Category: Practice Guidelines for built environment

Accessible fitout case study

The Centre for Accessible Environments in London has been providing access advice for many years, many of them heritage buildings. As a not-for-profit, their aim is for more mainstream buildings to be accessible and inclusive. They got the chance with the office space for the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT). The Centre for Accessible Environments (CAE) website has an overview of the work they did on this building.

The image shows the accessible shower room prior to the refit. The design is based on a public standard and looks very clinical.

Image from the CAE website.

A shower room designed in a clinical style. There are lots of grab rails and other equipment. It is all dark grey and white.

The building accommodates around 90 staff across four floors with meeting rooms on the ground floor. This floor had level access, powered doors, and an accessible shower room that looked like a hospital room. Not what CAE would consider gold standard.

The image shows the same wheelchair accessible shower room but with improved colour aesthetics. While this might meet British Standards, Australian access consultants might take issue with some aspects. The placement of the mirror, for example.

Image from the CAE website.

An accessible shower room with a fitout to standards but some aesthetics in terms of colour.

The outcome of CAE’s involvement is that the fit-out of the shower room looked less clinical despite the considerable amount of specialised equipment and features. The overall success was the focus on detail such as the amount of pile in a rug.

Quiet spaces and soundproofing and height adjustable desks are also part of the fitout. CAE’s access consultant also acknowledge that flexibility of space is essential. “Until people use a building following a redesign, you don’t know if it’s going to meet the needs of everyone.

The title of the article is, Design appraisal & audit helps RCOT turn office into profitable asset. There is more information on this fitout including the staff kitchen. Check out some of their other case studies.

Note that the website has the Recite me app that is easily activated with the mouse. You can turn this off at the right hand corner of the website.

Age friendly cities toolkit

The World Health Organization has updated their resources on age-friendly cities and communities and added a toolkit. In 2007 the Age Friendly Cities and Communities (AFCC) program was rolled out. A Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities followed in 2010. The strength of the program was an early form of co-design with older people in local communities. That is, it promoted a bottom-up process with top-down policy support.

The guide has suggestions for meaningful engagement of older people in creating age-friendly environments. It includes detailed examples of existing national AFCC programmes, and practical steps for creating or strengthening such a programme. The vision is for all countries to establish a national AFCC programme by the end of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030).

The toolkit is a separate set of resources to the guide.

Front cover of the toolkit with lots of different icons depicting all the aspects of a community with trees, buildings, parks and people in an age friendly city.

The glossary lists all the words and labels used for older people and is a useful resource in itself. As with many official guides there are a lot of words and explanations about the history and ideas. The eight domains of action are the same as the 2007 version of the guide. The Framework for implementing national programmes is in section 3.

You can access all the relevant documents and information on the WHO’s National programmes for age-friendly cities and communities web page. If you want the free toolkit you will need to sign up to get it.

A Global Network of Age Friendly Cities

There are more than 1400 members of the Global Network, and looks like it will continue to grow. The network acts locally to encourage full participation by older people in community life and active ageing. The program is an important step in meeting the goal of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing. Setting the scene for improved participation by older people benefits everyone. What’s good for older people is good for all people.

The Age Friendly Cities and Communities program puts older people at the centre and covers all aspects of life. It’s where policy meets people. The vision is that older people can transform themselves by transforming the environments in which they live, work and play.

London Street Accessibility Tool

The City of London Street Accessibility Tool is like an educational access audit report. It shows street designers how street features impact on the different needs of pedestrians. The focus is on people with mobility impairments and wheelchair users, which means everyone wins. The tool recognises that there are sometimes competing needs: what’s good for one group might not be good for another. Co-design is the best way to find the trade-offs to prevent unintended exclusion.  The tool comes in three parts: two Excel spreadsheets and a PDF downloadable from the City of London website.
A photo showing a footpath lined with black bollards with white tops from the Street Accessibility Tool.
Road and footpath image from the City of London Street Accessibility tool.
Two photos from the “Instructions for Use” PDF document.

