Edited transcript from live captioning of the presentation by Shawn Neilson and Joel Elbourne who outline the process of engaging with developers to encourage the uptake of Banyule City Council’s Liveable Housing Design Guidelines in new housing developments. They show how it is possible to get buy-in from developers using local government resources. The title of their presentation is, Improving housing for people across their lifespan. Banyule City Council also has a Liveable Housing Policy. However, the policy indicates the notion of a proportion of new dwellings, which means the policy applies only to multi dwelling developments.
Margaret Ward’s presentation on universal housing design at the Australian Universal Design Conference 2014. The synopsis is taken from the transcript of live captioning.
Synopsis: While major industry players support the Livable Housing Design Guidelines, their implementation in mass market housing is not yet evident. This presentation takes the perspective of the Australian Network for Universal Housing Design and plots the history from the setting up of the National Dialogue, to the development of the Livable Housing Design Guidelines, and the achievements to date of Livable Housing Australia. It asks the question – what more can be done to progress universal housing design in Australia?
Edited transcript from live captioning of Kay Saville-Smith’skeynote presentation at the Australian Universal Design Conference 2014. Titled: Making universal design a reality – confronting affordability.
Synopsis: The Christchurch earthquakes which flattened much of the city provided an opportunity to start from scratch and implement some of the good design ideas, including universal design, that have been around for some time. However, this has not happened and there are many reasons for this, not least of which is the stance of the insurance industry.
The issue of affordability is a complex one. It is a market driven issue where the actual cost of the building is not the main issue. Universal design and affordability can co-exist. However, there are many attitudinal barriers and well-worn arguments touted in the industry that say it cannot be done.
Participants in this panel session at the Universal Design Conference were Kathryn Greiner (perspective of older people), Nikke Gladwin (perspective of children), and Mark Relf (perspective of people with disability). The session was chaired by Andrew Buchanan.
Kathryn Greiner Presentation Synopsis: The focus of Kathryn Greiner’s presentation is on older people, but also recognising what is good for older people is also good for people of all ages. Attitudes to older people need to change so that there are more inclusive behaviours by others in the community. Unfriendly or thoughtless behaviours can be a barrier to being more active and involved as we age, and this is where engagement with the private sector is critical. Also needed are toolkits and information to help people understand why behaviours need to change, and this applies particularly to the private sector so that they can benefit from the upcoming baby boomer cohort, as well as the baby boomers themselves.
Nikke Gladwin Presentation Synopsis: Children are often forgotten in planning and neighbourhood design, yet they have a wealth of information and idea ready to be tapped, if only they are asked. Child Friendly by Design is a projects are collaborative projects where children and young people are involved in community engagement processes for the benefit of everyone.
Mark Relf Presentation Synopsis: The evolution of accessibility and universal design covers some fifty years and several legal instruments, standards, state planning policies, and local government ordinances. This presentation provides a potted history of the evolution of accessibility and universal design and helps us make sense of the situation today.
Edited transcript from live captioning of Chris Nicholls’ presentation, The House that Chris Built.
Synopsis:Chris discusses the design and construction of his family home from the perspective of a wheelchair user. He outlines some of the problems with applying standards such as AS1428 in homes and explains why some design features, which are often referred to as disability features, are not necessarily needed by every wheelchair user or person with a disability. He also explains which features were important and why. The slideshow has many instructive photographs.
Noelle Hudson’s edited transcript from the live captioning.
Synopsis: Noelle outlines her research at local government level in Queensland to find out the degree of support for introducing universal design in housing. There were some surprising results with some councils being supportive, but changing their minds later on, and others that were against it. Noelle provides some insights into some of the local government thinking on this topic in Queensland.
Assoc Prof Lisa Stafford‘s presentation is titled, “Where are all the children? Positioning children, young people with a disability and their families in the universal design agenda”.
Synopsis: Much of the discourse around universal design assumes an adult perspective and consequently children are left out and become invisible in the designs. Lisa argues that we must include children, including those with a disability and their families if we are to truly be representative in our policies and practices in universal design. Otherwise they will end up as an afterthought.
Edited transcript of Bec Hoand Justine Perkins presentation, Fair Play: Inclusion begins in the playground.
Synopsis: Including children with a disability in outdoor play is possible with some careful design planning. All children benefit from learning through play and using outdoor activities to socialise and interact with each other regardless of their level of capability. Bec and Justine provide insightful case studies and an overview of the Touched by Olivia Foundation.
Richard Bowman says that slips are often misreported and thus overrepresented as a cause of falls, where many such falls are not necessarily associated with slippery surfaces. There are many factors to consider in preventing slip-initiated falls and not all of these can be captured in an industry standard. Cleaning materials and wear and tear over time all contribute to the complexity of the challenge of providing adequately sustainable slip resistant inclusive access. The title of his presentation is Slip Resistance According to Goldilocks.
The Goldilocks principle dictates that liveable housing should have flooring that is just right. In terms of slip resistance this means not too slippery and not too rough (so as to be difficult to clean or likely to cause stumbles). This enlightened view runs contrary to some safety experts, who simply believe that specifying greater slip resistance is the effective panacea. People want to live in safe homely environments, not with senselessly mandated semi-industrial flooring.
In a sensible world we would make informed decisions based on established data. In the world of slip resistance, there has been no infrastructural benchmarking. Undertaking any public good research is generally considered somebody else’s responsibility due to the perceived high costs. Governments invest heavily in trying to prevent older people from falling, where researchers seek to devise increasingly incremental degrees of preserved health, fitness and postural stability, and to protect older people from being subjected to medically prescribed polypharmaceutical disorientation. Yet none of the duplicated biomedical multivariable studies have actually determined the available underfoot traction. Most falls by older people are likely to be due to biomedical causes rather than environmentally induced slips, but the whole community benefits from appropriate slip resistance levels.
This presentation will provide a sneak preview of outcomes of two current research projects: a psychophysical slip resistance study where experiential public participation should indicate what bathroom flooring is considered to be just right; and a pilot study using virtual reality environments to determine when pedestrians modify their gait and reduce their traction demand, thus enabling development of improved risk models relevant to specific situations. The ultimate aim is to get universal design slip resistance specifications just right.
Geoff Barker’s presentation highlights the importance of community engagement and involvement. Using a case study of a project in the Northern Territory with the local Aboriginal people he shows how careful planning, and involvement in all stages from initial concept to implementation, is important for the success of a project. Inclusion is a necessity and not an option.
Edited transcript from live captioning of the presentation by Shawn Neilson and Joel Elbourne who outline the process of engaging with developers to encourage the uptake of Banyule City Council’s Liveable Housing Design Guidelines in new housing developments. They show how it is possible to get buy-in from developers using local government resources. The title of their presentation is, Improving housing for people across their lifespan. Banyule City Council also has a Liveable Housing Policy. However, the policy indicates the notion of a proportion of new dwellings, which means the policy applies only to multi dwelling developments. 
has not happened and there are many reasons for this, not least of which is the stance of the insurance industry. 