Category: Research papers for built environment

The smart city concept offers promising solutions using technology to optimise infrastructure and services. However, whether people with disability and others will benefit is unknown. Data insights and assistive technology should offer solutions for inclusive environments, but do they? Researchers in the UK outline the challenges for people with disability and explore the role of smart solutions in urban planning. Based on their findings, the researchers propose policy recommendations.

Policy implications and recommendations

The smart city recommendations below are explained further in the research paper.

• Inclusive urban planning frameworks and ensuring access standards are always applied
• Collaborative governance models, and co-design with stakeholders
• Access standards and guidelines specifically for smart city initiatives for all infrastructure
• Inclusive procurement practices for products and services that meet access standards
• Accessible public transportation across infrastructure, system planning and services
• Data privacy and security means updating privacy laws and regulations
• Capacity building and training based on universal design principles and assistive technology
• Funding mechanisms to ensure dedicated funding streams are available for innovations

The title of the short paper is, Smart Cities enhancing the lives of people with disabilities.

From the abstract

Smart cities hold great promise for revolutionising urban living. However, their potential to improve the lives of people with disabilities remains underexplored. This paper investigates the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities in everyday urban environments. It explores how smart technology can mitigate these challenges.

By leveraging data-driven insights, smart cities can create more inclusive environments that enhance the overall quality of life for people with disability. This paper discusses the various issues encountered by individuals with disabilities and proposes strategies for utilising smart technology to address these challenges effectively.

Smart cities: the road to inclusion?

Women, children and people with disability face difficulties accessing public space. This is because of safety concerns and physical barriers in the built environment. But public space must be welcoming and meaningful for all citizens. This is where community-led activities in designing public space becomes important.

Two researchers looked at digital technologies to see how they could help reframe public space design to be more inclusive. Technology should go beyond data collection to playing a central role in promoting social responsibility. Their research established a framework for creating inclusive public spaces based on site visits and users’ opinions.

The research study emphasises the importance of involving citizens in the governance of public spaces. They provide valuable data and insights about the quality and use of these spaces.

The title of the article is, The Use of the Smart Technology for Creating an Inclusive Urban Public Space.

Involving citizens in leveraging smart technology for monitoring, providing real-time information and services improves facility efficiency, and creates an eco-friendly environment.

This paper promotes the development of an urban public space that caters for a diverse community, fostering a sense of belonging and well-being for all.

London’s Smart City Strategy

Although technology offers several benefits for more inclusive and liveable environments, there are also drawbacks.   

The London case study highlights the potential barriers in implementing inclusive strategies for smart cities in practice. The valuable lessons may provide good information for other cities. 

The title of the article is Inclusive Smart Cities: An Exploratory Study on the London Smart City Strategy.

Smart cities: a revolution?

City-wide technology offers hope for people with disability, but only if there is a shift towards universal design and inclusive solutions.

Street cameras to help keep people safe and automatic doors are commonplace technology. And newer ideas such as ridesharing are possible because of technology. Apps for real-time updates for public transport to minimise unpleasant surprises. So what else can we look forward to?

Frackiewicz claims that the use of data for fine-tune urban services enables a place for “undervalued voices”. He optimistically says smart city technology is equalising, by making sure that everyone thrives.

The title of the magazine article is, Breaking Barriers: The Smart City Revolution’s Quest for Universal Accessibility. It’s a flowery writing style with lots of poetic turns of phrase.

Smart City Wheelchair Challenge

How to design a smart city that’s inclusive of wheelchair users? That was the challenge for a diverse group of engineers. Their project goal was to create a 3D simulation of a smart city that is sustainable and accessible as well as smart. 

Underpinning their design concepts were the Sustainable Development Goals. These goals have inclusion and universal design at their heart. The team documented their project from the formation of their group through to the final creation. 

Their report shows pictures of their Lego creations, sketches and artist impressions of sites. Smart services are the vision for the future, such as autonomous vehicles and how they will fit into the fabric of our community designs. They also considered smart parking, trains, trash systems and lighting.

This is a very detailed but well-laid out report. It reads more like a story, with plenty to share, including their spin-off into mobile apps. They had planned to do the final presentation using virtual reality, but COVID-19 and a university shut-down cut that short. The title of the 19MB report is, Smart City Simulator: “Phase Two” – The Wheelchair Challenge.  

See also, Smart Cities for All Toolkit. 

From the abstract

Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet) assigned a project with the aim of addressing these issues. The main part of the task was to create a wheelchair accessible Smart City, as a visual simulation. Researchers focused on wheelchair users and all kinds of limitations: blindness, deafness, mobility difficulties, old, young, and pregnant women.

