Sport, Recreation & Arts Archives

Taming the wilderness with inclusive design

The natural landscapes of Norway conjure up pictures of fjords and wilderness with steep slopes. For some people, walks and bike rides in this natural environment aren’t possible. So one municipality of 1287 residents took up the challenge to create an activity park for everyone – locals and visitors of all ages. It was managed as a joint effort between the community and private and public partners. They tame

Residents had input into all the elements of the park including information signs and a BMX park. Local businesses were invited to tender for contracts, but some thought the investment too much. However, when tourism increased and the cafe trade increased the criticisms receded. The award winning Hamaren Activity Park now gets 10,000 visitors a year.

The article on the DOGA website provides more information: methods, observations and lots of pictures. There is also a video where the designers and users explain their experiences. It’s in Norwegian but has English captions. Below is a YouTube video without words.

The Stovner Tower is a similar project located in Oslo.

Playspaces: Adventurous and Inclusive

Concepts of play can be designed into many different places – not just the standard urban park. Making play areas inclusive is becoming the norm now – not singling out specific play equipment for children with disability. And not calling them “all abilities” play spaces either. If they are inclusive they don’t need a special name.

We need to add adults into the design as well. Younger children only get to go if an adult takes them, and that adult might have a disability. That means moving away from the modular play equipment found in catalogues as the total solution.

Sanctuary magazine has a great article on nature play in parks and home gardens titled, Playspaces: Child’s play gets serious. Touched by Olivia has achieved many of its aims and is now part of Variety. The NSW Department of Planning has followed up on this movement with the development of the Everyone Can Play guideline.

For academics, the Sanctuary article is also available from Informit.

The adventure evolution

Playspace designers have an important role to play in society. That’s because play is an essential part of human development. And as society evolves so too should playspaces. In line with the concepts of universal design, playspaces are evolving and designers are improving as they go. Adventure playspaces are evolving too.

The recent move away from control and safety to adventure play offers plenty of room for creative designs. Recycled, natural or found materials rather than manufactured equipment allows for imaginative play. It means a lot to parents to have an inclusive playspace for their whole family.

An article in Landscape magazine covers the topic of play and design features. It has several good examples to share although they don’t appear to be inclusive. Nevertheless, some of the landscape architects featured are making their designs more inclusive. The Evolution of Playspaces is an informative article for anyone involved in playspaces.

An article from Italy discusses the importance of adventure play and taking risks for children with disability.

An article from Denmark discusses the dangers of standardized playground equipment designed by adults with no input from children, who prefer to make their own play. You need institutional access for a free read.

For more see a separate article on inclusive playspaces and the Everyone Can Play guide.

See also Adventure play and children with disability for a research paper on the same topic.

No Obstacles in Playgrounds that are not only Accessible but also Inclusive is also a research paper.

The Everyone Can Play website has a video where parents talk about what it means for their family to have an inclusive play space.

Inclusive Outdoor Recreation

What does the international research on accessible nature-based tourism say? That’s what researchers in Sweden checked out. Nine major themes emerged for inclusive outdoor recreation:

1. 1. employee attitudes towards people with disability
  2. accessibility of tourism websites and information systems
  3. accessible transportation, accommodation and tourist attractions
  4. technical solutions
  5. experience, motivations and constraints in tourism settings for people with disability
  6. tourism for the families and carers of people with disability
  7. tourism and leisure activities for older people
  8. the accessible tourism market
  9. nature-based tourism and outdoor recreation

This review found that existing research took the perspective of the consumer rather than the tourism operator. The report goes into more detail on the nine factors. It includes evidence from USA, Europe, UK and Sweden. The title of the report is, Enhancing Accessibility in Tourism & Outdoor Recreation: A Review of Major Research Themes and a Glance at Best Practice.

An very academic article, but with important findings. The key point – we need more research on businesses rather than consumers.

Access to natural waterfronts

Natural landscapes generally receive less attention than landscape architecture. So it is good to see that three Hungarian researchers have taken a serious look at the issues. Their study took the perspective of tourism and looked at tourist habits. They list some of the factors that need to be specifically considered for access to natural waterfront landscapes, including beaches.

The list of factors covers mobility, vision, and hearing. Parking and approach, jetties, pontoons, bathing, and fishing are all discussed. Several photographs show good examples of accessibility.

“If inclusive design and nature conservation principles are taken into consideration from the very beginning of the whole design process, access to waterfront landscapes can be spreaded [sic], and the natural values of the landscape remain existing and provide the experience of nature for the human race.”

The title of the article is “Access to Waterfront Landscapes for Tourists Living with Disabilities “ by Gabriella Szaszák , Albert Fekete and Tibor Kecskés. It’s open access.

Swim, Sail, Relax

Having fun in the sand and surf is the iconic Australian pastime. But not everyone gets an opportunity to join in the fun and swim, sail and relax. The Association of Consultants in Access, Australia newsletter features articles and case studies on beach access, sailing, a resort for people with spinal cord injury, and provisions for people with autism. Plus the general news of the association. The articles mainly feature specialist activities and designs, such as the resort. But that is all part of creating an inclusive society.

