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Universal Design – Sport and Recreation Facilities

Evan Wilkinson outlines the process that Sport and Recreation Victoria went through to bring about a better understanding of the principles of universal design.

One of his key arguments is that if universal design principles are considered at the outset, the cost implications are low. However, if left until later in the design and construction process, the cost of ‘adding on’ access features is far more costly. Download the PDF of the PowerPoint Slideshow (5.5 MB) for more on UD and sport and recreation facilities.

Sport and Recreation Victoria have also launched their Design for Everyone Guide. The link takes you to the website that also has a very useful video on universal design shown below.

Zoo signage everyone can understand

Michael D W Richards presents an interesting article on the need to standardize zoo signage so that everyone can understand, particularly DO NOT FEED signs. He concludes,

“To achieve this goal they should utilise a design which is reliant on both imagery and text to convey a message, with imagery at the forefront of the design. A human hand, an item of food and an image of an animal should be displayed. … When imagery and text is displayed on feeding restriction signs, all visitors benefit. This form of provision should not be seen as excessively catering for the needs of marginal groups. Rather it should be viewed as an approach that represents a heterogeneous society, increasing access to information and enjoyment for all, through engaging signage.”

The title of this article is Designing Accessible ‘Do Not Feed’ Signs for Zoological Gardens. It is part of a series about zoo accessibility.

Photos or Pictograms?

What kind of signs inform and appeal to zoo visitors most? This was an answer Richards at wanted to know. Using qualitative and quantitative research methods he found the answer. It seems the photographic signs were most popular, but that is not the whole story.

The title of the article is, Directional Zoological Signage Image Preferences: An Inclusive Design Perspective.

Universal Design at the Zoo: A case study

Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo applied the principles of universal design during upgrade and extension works. Changes to the entrance, maps and information, transportation within the park, toilets, benches, tables, and exhibit design and enhancement are explained in a case study. In addition, trained staff are on hand to provide additional help to visitors where needed. Mark Trieglaff explains universal design at the Zoo in his case study.

The improvements are matched to one or more of the seven principles of universal design. The conference paper concludes: “By incorporating the Principles of Universal Design all visitors are offered equal experiences as they interact with the animal, exhibits and each other. Without even realizing barriers have been removed, everyone, regardless of their abilities, has a more enjoyable and inclusive experience.”

The title of the paper is, Universal Design in a Zoological Setting, and is free to download as PDF. It also serves as an example for urban design and place planning.

Abstract. Universal Design in planning for exhibiting animal collections for the
public has been a part of the culture of one particular zoo in the US. This paper
looks at the steps in designing a zoological park that is universally accessible to all visitors.

The picture is of the South Gate entrance. The parking lot was made level with the kerb to provide a level entrance for all visitors during the upgrade.

Camp Manyung is universally designed

Camp Manyung continues to lead the way in implementing universal design principles with more improvements for access and inclusion. They now have a harness for the flying fox for wheelchair users which is a great addition to their inclusive facilities. However, there’s no reason why other campers can’t use it too. Others with reduced mobility or low vision, or very apprehensive about participating could perhaps use it as well. The harness looks like it feels very safe.

The harness was co-designed with industry experts, outdoor professionals, and disability support experts. People with lived experience helped develop and test the system.

A man is standing by a chair that has the universal harness ready for the man in the wheelchair to sit in it. The man in the wheelchair is lifting himself out of the chair ready to transfer to the harness.

Camp Manyung is a good example of how specialist equipment enhances the existing universally designed camp site to make it more inclusive. It also shows how specialist equipment needs to be embedded in a universally design setting to be successful.

The new harness enables participation in activities like Giant Swings, Flying Foxes, and Challenge Courses. Image courtesy Gary Sissons, MPNews.

A participant swings in the harness on the high ropes course. They are laughing.

Camp Manyung aims to make camp programs inclusive for all and to provide equal participation and challenge for every camper. The new harness replaces the old one which had limited access to height-based activities.

