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Who Are We Building for? Tracing Universal Design in Urban Development

Müller, Lilian LU (2023) In Studies in Health Technology and Informatics 303. p.3-9
Abstract

Despite laws, policies, and political visions to create cities and societies for all, barriers still exclude people from using buildings and public places. The commitments made in global agreements such as the Convention on Rights for Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development require significant changes in urban planning to meet the variety of needs and conditions in the population. Implementing Universal Design (UD) in urban planning processes is one important step towards a society for all. Three recent studies in Sweden focused on UD in the urban development - how, where and what factors that supported or impeded UD along the planning and construction processes. The whole process, from signs in... (More)

Despite laws, policies, and political visions to create cities and societies for all, barriers still exclude people from using buildings and public places. The commitments made in global agreements such as the Convention on Rights for Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development require significant changes in urban planning to meet the variety of needs and conditions in the population. Implementing Universal Design (UD) in urban planning processes is one important step towards a society for all. Three recent studies in Sweden focused on UD in the urban development - how, where and what factors that supported or impeded UD along the planning and construction processes. The whole process, from signs in visionary programmes and development plans to process-related factors and visible results in the completed buildings and places, were analyzed from a UD perspective. The findings highlight three critical areas to pay particular attention to, when implementing UD in the built environment: Competing and contradictory interests, Critical choices and aspects and Images of the user. These challenges need to be addressed by all actors involved, together in a in a goal-oriented work, to reach common understanding on how an inclusive built environment can be designed and realized.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Accessibility, Disability, Sustainability, Universal Design, Urban Development
in
Studies in Health Technology and Informatics
volume
303
pages
7 pages
publisher
IOS Press
external identifiers
  • pmid:37347598
  • scopus:85162834007
ISSN
0926-9630
DOI
10.3233/SHTI230392
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
eccdde02-e628-4780-86e9-0abacaf231c4
date added to LUP
2023-09-15 10:20:00
date last changed
2024-04-20 03:20:43
@article{eccdde02-e628-4780-86e9-0abacaf231c4,
  abstract     = {{<p>Despite laws, policies, and political visions to create cities and societies for all, barriers still exclude people from using buildings and public places. The commitments made in global agreements such as the Convention on Rights for Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development require significant changes in urban planning to meet the variety of needs and conditions in the population. Implementing Universal Design (UD) in urban planning processes is one important step towards a society for all. Three recent studies in Sweden focused on UD in the urban development - how, where and what factors that supported or impeded UD along the planning and construction processes. The whole process, from signs in visionary programmes and development plans to process-related factors and visible results in the completed buildings and places, were analyzed from a UD perspective. The findings highlight three critical areas to pay particular attention to, when implementing UD in the built environment: Competing and contradictory interests, Critical choices and aspects and Images of the user. These challenges need to be addressed by all actors involved, together in a in a goal-oriented work, to reach common understanding on how an inclusive built environment can be designed and realized.</p>}},
  author       = {{Müller, Lilian}},
  issn         = {{0926-9630}},
  keywords     = {{Accessibility; Disability; Sustainability; Universal Design; Urban Development}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{3--9}},
  publisher    = {{IOS Press}},
  series       = {{Studies in Health Technology and Informatics}},
  title        = {{Who Are We Building for? Tracing Universal Design in Urban Development}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/SHTI230392}},
  doi          = {{10.3233/SHTI230392}},
  volume       = {{303}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}