The newsletter is available online where you can choose to view online through Issuu or download a PDF version (7MB).

Related to outdoor recreation is Agri-Tourism

A well designed conference poster published by Ohio State University encapsulates the key points.

The poster poses this question: “Ohio has almost 700 farms with an agritourism feature, which brings visitors to vineyards, orchards, and corn mazes, but are these farms welcoming to everyone?” Using photos it explains how to make farms and vineyards more accessible to everyone. Tasmania also has an Agritourism Strategy, but it doesn’t say anything about inclusion and accessibility.

Placemaking Toolkit

Designing public space is not only for trained professionals. Because the Placemaking Toolkit shows how community groups and residents can do their own place make-over. The Toolkit is for community-driven, low-cost public space transformation. With the support of local government anyone can change a neglected space in their neighbourhood into a clean and safe play area or park.

This Guide is especially relevant for developing countries and remote communities in any country. The Guide is from the Public Space Network and includes case studies at the end. The introduction includes criteria for a good public space.

What makes a good public space?

1. Accessibility: Public spaces shall be well-connected to other places frequently used by people. They should be easy to get to, easy to enter, easy to move around, free and/or affordable for the vast majority.

2. Comfort: The place shall be kept clean and contain elements enhancing the comfort for its users. These can be seating facilities and dustbins painted in colours, and greenery (trees, loan, flowers) providing shade.

3. Safety: The space shall be well visible without any obstruction that could provide a hiding space for criminal activities. The space should be free of any illegal activities and the presence of motorized traffic shall be limited to avoid injuries.

4. Active use: Spaces become places when people use them. In an always empty space, people may not feel safe or comfortable. To encourage its social function, the place shall offer a wide variety of activities that can interest various types of users. The activities may include sport and leisure activities, such as space for boardgames and team sports, playground for children as well as a regular organization of community events – such as sports tournaments, concerts, fairs etc.

5. Walkability: Good public spaces provide opportunities for people to walk safely with minimal interruption from vehicles and other motorized transport.

Placemaking Europe

There’s another toolbox with extended resources from Placemaking Europe. It’s an open source collection of placemaking guides and manuals with lots of pictures.

“The Placemaking Europe Toolbox is a collection of curated placemaking resources for all to access, learn from, and practice.”

Universal design and parks and plazas

Poorly designed spaces limit the number of people who can use them – they might look great, but that is not enough. Everyone should benefit from great civic space. The American Society of Landscape Architects has a great guide to Parks and Plazas. The online guide includes good case studies and easy to follow tips. Here are a few of the points covered. See the online guide for the rest.

Connections to the street: Parks and plazas should meet the street at grade, ensuring that anyone can enter the space. When a grade change is needed, a choice of a ramp and steps creates a unified experience. Choose safe, slip resistant materials that are tactile and provide high contrast.

Clear identity: While maintaining a seamless entry from the street is important, creating a space separate from the street gives identity to the space. Trees can buffer noise and other sensory information from other areas.

Providing options: Public places serve many different groups of people, with differing needs. One solution is not going to accommodate everyone, but the scale of many public places creates room for spaces that give visitors different choices and opportunities.

Ease of access to restrooms: Bathrooms that are easy to locate allow families with children, people with disabilities, and older adults to readily use facilities that everyone needs. Placing bathrooms near streets and along major pathways of parks makes locating restrooms easier if the need arises. Clear and regular signage to toilets are an essential part of enjoying parks and plazas.

What is a great civic space? supports the parks and plaza guide. It looks at benefits of inclusion and the identity of place.

Parks Designed for Inclusion

The Parks and Recreation Report does an excellent job of covering just about everyone in terms of age, level of capability, cultural background, refugee status and sexual orientation. Statistics on each of the groups help focus the mind when it comes to designing parks and recreation facilities.

The Report is a concise document emphasising that everyone can take advantage of facilities, programs, places and spaces that make their lives and communities great. Published by the National Recreation and Park Association.

Also, have a look at Advancing play participation for all: The challenge of addressing play diversity and inclusion in community parks and playgrounds. This is an academic article which is also available on ResearchGate.

Introduction to article: Outdoor parks and playgrounds are important sites of social inclusion in many urban communities. However, these playspaces are often inaccessible and unusable for many children with disabilities. This paper presents findings from a case study of one urban municipality in Ireland. The study aimed to understand play participation in five local playgrounds by exploring the perspectives of play providers and families with diverse abilities, through the lens of universal design.

Inclusive leisure facilities: A design guide

Front cover of Designing for Inclusivity. Designing for inclusive leisure facilities. — Front cover of guide

A design guide for inclusive leisure facilities is an excellent resource for designers, policy makers and municipal authorities. Lots of drawings and graphics provide design guidance and highlight the key points. Using the principles of universal design means that it is not a standardised design template.

Privacy and comfort for all users is one of the key elements. Mixed gender spaces for caregivers and parents with young children are also important. Local cultural customs also need to be considered. The classic gender segregation of space has already evolved into more universal space because of disability legislation.