Montage of images of the Universal Flying Fox showing people enjoying the tree top activity.

So many things to do

The website section on accessibility outlines the accommodation, specialised equipment such as beach wheelchairs, and adaptive cycles. The camp is one of many located in Victoria and has many different indoor and outdoor activities.

More details on the facilities are provided in a larger document in plain language. It covers everything from pre-arrival and what to expect when you get there including food and drink. The long list of adventure activities are carefully explained with images of equipment and places. This is an excellent example not just being inclusive, but how to let others know that you are.

There is also a video of really good instructions for operators about applying the harness which is also well designed for operators. A good universal design result.

Integrating universal design into camp activities

An earlier version of this post outlined some of the initial work that went into making Camp Manyung universally designed. Here is the relevant content.

Sport and Recreation Victoria and YMCA wanted to increase awareness and applicability of universal design in residential camps. They produced a report, Universal Design: Integrating the Principles into Camp Activities. The report outlines ways in which environments, activities and programs within residential camps can be used by everyone. It shows how to apply universal design to all aspects of camp activities.

The image shows how any one can enjoy the flying fox on the “Skyrider”.

Wheelchair users enjoying the inclusive camp high ropes activity.

There is no legislation within Australia to guide the design of sporting or leisure activities that enable participation by everyone at a level that suits them. Sport and Recreation Victoria have embraced the principles of universal design to make all their camps and activities inclusive. The accessible high ropes course shows that anything is possible.

Universal Access is not Universal Design

Mark Relf traced the history of disability access and universal design in Australia. His presentation, Universal Access is not Universal Design, provided an excellent context to the position of universal design today. The transcript of his presentation is included in the Panel session on Day 2 of the conference: Panel Session Day 2 PDF.

The House that Chris Built – his story

Chris Nicholls discusses the design and construction of his family home from the perspective of a wheelchair user. He explains why some design features, which are often referred to as disability features, are not necessarily needed by every wheelchair user or person with disability. He also explains which features were important and why. His story shows why we need to mandate basic access features so that people like Chris don’t have to fight the builder all the way. Too many times the builder thought “near enough was good enough”.

The slideshow presentation has many instructive photographs. You can also download the transcript of his presentation:

Chris Nicholls Transcript Word Chris Nicholls Transcript PDF

Universal design and 40 Principles of TRIZ

A short paper by Kalevi Rantanen shows how to combine the principles of universal design and 40 Principles of TRIZ. It gives another perspective on how to apply the principles of universal design in a problem solving context. TRIZ is the Russian acronym for “Theory of Inventive Problem Solving”.

How to use 40 Principles of TRIZ flow chart: General Problem to General Solution. From Problem analysis to Evaluation and selection.

The title of the paper is, “Homes for Strong Families, Children, Seniors and All Others. How Universal Design, Design for All and Forty Principles of TRIZ Enforce Each Other”.

The 40 Principles of TRIZ are a list of simple, and easy to learn rules for solving technical and non-technical problems quickly and simply. Studying these existing solutions can inspire people to solve new problems and imagine innovative solutions. They show how and where others have successfully eliminated contradictions. They take us to the proven, powerful recorded solutions contained in the patent database. These 40 Inventive Principles help solve both technical and non-technical problems.

Principles and something more

The paper begins with a note about accessibility being a “must”. In TRIZ jargon accessibility is one feature of the Ideal Final Result. It’s about a check between whether a feature reduces harm for one group without increasing harm for another.

“For example, we consider removing a threshold. A harmful feature, a barrier to the user of a wheelchair or walker disappears. Are the useful features retained? Perhaps even new benefits appear? Everything useful is retained if we move thresholds. A new benefit is that it is easier to clean doors.

Will new harmful features appear? Usually not, but some doors may need sealing. In that case flexible, rubber-like thresholds can be used. Does the system become more complex? No, removing thresholds makes a building more simple.”

