Author: Jane Bringolf

Design tool for dementia-friendly public buildings

A basic floor plan showing a meeting room, toilets, reception and lobby area. An interactive tool for dementia friendly public buildings.The online tool for Dementia Enabling Environments has a section on dementia friendly public buildings. It’s an interactive design tool. So clicking on a room in the floor plan brings up a 3D view of the room. Hovering the mouse over question marks in the room brings up more detailed information about design ideas that are good for people with dementia. Of course, these designs are usable for almost anyone else who is ambulatory, including people with other cognitive conditions.

This is an excellent resource that takes accessibility beyond the access codes which don’t cover this level of design. The Dementia Enabling Environments tool also covers homes, care settings, and gardens and nature. There are links to other resources as well.

Cognition and inclusive design

Practitioners and researchers are seeking more solutions for people with sensory and cognitive impairments, particularly dementia. But our building standards are silent on this growing issue. Time to think about cognition from an inclusive design perspective.

The value of designing an age-friendly environment is discussed in an article by Hadjri, Afacan, and Gadakari. As with all universal design features, the authors argue inclusion needs to be embedded in the early stages of design. See the abstract below for more on the content.

Front cover of the bookIt is good to see the topic nestling between chapters on passive design and energy efficiency. The chapter “Inclusive Design” unexpectedly appears in ZEMCH: Toward the Delivery of Zero Energy Mass Custom Homes, and is available from SpringerLink and ResearchGate.

You will need institutional access for a free read, otherwise purchase the chapter. You can also try ResearchGate to ask for a free read. 

From the abstract

This chapter will explain and discuss the principles, role and importance of Inclusive Design particularly in the context of an ageing society. It will review the changing and complex user needs and requirements through case studies and current work of leading organizations.

Current standards do not take account of cognitive needs and more needs to be done by policy makers. Findings of recent research on users’ needs and requirements will be reviewed and Inclusive Design will be examined to assess the use of technology in embedding accessibility during the design stage.

UD in Housing: Does it really cost more?

Facade of a large two storey home commonly called a McMansionDo homes really have to be larger to incorporate universal design features? Unlikely says Kay Saville-Smith, a housing researcher from New Zealand. In her keynote address at the UD Conference in 2014 she explained why. Her presentation discussed the “size fraud” and the mistaken idea that homes need to be larger and therefore more expensive. She also referred to the “blame game” where nothing changes because no-one takes the first step. Below is an excerpt from the full transcript of her presentation, Making Universal Design a Reality – Confronting Affordability.  

“Builders like to talk about cost per square metre so the larger the living space, the cheaper the perceived cost. Although the floor space need not expand to bring in UD features, it is believed that you do. So people say they won’t pay for that – or more to the point the builders say that”.

She goes on to say, “…there are still the two old barriers to renovating and building homes with universal design and indeed the streetscape, and those two things are twofold. One is what I’ve talked about in the past as the vicious cycle of blame that goes on in the building industry, which is no-one wants to change to do anything because the other person hasn’t asked them to do it. Investors don’t want universal design, so I the builder can’t build that, but if investors want it, sure I will build it. Investors will say I can’t build it because the builder won’t come in at the right cost, and both of them blame the architect, of course, because the architect is off site at that point. So that is one issue.

The other issue is that we have the “innovation chasm” where we have solutions but getting them taken up and getting to a tipping point where it’s an expectation of what you get out of the housing market, is a big jump and typically you need about 30% or so of the market to be taking that kind of innovation challenge rather than taking the opportunity to be an early adopter. 30% is a big jump…”  

Diversity, inclusion and wearables

An Apple watch is sitting across an Apple iPhone on a desktop.Clothing and fashion tastes vary from person to person, so it should be assumed that no two people will have the same taste in wearables. A study of women’s preferences and concerns about wearables found that in terms of aesthetics, they needed to have elements of personalisation to suit different situations and style. This is a case where one size does not fit all. Some were happy with brightly coloured and conspicuous wearables, while others preferred muted tones. Early commercialisation brought about large, ugly, clunky and very masculine-looking wearables that didn’t take off well in the market. So it is good to see some research on this aspect.