Based on our results, a Lego model built by Oracle, we asked participants what belongs in a Smart City, and what challenges specifically the participants with disabilities have in their everyday life in cities.

After the research, we decided to create a Smart City in Universal Design. We implemented an electric autonomous public transport system, a smart trash system, a smart parking system and a smart lighting system.

 

Gender equity for women is a fine aim, but it’s not just about social attitudes or equal pay. Urban environments have a role to play when it comes to workforce participation. According to researchers in the UK, the way we design urban spaces is yet to catch up with this aim. Their paper on gender responsive urban planning takes a user-centred look at how women use urban space.

It wasn’t so long ago that women stayed home performing household tasks and walking to the shops for daily food supplies. Meanwhile, men were free to range the urban environment, assuming they were fit and able.

The researchers’ exploratory study involved participants taking a walk to a central point and then giving feedback. Accessibility, comfort, safety and convenience emerged as themes. Their research paper outlines the method in detail and poses future planning strategies.

Future planning strategies

Planning strategies identified in the study included:

In the UK shops with awnings are not commonplace, but awnings offer shelter from the weather, particularly the rain. Another simple by useful strategy to make places more welcoming.

The title of the paper is, Gender Walks in the City: An Exploratory Study on Gender-Responsive Urban Planning.

Editor’s note on terminology: if a study is about women specifically, it should say so. “Gender responsive” studies should be seen from a broader perspective and not used as code for women. However, environments designed with women in mind will be more comfortable for more people and take in gender diverse communities.

From the abstract

This research investigates gender walks as a method for gathering knowledge in urban planning and design processes. It is about gender-sensitive design, which aims to tackle gender inequalities in cities.

Intersectional gender-aware design is complex. Therefore we look at walking – in its simplicity and effectiveness – as a responding strategy. A comparison of three existing exploratory walk insights outlines the criteria for the initial design of our walking audit method.

The knowledge gained on gender-aware planning from both urban design and sociological perspectives provide support and critique for the ongoing City Centre Transformation Programme. The aim is to optimise public spaces for women’s inclusion, safety and enjoyment.

Gender inclusivity in streetscapes

In 2010 the Los Angeles Department of Transport published a report on gender inclusivity in streetscapes and transportation planning. The findings showed women and girls, especially those on low incomes, were at a disadvantage in this car-centric city. So what to do about it? The Department of Transport devised infrastructure design strategies that also included amenities in streetscapes.

While there is discussion about gender differences in transportation needs, little improvement has been made to solve the issues. And this is not just in Los Angeles. The first transportation report, Changing Lanes, provided the baseline information. The follow up is a report, using case studies, provides design strategies.

Case studies

Five case studies from different cities informed the recommendations.

Note the small seat or shelf on the the bus stop pole. Perhaps a perch seat higher up the pole is better for people who cannot rise from a seat placed so low. The bottom right photo indicates a cycle lane between the bus shelter and the boarding platform. However, there is space for prams and wheelchairs under the shelter. Backrests on the seats would add extra comfort.

Planning recommendations

Six recommendations for improvements are based on the case studies.

This is an easy to read report which supports other research on inclusive and accessible infrastructure. For example, wide level footpaths, kerb extensions and pedestrian safety islands.

The title of the report is Designing Streetscapes for Gender Inclusivity, published by UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies. There are some good examples applicable to many other jurisdictions.

From the abstract

Within the US, Los Angeles has been at the forefront of making efforts to factor gender inclusivity into transportation planning. In 2021, LADOT released Changing Lanes: A Gender Equity Transportation Study. This study found that LA’s current transportation system is not adequately serving low-income people of colour, women, girls, and gender diverse groups.

To address these inequities, LADOT is taking the next steps to implement gender-inclusive transportation infrastructure design strategies. This paper presents case studies that support walking, biking, rolling, and waiting.

Each case study focused on a different strategy for improving gender inclusivity in streetscape design. That is, pedestrian street lighting, public seating, bus stop amenities, pedestrian infrastructure, and bike infrastructure. The implementation of these design strategies can ensure the needs of women, girls, and gender diverse groups who rely on active transportation and public transit are met.

Gender neutral toilet facilities are the subject of discussion in academic research, legislation and architectural briefs. Urban planners say any toilet away from home should be informed by the proportion of needs in society. Enter the gender neutral category of amenity as the solution that can best resist bias and discrimination. But maybe it doesn’t.

The proposed legislative changes note that one in 500 people in Victoria identify as trans, but fail to note that one in two Victorians are women. Kalms and McVey claim that rather than offering inclusivity, it will further penalise those already disadvantaged in amenity design.