The guide addresses confusion over language and terminology, use of space and general design principles. The title of the guide is, Designing for Inclusivity: Strategies for Universal Washrooms and Change Rooms in Community and Recreation Facilities. It covers: inclusivity for families, people with disability, transgender and non-binary people, privacy, increased efficiency and forward thinking design. The principles are:

1. Strive for inclusivity and access for all
2. Use openness to enhance safety through activity and shared monitoring
3. Create privacy where most needed to enhance comfort
4. Welcome everyone with signage that emphasizes function and is clear, inclusive, and positive
5. Ensure supportive staff operations and communications

Universally designed leisure facilities

What does washroom and change room design have to do with social justice? Darryl Condon answers this question in a Pools and Leisure Magazine article. He has a good grasp of all the relevant design issues across the diversity and inclusion spectrum for universally designed leisure facilities.

The advice and information is explained using a universal design approach, which makes it relevant to other public facilities. Condon lists five design strategies that designers can take away. At the end of the article he advises that with any new facility, a diverse group of users should be consulted. A very thoughtful article in this international magazine published via issuu. It has other articles of interest to designers and architects.

The article, Designing for Inclusivity: Strategies for universal washrooms and change rooms in community sport and recreation facilities, is on page 48. Pictures and graphics are a nice addition.

The article begins: “What does washroom and change room design have to do with social justice? A great deal. As architects, we must consider the social impact resulting from all aspects of our work. Universal washrooms and change rooms are increasingly crucial in the design of recreation and sport facilities and are one element in our approach to more impactful design”.

This article is also on Linked In and probably easier to read than the issuu version. The picture is from the Linked In version. The social inclusion aspect is also discussed by Katherine Webber in Toilets, Taboos and Design Principles.

Landscaping with universal design

Compliance with legal requirements in public spaces is rarely enough to guarantee access for everyone. People with invisible disabilities are often left out of designs. A focus on technical aspects often results in spaces that are still challenging for many. The American Society of Landscape Architects has a Universal Design page where they list some of the disabilities and impairments regularly overlooked. For example, dementia, deafness, vision loss, and autism. The classic 7 Principles of Universal Design are re-jigged to suit landscape design:

- - Accessible
  - Comfortable
  - Participatory
  - Ecological
  - Legible
  - Multi-sensory
  - Predictable
  - Walkable/Traversable.

More detail on the above list is on their web page.You can also find more resources on their website including one specifically on Universal Design: Parks and Plazas with some nice case studies too.

Tourism, temples and information kiosks

According to a research paper on designing information kiosks, they should be designed based on the following five principles if people are going to use them:
1. Do not make me think.
2. Do not make me wait.
3. Do not allow me to feel annoyed.
4. Do not take control away from me.
5. Do not take advantage of me (do not be evil).

These principles of human–computer interface design serve as critical concepts in kiosk design. Height setting, tactile feedback, and text colour should also be considered.

In a paper from Taiwan, the authors use the seven principles of universal design for the design of kiosks in the context of tourism and user centred design. The results of the study show different preferences for different aspects of temples. For example, participants preferred interactive representations of gods, but textual and graphic content for temple carvings.

There is lots of statistical analysis to back up their claims. This study has much to offer those who design museum-type interactive kiosks for visitors. The main aim of the study was to maintain commercial development of tourism in general and visitation of temples. The title of the paper is, Cultural tourism and temples: Content construction and interactivity design.

Abstract:

Cultural and creative industries have a crucial role in the post-industrial knowledge economy. However, our understanding of the importance of temples in connecting people with society is limited. To fill this gap, this study explores points of interest for tourists in Taiwan to analyse the design of cultural interest operation modes in temples’ interactive kiosk interfaces.

We also examine three cultural levels related to the design of interactive kiosks in temples. Results reveal that participants’ levels of interest vary depending on temple complexity.

Most participants prefer animated presentations of content related to two- and three-dimensional murals and the history and origins of temples. We illustrate how to develop a process for designing cultural and creative digital products. We construct a flowchart for guided temple tours and present an effective and suitable design method and its prototype product. This research has implications the revitalisation of historic sites to create new value.

Learning through experience

Claremont College students from different disciplines joined the EnviroLab Asia 2019 Clinic Trip to Japan. A short video shows them checking out accessibility at Umeda train station and Ogimachi Park. The trip included time with Osaka Institute of Technology’s Robotics Department working on a project. They explored robotic technologies and universal design and created a model high tech recreational space for older people. The students conclude that barrier free places are not just for people with disability – it’s about including everyone.

Abstract: Studying Accessibility in Japan shows the research project led by Professor Angelina Chin (history, Pomona) with students who studied universal design and accessibility in Japan during the EnviroLab Asia 2019 Clinic Trip. The group also worked with the Osaka Institute of Technology’s Robotics Department.

Editor’s note: This is a video only publication – I couldn’t find any written material other than the abstract. The download button takes you to a high definition of the video, not a document. It is a very large file.

Category: Sport, Recreation & Arts

Taming the wilderness with inclusive design

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