Doing the analysis

The PDF document begins with a table of different pedestrian types with and without assistive mobility devices. They cover mobility, sensory and neurodiverse conditions. There are three steps for using the tool. The case study for the tool is London Wall, a street in London. A 500m long section is analysed for accessibility and is split into six sections. Each section has detailed access advice for improvements with photographs overlaid with dimensions and text to illustrate issues.

Down to the detail

The first spreadsheet has detailed dimensions, colours, and placements for elements such as tactiles, street furniture, and kerbs. All the necessary technical detail is here. 

What pedestrians said

The second spreadsheet is a route analyser and has a column of photos with user feedback about the issues they see. The feedback sheet highlights the “why” of planning and design. It provides insights for planners and designers in a way that that is missed in 2D drawings. The direct quotes from people with disability provide the necessary insights for planners and designers. However, those responsible doing the actual construction should also have this information. All the access planning and designing goes awry if the “why” isn’t understood by all involved.  Here are two quotes from the spreadsheet on route comments:

I feel quite wary. This is an unmarked crossing as far as I can see, I can’t see any wait signs. Somebody has stopped for me I can see a cyclist, I’m now onto some more tactile paving, this is the sort of crossing I am totally unfamiliar with. Person using a white cane

This is all fine but the paving stones are a little even so I’d be looking down and watching my speed so I don’t knock into one. Person using a wheelchair

A page of photographs of a section of London Wall in the City of London Street Accessibility Tool.
A page from the London Street Accessibility Tool
Ross Atkin Associates and Urban Movement for the City of London Corporation developed The City of London Street Accessibility Tool (CoLSAT).

London’s inclusive design standards

The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) is similar to the Sydney Olympic Park Authority. Both focus on maintaining the benefits of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Sydney claimed the title of “most accessible games ever” and then the title went to London. Inclusive design is a priority in all developments related to the Olympic precinct, and these Standards are designed to assist.

“Venues excelled in their inclusive design and the story could have ended there. However, LLDC embraced this approach and made ‘Championing equalities and inclusion’ one of their four corporate priority themes.”

Baroness Grey-Thompson LLDC Board Member
Two people walk either side of a woman using a wheelchair. They are on a wide path in a parkland area. Inclusive Design Standards front cover.
Front cover of the Standards

Inclusive design is the favoured term in the UK while other countries and the United Nations use universal design. They mean the same thing – creating inclusive societies.

A Standard not a Guide

The Inclusive Design Standards begin with all the relevant legislation and standards followed by a page on how to use the document. The standards have four key parts: inclusive neighbourhoods, movement, residential, and public buildings. Each part has two sections – the design intent and the inclusive guidelines. The guidance is just that and design teams can create solutions that achieve the same outcomes. This is clearly a standards document and not a guide. It has numbered clauses for designers to reference. As such, it is not an accessible document itself. The language and size of text makes for detailed reading. A summary document with the key points would be useful as a starter.

Safe public spaces for girls

Public spaces aren’t equal places. That is, some people don’t feel safe or welcome in particular places. It seems this is the case for teenage girls. According to some Swedish research, public spaces aren’t used equally by girls and boys. So creating safe public spaces for girls is a challenge for urban and landscape designers. 

A night time image of a swing set comprising large rings. They are illuminated in purple and blue.
Swing Time – Höweler+Yoon. Photo by John Horner

Until the age of seven, boys and girls use public facilities, such playgrounds, on an equal basis to boys. According to a 2020 Girl Guides UK survey, 62 percent of girls aged 11-21 years said they didn’t have an outdoor sport or facility they felt safe to use. What would encourage them to go out? Safer places, less catcalling and more things to do they said. 

Teenage invaders?

Girls like to use swings but they are placed with the equipment for young children. If teenagers use them they are seen as invaders – not welcome. Branko Miletic in Architecture and Design magazine says,

“Come to think of it, teenagers are seen as invaders in most public spaces: they are too old for playgrounds, don’t have the money for malls or cafes, and also run the risk of harassment in public facilities overrun by boys and men. But they also yearn for physical activity and movement, connecting with friends, having fun conversations, walking and biking, and indulging in sports and games at their own pace, without being judged or commented upon in a public space.”