Universal Design in Sport and Recreation

Sofi De Lesantis is Manager of Metropolitan Community Facilities at Sport and Recreation Victoria. Her team works in partnership with local government to plan and invest in new and improved sport and recreation facilities that aim to meet the needs of all users across metropolitan Melbourne.

Sofi discusses how universal design thinking and principles can be applied in the sport and recreation sector, such as procurement and planning processes to influence design outcomes and how its use can lead to more active and engaged communities.

Sofi De Lesantis presentation slideshow PDF 2MB

Abstract: As Australians, sport and recreation forms an invaluable part of our cultural fabric. At the elite level it is a source of pride and unity, and at the grassroots level it is in many cases the heart of entire communities. Continue reading Universal Design in Sport and Recreation

Universal Design and Transport

Liz Reedy discusses how many developed countries have incorporated requirements of universal design in their laws and regulations. This presentation will compare and contrast progress made in Australia with other developed countries and discuss how Australia can improve its transport systems to be more inclusive. The recent upgrades to several railway stations in Sydney were used to engage audience participation.

Liz Reedy presentation slideshow PDF 2 MB

Universal Neighbourhood Design:

Making place for multi-generations of all abilities

Assoc Prof Lisa Stafford discussed the need for building an agenda for universal neighbourhood design to cater for multi-generational use, using three studies: children, older people, document analysis of neighbourhoods.

You can see a similar paper, Planning Neighbourhoods for All Ages and Abilities: A Multigenerational Perspective.

Conference Abstract

Neighbourhoods play an integral role in facilitating both individual and community wellbeing. They have been associated with engendering cohesive and healthy communities (Thompson & Magnin, 2012; Mees, 2012), sustainable mobility (William, 2005; Schenier & Kasper, 2003), and physical activity (Hume, Salmon, Ball, 2005). However, studies have also suggested that poorly planned neighbourhoods are unfriendly towards children (Horelli, 2007; UNICEF, 2012), people with disabilities (Stafford, 2013, Gleeson, 2001, Imrie, 1996) and older people (Baldwin et al, 2012; Judd, 2012, Judd et al, 2010; Vine et al. 2012). Despite this knowledge and known problems, the neighbourhood scale continues to receive inadequate consideration from a universal design perspective.

In Australia, the 2011 enactment of the Design for Access to Premises Standards (2010), underpinned by Disability Discrimination Act (1992) and supported by Design for Access and Mobility Australian Standard suite (AS1428), resulted in the requirement of universal access to public buildings. Whilst, private homes (class 1A structures) were not included in this standard, along with public spaces, there is, however, intense advocacy and well-defined guidelines and programs promoting universally designed housing. However, there is little guidance for planners, developers and designers about how to make neighbourhoods accessible for multiple ages and abilities.

This presentation argues for the need to build an agenda for universal neighbourhood design, and an understanding of the foundations that are required to create neighbourhood environments that are friendly and inclusive of the diversity of ages and abilities. The presentation supports this through the discussion of findings from three studies: 1.a participatory study of seniors in south-east Queensland (SEQ) (Baldwin et al., 2012), 2. a person-environment study of children with physical disabilities and their families’ participation in urban spaces in SEQ (Stafford, 2013), and 3. document analysis of neighbourhoods, UD and planning relating to multi-generations and abilities (Stafford, Baldwin and Beazley, 2014).

The paper was co-authored by Dr Claudia Baldwin and Dr Harriot Beazley from University of Sunshine Coast.

Universal design: Interprofessional perspectives

Helen Larkin presents key findings from a qualitative study on the understanding of universal design and how the design for Diversity Initiative builds capacity for inter-professional education and research related to universal design practice.

Helen Larkin presentation slideshow: Universal design and inter-professional perspectives. PDF 1MB

Author: Jane Bringolf

Universal Design – Sport and Recreation Facilities

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