According to the research, important factors in wearables are the social and cultural connocations, how they portray women and whether women are ready to accept the attention these devices might bring. Privacy is another concern in terms of what these devices might give away through sharing information via social media. Of course, including a broad range of users in the design development is essential for success.

The title of the article is Diversity and Inclusivity in the Age of Wearables: A Buzzword, a Myth, an Uncertain Reality.  This is an open access publication that discusses how we use technology to empower individuals and improve our way of living in the world, particularly from the perspective of women.

Remembering to be dementia-friendly

A yellow notepad with the word Remember. Dementia friendly resources. Here are some good resources for considering people with dementia in designs. The topic of dementia can also include people with acquired brain injury and other cognitive conditions at any age. They’ve been collected from this website for ready reference. Too many good publications are soon forgotten after their launch.

Dementia Friendly Assessment Tool – a community assessment tool.

Dementia Friendly Home Design – this one from Centre for Excellence in Universal Design in Ireland – very well researched.

Age and Dementia Streetscapes Toolkit – based on participatory action research.

Dementia friendly hospitals from a universal design approach – another from Centre for Excellence in Universal Design in Ireland.

On being outdoors: How people with dementia experience and deal with vulnerabilities – a participatory research method using ‘go-along-walking’.

Designing Homes with Dementia in Mind – research from Aalborg University.

Reaching for the coffee

Distance view of the hotel which is three storeys high.Scandic has embraced the principles of universal design throughout its hotel chain for more than ten years. This makes for an interesting case study in inclusive tourism because it goes deep into hotel operations. So it is not all about wheelchair accessible rooms – it is much more. And as always with customer service, it is the little things, such as reaching for the coffee cups at the breakfast bar.

The case study on DOGA, the Norwegian Inclusive Design website, is to the point and shows how all hotels can benefit from small but effective changes to practices. The video below shows how they took a universal design approach. The architect said it was more about use of materials than wheelchair circulation space.

“The best evidence on that we are doing something right came from a guest. She told me that when she is staying at Scandic she is treated like a regular guest, not a disabled one”.  Magnus Berglund, Scandic. 

Key features on Scandic’s checklist

      • Height-adjustable bed*
      • Telephone on the bedside table along with the remote control
      • A space of at least 80 cm around the bed
      • Vibrating alarm clock and fire alarm available on request
      • Hooks placed at different heights so they can be reached from a wheelchair
      • Mirror at a suitable height for wheelchair users as well as standing guests
      • Handrail on the inside of doors at a height that can be closed from a wheelchair
      • No or low thresholds at doorways
      • Single-grip mixer tap or automatic tap*
      • Washbasin placed at a minimum height of 78 cm* so a wheelchair will fit under it. The hook, soap and hand towels are also easy to reach
      • Toilet paper holder on the armrest of the toilet
      • Hearing loop available for meeting rooms
      • The doors are at least 80 cm wide, so that guests can get through with a wheelchair, crutches or a walking frame*
      • The stage is accessible for wheelchair users*

*Only applies to some hotels.

Shopping with universal design

When people use the term “vision impaired” it doesn’t necessarily, or even, mean the person is blind. There are several vision conditions that reduce eyesight which cannot be corrected with glasses. Vision loss is common as we age so there is a lot to be said for shopping with universal design. A study showed that a focus on people with low vision was good for everyone.

Creating an enjoyable shopping experience for people with low vision improves the experience of people with good vision as well.

Close up of a row of grey and black tops on hangars in a shop.

The basis of the researchers’ thinking is that the two groups are not mutually exclusive. Small tags on garments with prices and sizes in small print is something we can all relate to. And most of people want to spend their time efficiently so moving things around in shops isn’t helpful for anyone.

The findings show that people without a vision impairment benefit for accommodations for people with low vision. Thinking about the two groups together is a critical first step in creating a universal retail experience.

The title of the article is How Retail Store Accommodations for the Visually Impaired Affects the Shopping Experience of the Non-Visually Impaired.

From the abstract

Vision impairment is a rising concern, and there is a stronger push towards a more inclusive retail experience. However, these accommodations are often conceived as an altruistic movement that only help people with low vision.