The issue of signage

Repurposing women’s public facilities or accessible toilets as gender-neutral is an ad hoc response to the real issues.

The article goes on to discuss different sections of the population including people who are homeless, and women from culturally diverse backgrounds. Public toilets are also places of personal care and of refuge from sexual violence. An important discussion paper which shows how the default to the male toilet is the norm – they remain the same. Women’s toilets have become the “adaptable” quick-fix place for all other groups. But at the cost to whom?

In summary

“We therefore suggest that current reform proposals for inclusivity do not go far enough, and put forward the need for a more ‘radical redesign of public sanitary facilities. Such a radical redesign, we argue, requires a needs based design ethos based on users’ requirements. This approach reiterates the importance of more inclusive design, but does so by considering and prioritising those most significantly and disproportionately impacted and neglected by current design.”

The title of the book chapter is, Commentary on Let Us Pee in The Feminist Legislation Project. An important discussion on how easy it is to exclude people in design, albeit unintentionally. Another reason for engaging in co-design and co-creation processes.

Chapter topics

Dementia-friendly assessment tool

The Dementia Friendly Community Environmental Assessment Tool provides a relatively simple checklist. It takes in many of the regular aspects of accessibility overlaid with design thought for people with dementia. A good place to start your thinking.

The more recent online resource from Dementia Training Australia expands on the 2015 edition and goes into more detail. Sections can be downloaded separately. There are three parts in the handbook:

• 1 ‘Key Design Principles’ contains a description of key design principles.
  • 2 ‘The Dementia Friendly Community – Environmental Assessment Tool introduces the tool and provides directions for its use.
  • 3 ‘Using the Spreadsheet’ contains a guide to scoring and showing the results graphically.  

This assessment tool is No. 5 in a set of 7 resources within the Environmental Design Resources Handbook.

There is also a free app to guide you through an assessment on the strengths and weaknesses of buildings for people with dementia. The website has more resources covering both community living and residential care.  

Is having urban green space enough to make a difference? That’s a question posed by researchers in Brazil. They wanted to find out whether the quality of nearby green spaces and nature has a positive impact on mental wellbeing. They found that the longer people spent in natural environments, the more their wellbeing improved. However, any green space is not enough – the quality of the space is the key. It also has to be accessible, safe, and welcoming.

From the abstract

This study delves into whether simply having urban green space in the neighborhood is enough to significantly impact residents’ mental well-being. Most research overlooks the suitability of green spaces for recreational use, limiting urban planning strategies. Recent findings highlight the multifaceted benefits of green spaces, such as improved sleep and lower blood pressure.

Although research in developed nations highlights the mental health benefits of green spaces, similar studies are lacking in developing countries. The socio-economic and environmental contexts in the Global South differ significantly from those in developed nations.

This study hypothesizes that accessibility to urban green space with suitable infrastructure for physical activities, leisure or recreation, provides more significant benefits. The aim is to deepen the understanding of the role of UGS in promoting mental health and to guide the creation of urban environments conducive to well-being.

The Ageing City and mental health

Walkability has been the focus of good public spaces to encourage physical health. However, the recent pandemic increased our awareness of the need for urban design for mental health. The Aging City Edition of the Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health looks at the dimension of cognitive decline. Here’s what’s in the 7th edition of this academic publication:

The Editorial focuses on the need for new directions in interdisciplinary research. 

Dementia-friendly neighbourhoods is about the methodological challenges and opportunities. 

The role of green spaces in preventing cognitive decline calls for “research-by-design”.

Older residents’ mental health status is compared in suburbs versus traditional neighbourhoods is compared to find key design solutions. 

Case studies include Guy Luscombe’s Age n Dem Toolkit, the role of community square dancing in China, and a look at design culture to to empower older people. City Case Studies are Lagos and Sydney. 

Although this is an academic journal, the research and findings provide direction for urban planners and support the need for more pedestrian friendly neighbourhoods. 

Urban planning and Coronavirus

The daily disadvantage of marginalised groups is more clearly revealed as others fall into the ranks of disadvantage during this pandemic.  A discussion paper from Berkeley argues that this current pandemic is an opportunity to consider similar urban health reforms that followed previous epidemics. Promoting inclusive and healthy cities for all is the bottom line in this thoughtful discussion.

The discussion paper takes the perspective of people with functional limitations. For many people worldwide, disability is about health, human rights, and poverty. It’s an urban development issue and time to move from the medical model to the social model of disability. Also discussed are how people with disability are left out of economic responses, such as one-off support payments, and not included in planning to prevent future crises.

