showing a drawing of a house. Housing for Life Guidelines.Although more than ten years old, the Housing for Life Guidelines still have value That’s because universal design principles are timeless. There’s the usual attention to access, circulation spaces, and fittings. It also includes thermal comfort, security, lighting, operating controls and maintenance. Lots of diagrams and drawings help with explanations from a builder/designer perspective. There is also a handy metric conversion chart for people still using imperial measures. Master Builders Association ACT developed the guide with funding from Commonwealth Department of Veteran Affairs.

Other handbooks include:

Go to the Housing Design Guidelines section on this website for more about kitchens, bathrooms, lighting and other aspects of home design.  

Editor’s Note: Housing for Life is not readily available online. The link to this copy is from my files.  It is available through the National Library of Australia (Trove) if you want hard copy. Or you can try the MBA ACT.  The references to the Adaptable Housing Standard are less relevant now – see more recent guidelines.

Cities and the NDIS

A distant view of Melbourne city buildings. In the foreground is a wide footpath with trees either sideThe overall aim of the NDIS is to enable people, previously excluded from mainstream activities, to join in and participate. However, the rest of society hasn’t caught up yet and the NDIS isn’t set up to make those changes happen. That’s up to the people who are not NDIS recipients. The Conversation has an article based on research carried out by University of Melbourne and La Trobe University. The research team has produced a report, How will the NDIS change Australian Cities?  This paper sets out the research agenda on the urban policies that we need if the NDIS is to meet its aims. Housing is a key factor in this policy mix. And it is not just the built environment – services have to shape up too. The Conversation spells out the issues well. 

Universally designed infrastructure planning

An aerial view of a new highway junction with overpasses.One of the underpinning tenets of universal design is to involve users in the design process – at the beginning. Involving citizens in early stages of design can avoid costly retrofits, but more importantly, it is more likely to give people what they want. That means they are more likely to use it. Transport planning can also be universally designed. An article in The Fifth Estate argues that to leave out citizens is asking for trouble, and it is also undemocratic. Infrastructure is a public thing regarless of  who owns it, runs it or controls it. It is about good city governance. Planners need to do three things:

  1. consult and engage citizens early in infrastructure planning
  2. improve quality and access of citizen engagement at the strategic planning stages
  3. use more sophisticated strategic planning tools and practices to improve decision-making

The original article was in The Conversation. 

Another look at missed business

Close up of a a man's hand holding a wallet with some bank notes sticking out.Champions of universal design are often told that to effect change you need a good economic argument. Several such arguments have been written, but have met with little success in terms of gaining greater acceptance of universal design and inclusive practice. Shops, buses, buildings, hotels, meeting places, schools, parks, tourist destinations, and homes still remain inaccessible to many. The tourism sector has recognised that telling hotels and holiday businesses that they are missing out on a significant market is not sufficient of itself to make change. What is needed is more “How to…”.  The latest publication  discussing economics, is on the purchasing power of working age people with disability. It travels over familiar ground with the latest statistics, facts and figures relative to the United States. It compares the disposable income of people with and without disability and with Front cover of the reportdifferent disabilities, and goes on to discuss the data from a marketing perspective.

The full title of the paper is, A Hidden Market: The Purchasing Power of Working-Age Adults with Disabilities, by  Yin, Shaewitz, Overton & Smith. Published by the American Institutes for Research. You can download from Researchgate

Note: The economics of universal design in housing by Smith, Rayer, Smith (2008) is an excellent example of economists applying their skills to a social problem. Nothing has changed yet.

Universal Design in Housing

Front cover of book showing lots of different sized and coloured cubes stacked. The title banner is in dark yellow For anyone not familiar with the movement for universal design in housing, Introduction to Housing has a chapter that gives a really good overview of how to incorporate UD into the design. It covers each of the design features and explains that they can be factored into moderately sized homes. The chapter addresses each of the classic principles of universal design and how they apply to housing design. A case study illustrates the features. As with many Google Books, many of the pages are freely available, but for the full chapter you will need to contact the authors, Hartje, Ewen and Tremblay or purchase the book.

Introduction to Housing, 2nd edition, is edited by Katrin B. Anacker, Andrew T. Carswell, Sarah D. Kirby, Kenneth R. Tremblay. 

Urban design for the not-so-average

Wide footpath in a shopping strip which has a veranda overhead. There are planter boxes and a seat. We need urban design for the not so average.How quickly can you get across a pedestrian crossing? The Department of Health says the average walking speed required is 1.2 metres per second. However, the average speed of the older pedestrian is 0.7 to 0.9 metres per second, according to an article in The Guardian. So we need urban design for the not-so-average.

Cities are designed with a mythical average person in mind, but this so-called average is getting older. Have designers updated their data on this? The article discusses many issues that have been mentioned elsewhere: older people having problems getting outdoors; time to sit down; a bus driver who lets you sit before moving off; and of course, uneven pavements – or no pavements at all.

Global Network of Age Friendly Cities

Across the world 258 cities have signed up to the World Health Organisation’s Global Network of Age Friendly Cities. One has to ask “only 258?” The title of The Guardian article is, Our cities must undergo a revolution for older people. It questions the approaches of urban designers and has links to other useful references. 

Norway takes a universal design approach to the WHO Age Friendly Cities Guide and has given it an update. 

 

Inclusion in the chemistry lab

Two students look on while the teacher shows how to dissect an animal. They are wearing gloves and safety glassesThree articles were published in Accessibility in the Laboratory about creating inclusion in school and research laboratories. Good to see this topic discussed as it broadens our thinking about universal design and where it needs to be applied (that is, everywhere). The first is about accommodating students with disability in the chemistry lab.

This is especially important now that the STEM subjects are being promoted and encouraged. The second is focused on the modifications that labs might need to undertake. They include people with reduced hand strength in their discussions. The third is about invisible, or not readily observable, disabilities that need to be considered. They discuss stigma and other challenges students face in the lab. Each chapter can be purchased separately if you don’t have institutional access for a free read. The book is published by the American Chemical Society. Here are the full titles:

Laboratory Safety for All: Accommodating Students with Disabilities in Chemistry Teaching Laboratories

Accommodating Persons with Physical Disability in the Lab

Hidden or invisible disabilities and Laboratory Accommodations  

Hobsons Bay Universal Design Policy Statement

Three circles in blue sitting inside one another. Centre light blue is minimum BCA compliance. Next circle is extension for Australian Standards, and third all embracing circle is for universal design.
       Graphic from the Policy Statement

Hobsons Bay City Council is situated south-west of Melbourne with a significant stretch of coastal area. As with many local councils in Victoria they are keen to embrace the principles of universal design in their planning policies. As part of their access and inclusion strategy they plan to implement universal design principles in new buildings, buildings with significant upgrades, retrofits of existing buildings, features and public open space. They started with a Hobsons Bay Universal Design Policy Statement.

The policy statement includes a table where the 7 classic principles of universal design are translated into specific guidelines for council staff. The policy statement discusses the myths, regulatory framework and how to implement universal design, and how to go beyond compliance. 

A short document and a good template for other councils to use. Policy statements don’t need to be long and wordy. This one gets to the point.