This study attempts to bridge the current scholarly literature on the two groups to examine how helping the former can also enhance the shopping experience of the latter. It is not possible nor effective to think of the two in isolation; in the real world, there is a single store frequented by all.

Through a survey of 80 non-vision impaired respondents, the study found that they would also benefit from modifications in-store layout, price tag, product signage, and aisle signage designed to help the visually impaired.

Shopping complex design

A long view of the Family Mall - one of those in the study. It looks like any other western style mall.In most countries new shopping complexes  must comply with current disability access standards. However, that doesn’t guarantee a comfortable, safe or convenient shopping experience for everyone. An article published in Sustainability discusses the adaptation of the classic principles of universal design to suit shopping environments.

Usability, safety and comfort were seen as the key design elements. The article includes a literature review and a study of six shopping malls. Although the study was carried out in a developing country, Iraqi Kurdistan, the model and survey results are applicable anywhere. It provides useful information for those designing buildings in this context. It is good to see a detailed review of shopping complex design, and a model for design criteria. 

The title of the article is an indicator that it contains some technical data, but most of the article is readable: “Using Structural Equation Modeling to Propose a Model for Shopping Complex Design Based on Universal Design Concept“. A very useful document for designers of all public buildings.

The picture is of the Family Mall, one of those included in the study.

See here, I want to go shopping

A close up of cakes, bread and buns in a bakery shop.Shopping is a common human activity. It gets us out of the house and mobilising. It helps connect us to our neighbourhood. But the shopping experience of people with low vision is another matter. They are limited to familiar places where they can confidently and independently purchase what they need. This means there are no spontaneous shopping choices. So is this good for retail business and the private market?

The “blind district” of Lithuania is a place created during Soviet rule. It provides fertile ground for research on this topic. It also allows comparison with other parts of the city and the differences in shopping experiences by people with vision impairment. An article published in the Journal of Public Space covers the history of the blind district, disability rights, participation in the market and urban accessibility. The second half of the article is where the research project appears. A novel approach to this topic.

The title of the article is, When Accessibility of Public Space Excludes: Shopping experience of people with vision impairments. by Ieva Eskyté, University of Leeds.

From the abstract 

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) recognises access to consumer goods and services in the mainstream private market as essential for full participation in society. Nevertheless, people with impairments rarely enjoy the same rights and consumer experience as non-disabled individuals.

(in)Accessibility of public space is an important factor shaping how accessible the private market is for people with disability. It demonstrates how category-driven accessibility segregates people with disability. This creates social and consumer isolation, and becomes a marker that accentuates difference and separation between disabled consumers who live in accessible districts, and the rest of the population.

To illustrate the case, the paper uses empirical evidence from mystery shopping in retail outlets and qualitative interviews with people with vision impairments who live in the ‘Blind district’ in Lithuania. The district was developed by the Soviet Union (1949-1990) to boost the participation in the socialist labour market economy.

 

Travel magazine focuses on inclusion

Front cover of the magazine showing a family at the Vivid Sydney festival. The father is sitting in a wheelchair. His wife and two children surround him.A new magazine, Travel Without Limits, is specifically aimed at individuals and families living with disability. The first issue is 48 pages of information, personal stories of travel experiences from around the world, and of course travel advertisements. It also contains travel tips for people with specific disabilities from small children to older adults. The publisher is Travel with Special Needs which also runs a website with holiday information.

Editor’s Note: This online magazine is on the Issuu platform which, in my opinion, is not the most accessible. Even expanding the page size 200% did not help the small size or clarity of the font. I couldn’t see an option to download a PDF version. It will be interesting to see if the magazine improves matters for people with disability when they travel. My feedback about a successful trip has more to do with the quality and availability of the information about accessibility, as well as staff competence in welcoming guests with disability. Good to see this as an addition to the inclusive tourism sector. Perhaps we should have a magazine for older Australians as well?