Multi-use areas such as skate parks, basketball courts and kickabout areas are designed for ‘young people’. However, boys and young men tendt to dominate these areas. Boys tend to dominate single large spaces while girls are more comfortable in broken-up spaces. In terms of seating, boys want to watch the action while girls like to face each other to talk. 

Ask the girls

The answer, of course is to involve girls in the design process. Ask them what they want in a public space. A local authority in Sweden together with architects constructed a model designed with girls. The design revealed a preference for places with colour, sitting face to face, protected from weather, and to see without necessarily being seen. 

Public spaces must cater for all ages. It’s not just about physical activity, it about social interaction and feeling safe. It would be interesting to do a similar study with older people so we can create intergenerational spaces too. 

The title of the article in Architecture and Design is, Designing safe public spaces for teenage girls.

 

Singapore’s Universal Design Index

Singapore embraced universal design principles in their building code in 2006. The government recognised the importance of designing buildings and homes for everyone. Similarly to other nations, Singapore’s population is ageing and some thoughtful planning was needed. Singapore’s universal design index is an assessment tool with star ratings for user-friendliness.

For building designers aiming to go beyond Australia’s minimum standards, this guide has specific design information to help. Plain language and lots of photos make this an easy to read document.

Front cover of the Guide to universal design index.

Singapore’s Universal Design index (UDi) guide assists architects, designers and building owner to understand the framework, procedure and applicability of the UDi. It has explanatory notes and photo examples that aid awareness and understanding. The guide is published by Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority. It builds on other universal design guides, and the Code on Accessibility in the Built Environment.

It’s about being user-friendly

I took this photo of a sign at Gardens by the Bay in 2016. It is an attempt to show that universal design is not just about disability. Editor.

Sign showing symbols for wheelchair access and baby stroller access

The UDi provides indicators on the level of user-friendliness for each key user groups. The specific user groups are people with disability, older people, families with young children and expectant and nursing mothers.

The four key user groups: people with disability, older people, families with young children, expectant/nursing mothers.
User Group graphic from the Universal Design Index.

The guide is a building assessment tool with star ratings. The aggregate level of user friendliness across the user groups provides the Universal Design Index rating. This indicates the level of universal design implementation achieved.

A chart showing a five star rating from one indicating minimum compliance, to five indicating all groups considered.
User-friendliness rating scale as shown in the UDi guide.

And there is detail

This comprehensive guide has specific design details on circulation, wayfinding, sensory impairments, sanitary facilities and elder-friendly rooms, residential features, hotels, serviced apartments, and more. Some of the photos, such as sanitary facilities, and hotel rooms, look very disability-specific, but there are some good design ideas too.

In essence it is a relatively easy to read building guide presented as a self-assessment tool. It covers every design element you can think of in public buildings and residential settings. It’s also an exemplar of plain language that other guides could follow.

Universal design the Singapore way

Front cover of the Universal Design Guide for Singapore.

The Singapore Government is committed to universal design throughout its building code. The Building and Construction Authority’s Universal Design Guide for Public Places was developed under Singapore’s Successful Ageing project. You can download each chapter separately from the website:

  • Introduction to user needs
  • Arriving at the building
  • Access around and within the building
  • Sanitary facilities
  • Wayfinding and information systems
  • Facilities and elements within the building
  • Family-friendly facilities

Chapters cover public transport buildings, eating outlets, supermarkets and retail outlets, parks and open spaces, and community clubs. Access consultants can compare this document with the Australian Access to Premises Standard. 

Singapore is keen to progress universal design, and the Building and Construction Authority heads up their webpage with an encouraging title – “Friendly Built Environment”. 

Dementia and Planning

An older man sits with his back to the camera in a cafe. Urban planning for dementia allows people to get out and about.Most people living with dementia live at home in the community, not in a facility. Dementia develops over time and people experience it differently. With the right supports they can live independently for several years after diagnosis. Thoughtful urban planning and design is part of the web of community supports. Samantha Biglieri discuses dementia and planning in her short article.

The title of the article is, Dementia and Planning: Expanding accessibility through design and the planning process. It covers walkability and land use strategies, wayfinding, and urban design for comfort and safety. Unique landmarks in the form of street furniture and public art can go a long way in orientating everyone.

