you raise an interesting point about disability awareness and the degree to
which people do or don't feel comfortable around people with disabilities
rachel.
of course having a disability of your own doesn't exempt you from this
situation, whoever you are. Having for example a visual impairment doesn't
make you any better informed about the needs of some one with a different
disability and hence different needs, and for that matter any better placed
to react to, or help that person.
in the context of the built environment this problem of a lack of awareness
is as big a barrier as any to the provision of access.
How do you go about getting a designer or building manager to provide an
environment which is useable by everyone when he / she doesn't understand
the needs of those building users.
Legislation which states that doors must be x metres wide to allow
wheelchairs to pass through, or that signs must be in this sized lettering
to be visible to those with poor sight is useful guidence but when what the
designer is really wondering is "how do people in wheelchairs use the
toilet" or "how do blind people find their mouths" it just isn't enough.
Awareness isn't however something that can happen overnight so we are forced
to rely on both the educators and the legislators.
accessibility in architectural education is something which is starting to
be given more attention by both accademia and the industry itself in recent
years but we're seeing very little shift in the way legislation makes
provision. Minimum guideance rather than defined regulation is still the
basis of building codes and the use of vague terms such as "reasonable" and
"alternative provision" within so-called "disability rights" legislation
creates at best a messy and non uniform provision of service and at worst
massive potential loop-holes. For example in the application of the DDA to
education which you talked about Patrick, the government proposes that local
education authorities will be responsible for the division of monies and
services within their regions. This could result in children in one county
having to travel long distances every day to "special" schools" where as in
another they would be integrated in to existing schools with the necessary
support. This based entirely on which the LEA felt to be the more cost
affective method.
So what is the way forward?
is the type of consultation which is being undertaken by the government in
to a number of related pieces of legislation sufficient?
Does the Disability Rights Commition have the power to deliver the goods ?
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