Captioning helps knowledge retention

A video screen showing captioned text at the bottom. Captioning help knowledge retention.A new study found that students are happy to use captions when learning new information, because captioning helps knowledge retention. By testing two groups the researchers found a significant improvement in learning outcomes by those who had videos with captions vs. videos without captions. With more teaching and learning happening online, this is one technique that can benefit all. Captions are not just for people who are hard of hearing. 

The title of the article is, Captioning Online Course Videos: An Investigation into Knowledge Retention and Student Perception. Access the article via ResearchGate and request a copy of the paper. It is also available from ACM Digital Library. 

Captioning and transcripts

A similar study on the benefits of closed captions for learning was carried out by Oregon State University. They surveyed more than 2000 students in 15 institutions and found more than half said captions help by improving comprehension. The most common reasons for using captions were: to help them focus, retain information and overcome poor audio quality of the videos. Transcripts are often used as study guides and to find and retain information. Interestingly, in this study, 13% of respondents indicated having a disability, but only 6% were registered as such.

young female at a desk with laptop, coffee cup and notebookVarious reasons were given for the benefits of closed captioning – noise in their listening environment, unclear speech in the video, spelling of new or unfamiliar words, and being able to take notes just by stopping the video and not needing to rewind to listen again. Students with English as a second language also benefitted.

Researchers found there was a 7% increase in student results compared to the previous year’s students who did not have captioning. The article also discusses the cost of captioning and other options, such as speech recognition. The title of the article is, Closed Captioning Matters: Examining the Value of Closed Captions for All Students, and is published in the Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 2016.

Editor’s note: Captioning has evolved significantly in the last two years and there are many ways to include captioning. Zoom, YouTube and other platforms now offer captioning as standard. AI captioning has improved significantly. 

What drivers can’t see on the road

A red and white circular sign with a 20 speed limit showing. Drivers can't see invisible disability. Here’s a call to traffic planners. A group in the UK is calling for slower speed limits on roads to help reduce pedestrian accidents. They list all the conditions where slower speeds could make a difference and allow people to cross the road safely. Drivers can’t see if someone has anxiety, dementia, post traumatic stress or sleep disorder. Traffic can make them feel vulnerable and fearful. 20 miles per hour equates to 30 km per hour. 

People who are deaf or hard of hearing, and people with low vision are also at risk of accidents. Pregnant women, older people, and people with prosthetic legs or chronic illness might not be spotted either. Even if they are, it is unlikely to change driver behaviour or alertness. The 20’s Plenty for Us media release links their call to the disability rights agenda which requires equitable treatment for everyone. Traffic planners should therefore assume everyone is vulnerable.

“At first sight it’s impossible to tell if someone has a mental health problem – anxiety, dementia, post traumatic stress or sleep disorder. Yet sufferers are vulnerable and fearful. Also the partially sighted, hearing impaired, those with a prosthetic leg, cancer, the elderly or pregnant women have protected characteristics not obvious at a distance from a driver’s seat behind a windscreen.”

Can everyone benefit from ride-share systems?

Uber driver is pushing a man in a manual wheelchair into the back of the vehicle.Uber is a household name. But can everyone take advantage of ride-share systems? The Living Cities article describes five steps for growing accessible and inclusive transportation systems. There is no one solution: a range of policies and mobility options are needed for low income communities and people with disability. The Movmi blog site extends these ideas for ride-share systems and offers three key elements for inclusion. Both articles have more detail on concepts and solutions. Here are three key elements:

  1. Availability: Good access to public transportation are needed in all areas, as well as car-sharing, bike-sharing and ride-hailing services as a solution for the last mile.
  2. Inclusive design: Ensuring sharing and on demand ride-hailing services are available to people who have limited access to the internet or credit cards. This also includes reducing any physical barriers that may prevent anyone with a disability using these services.
  3. Affordability: Reduced fares and subsidized memberships will ensure everyone has the ability to use public transportation and shared mobility services.

UberWAV is a for riders who use motorised wheelchairs or scooters. Drivers are trained to help with getting in and out of the accessible vehicle. The first UberWAV in Australia was in Newcastle NSW in 2016. The article covers the different services available in the US  for people who don’t have phones and credit cards. The Every Australian Counts website has a 2015 article about UberWAV that provides another point of view.