Planning specifics

Biglieri makes the following suggestions:

    • A short irregular grid pattern of streets to create identifiable intersections.
    • Streets with ample space for pedestrian with wide buffer zones between pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.
    • Variated architectural styles within the same development. Vary the landscape to provide unique landmarks. This includes mixed land-use, different styles of street furniture, public art and vegetation. 
    • Development of memorable landscape features, open public squares and community facilities that promote social interaction and a sense of belonging. 

Summary

Contrary to popular belief, over two thirds of Canadians with dementia live in the community as opposed to congregate living. This begs a question that has not been adequately explored in planning practice or academia: How can we as planners who deal with land-use, community design, and public consultation every day, understand and meet the needs of people with dementia (PWD), who are citizens just like everyone else? After examining existing work on the relationship between the built environment and PWD, I argue a dementia-specific approach to planning practice and research is needed in the Canadian context. 

 

Equity and Inclusion by Design

Diversity, equity and inclusion is easy to talk about, but how do you make it happen? Society and businesses make commitments to the concepts, but it needs more than policies. The WELL Building Standard is about diversity, equity and inclusion by design within the built environment.

The WELL Building Standard is a building certification that focuses on human health and wellness. The assessment method encourages active lifestyles, and building features such as natural light and good air quality. The Standard includes a set of strategies focused on improving quality of life through the design. The Standard now includes the The WELL Rating™.

Jack Noonan writes in Sourceable that when we design for inclusivity, everybody benefits. Two hundred advisors from 26 countries devised the The WELL Equity Rating™. This rating framework is designed to help organisations meet their diversity, equity and inclusion goals.

The WELL Equity Rating™ was developed through a design thinking approach. This included problem solving in collaboration with people from marginalised groups.

Coloured chart of the WELL Building Standard listing, Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Fitness, Comfort, Mind

The WELL Rating™ gives organisations a framework to improve access to health and wellbeing and address diversity, equity and inclusion. It contains more than 40 features spaning six action areas:

  • User experience and feedback
  • Responsible hiring and labour practices
  • Inclusive design
  • Health benefits and services
  • Supportive programs and spaces
  • Community engagement
High rise building atrium looking down the levels that all look the same.

Find out more on the WELL Equity Rating™ website.

WELL also addresses topics such as housing equity, modern slavery and issues of domestic violence. A new feature for the next edition will include colonisation and acknowledgement of traditional custodians of the land on which we live work and play.

The title Noonan’s article is, Driving Equity and Inclusion Through Better Design and Practice.

Wayfinding signage manual

University campuses have much in common, including the likelihood of getting lost and disorientated. This is largely due to the way each campus evolves with new buildings placed wherever land is available. That makes architectural wayfinding strategies impossible to follow. So if a university campus can come up with a good way of orientating people, it should be good for other situations.

There are a large number of buildings present on Edith Cowan University campuses which cannot be changed to accommodate intuitive, architectural wayfinding practices.

Edith Cowan University access and mobility map.

Wayfinding is essential for helping people to get out and about. Getting lost is not just inconvenient, it is stressful – especially if it causes a late arrival. The Wayfinding Signage Manual for Edith Cowan University outlines how and where signs should be used, designed and built. It is a technical document with a destination hierarchy, application strategy and graphic standards. An access and mobility map and an active transport map are also included.

Wayfinding and signage for walkers

The Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads also has a guide for people walking. This is another technical document offering specific guidance to wayfinding professionals. While walkers (and wheelers) have specific requirements they need to be woven into signage for cyclists. Well-designed wayfinding and signage encourages people to walk using routes that are safe.

People walking have specific wayfinding needs different from those riding bikes or motorists.

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 walkway

The guide for people walking has a section on accessibility and lists several design elements to support accessible wayfinding signage. The wayfinding manual developed by the Cooperative Research Centre is referenced in this document. Although it was researched and developed in 2007 it remains an excellent reference.

Getting around QUT

Similarly to Edith Cowan University, the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has a wayfinding signage manual. This rather lengthy document is also technical and was published in 2022. It begins with a wayfinding masterplan, signage principles and accessibility. It’s good to see accessibility at the beginning of the guide – this aspect is often left until last.