The authors provide recommendations for how this pandemic can best support people with disability and how this makes cities healthier for all. They warn that pandemics also run the risk of exacerbating further marginalisation through racism and segregation. The abstract below is the essence of the paper.

The title of the paper is, Disability, Urban Health Equity, and the Coronavirus Pandemic: Promoting Cities for All. 

It’s one thing to create inaccessible built environments through thoughtlessness. It is another to do it intentionally. Hostile design has emerged as an architectural response to homelessness, specifically rough sleepers. Rough sleepers need a flat surface on which to lie down, but flat surfaces are also a place of rest for other citizens.

Put simply, hostile designs are intentionally created to restrict behaviours in urban spaces in order to maintain public order.

Examples of this type of design are highlighted in a paper titled, Designing Out: A Framework for Studying Hostile Design. Mostly these are benches with raised or sloping sections. However, low height walls are also used as temporary resting places by pedestrians.

The author considers hostile design a reflection of the prevailing social values which ends up defining who has access to public space and who doesn’t. Finding ways to hide homelessness is not the answer to the problem. Everyone has an equal right to use public space.

The article discusses the issues from a rights perspective – the right to the city. The removal of rough sleepers from the public domain appeases the discomfort of people who have a home to go to. But it does not deal with the issue of homelessness. Indeed, architecture should be looking at ways to minimise homelessness, not hiding it with uninviting design.

The title of the article is, Designing Out: A Framework for Studying Hostile Design. 

Hostile design doesn’t solve social problems

If nothing else, hostile design shows the power of design – it makes it obvious. But does it? According to Semple, most people don’t notice it, but when they do, they get angry about it. And urban design should not be street police – the problems only move elsewhere. Designers cannot solve societal problems with street furniture. 

Design Week’s article Hostile design is still a problem in our pubic spaces, has an everyday look at the issues. 

The City as Home

The City as Home is a landscape-led response by Logan Bunn to the treatment of rough sleepers. His thesis challenges this form of social control as it instils injustice and inequality within the urban fabric. 

The overarching methodology of this thesis is research through inclusive design, supported by participatory research.

“This thesis highlights the need to humanise rough sleepers and integrate their needs into the design of public space, whilst also demonstrating the positive impact of inclusive and empathetic design practices on the broader community. It underscores the potential of landscape architectural practice to address social justice issues and create more inclusive public spaces through proactive collaboration and activism.”

The design of the public built environment has long been problematic for a diverse range of people with disability. And while attempts are made with new or upgraded precincts, barriers are still created. While this is often unintentional, once the concrete is down, it is difficult and/or costly to remedy. And so the barriers remain and inclusive urban environments remain a dream for the future.

A team of researchers from the UK, USA, and Pakistan carried out a qualitative research project with people with disability. The results are not new but confirm existing research and the experience of users. One area not often mentioned in previous research is the role of legislation and accountability.

The research paper discusses the state of play and the methods they used. The text contains quotes from participants which personalises the information. The research was carried out in two urban areas in the UK.

Footpaths, seating and toilets

Top of the list of physical barriers was footpaths and the opportunity to rest on a seat. Road crossings was the top hazard for most participants even when signalised. Unexpected maintenance work was also considered dangerous for wheelchair users and people who are blind.

Despite having a legislative framework and access standards, local authorities seem unable to provide accessible environments. Some issues such as footpaths linking with road crossings mean that two authorities are responsible.

Transport barriers included physical access to public transport, lack of information, including cost, and bus driver attitudes. Access to public toilets was also raised. The paper has more detail on the attitudinal barriers and service barriers.

From the conclusions

Barriers are interrelated in many cases, but most are related to poor physical designs, inadequate policy considerations and negative attitudes. The findings reinforce previous research but with a user’s perspective. People who are deaf or hard of hearing are mostly absent in the literature. This is because it is assumed they are safe from physical obstructions. However, they experience their own barriers to inclusion.

The title of the paper is Designing out Barriers for Disabled: Towards an Inclusive Urban Environments.  Note that the preferred language in the UK is disabled people rather than people with disability. 

From the abstract

People with disability often struggle with the complexities of the built environment, hindering their full participation in everyday urban life. Accessibility and social inclusiveness are major challenges for active participation for people with disability.

The lack of legal obligation for authorities to implement inclusive solutions, and lack of training in disability awareness has led to environments full of barriers for the disabled community.

The research explored the nature of barriers faced by persons with diverse disabilities by highlighting a user perspective. The barriers fell into four categories: poor physical design, inadequate policies, negative attitudes, and absence of technical solutions.

Recommendations to overcome the barriers are presented in the research.