Planning walkable neighbourhoods in Queensland

Front cover of the guide showing a montage of pictures: a tree-lined pathway, a group of new homes, children on a cycles on a cycle path.. Planning walkable neighbourhoods.New residential developments in Queensland must be walkable and encourage physical activity. Specific legislation requires among other conditions, connectivity, footpaths and street trees. Blocks must be no longer than 250 metres and residents must be within 400 metres of a park or open space. To help with planning walkable neighbourhoods there’s a guide. 

This move is supported by the Street Design Manual for Walkable Neighbourhoods. And Walkable, should also mean Wheelable. The manual is designed to help engineers, designers and planners to design more walkable and liveable residential areas. The Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia prepared the guide in conjunction with the Queensland Government,

The guide covers open space, lot design, street design, active travel, public transport, landscaping and much more. At 160 pages is it comprehensive. There is a brief mention of people using mobility devices, children, older people, and parents with strollers.

Practice Notes

Front cover of the practice notes. The guide added a set of practice notes in 2020 and they are supported by real life examples. They cover:

    1. Walkable and Legible Neighbourhoods
    2. Increasing Trees
    3. Contemporary Lot Topologies
    4. Designing for Small Lots
    5. Rear Lane Design
    6. Design for Cyclists
    7. Building a Street Cross Section
    8. Traffic Volume

The second part on design detail was not available on the website at the time of writing. 

 

Smart Cities Playbooks

This post has four different smart cities playbooks. They are by UNHabitat, the Smart Cities Council, 3Gict’s Smart Cities for All, and the fourth is by two urban planners.

UNHabitat – People-Centered Smart Cities Playbooks webpage introduces a series of playbooks as basic components of their smart cities program. The aim of the playbooks is to empower local government to take a co-design approach to digital transformations. This is so that cities can work on sustainability, inclusivity and human rights for everyone. The playbooks are titled:

  • Centering People in Smart Cities
  • Assessing the Digital Divide
  • Addressing the Digital Divide
  • Shaping Co-creation and Collaboration
  • Infrastructure and Security
  • Building Capacity
A city skyline at night against a backdrop of a computer circuitry board.

Connected Games Playbook

The Smart Cities Council is on the front foot preparing their thinking for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. They are focused on the digital aspects of the Games and have devised two smart cities playbooks.

Smart Cities Playbook No 1 sets the digital scene for the Games covering transport, facilities, housing and urban development.

Smart Cities Playbook No 2 provides guidance on the development of a South East Queensland Regional Data Strategy. Data is one the most valuable assets within the region but is undervalued and under utilised. The Strategy should support good governance and lead the implementation.

Five Pillars of Inclusive Smart Cities

A smart city uses communication technology to enhance liveability, workability, and sustainability. While the tech gets smarter it’s not getting more accessible. The most significant barriers to inclusion are lack of leadership, policy, and awareness, and limited solutions. James Thurston lists the five pillars in the Smart Cities for All Toolkit as:

  1. Strategic Intent: inclusion strategy and leadership
  2. Culture: citizen engagement and transparency
  3. Governance & Process: procurement and partnerships
  4. Technology: Global standards and solution development
  5. Data: Data divide and solutions

The Smart Cities for All Toolkit empowers city leaders and urban planners to make their programs truly “smart” by being inclusive and accessible by design.

Toni Townes-Whitley, Vice President, Microsoft.
cover of Smart Cities Toolkit.

You can see a 13 minute video of one of James’ presentations that covers similar ground. 

Busting myths about smart cities

Chelsea Collier and Dustin Haisler’s Smart Cities Playbook begins with myth-busting. The myths include: it’s all about technology; it’s only for big cities, it costs a lot; and only governments can do it.

The second part of their playbook focuses on best practices covering infrastructure, people and intelligence. The third part introduces seven steps to a smart-er community with practical worksheets for guidance.

Smart cities and intercultural inclusion

For an extension of smart city thinking, see a paper from Europe which addresses issues of migration and cultural inclusion. The title, is, Design-Enabled Innovation in Smart City
Context. Fostering Social Inclusion Through Intercultural Interaction.