Sunday 05.03.20
The Promise of Citizenship and Universalism in Our Built Environments: Thoughts on Equitable Access and Universal Design
OHK's framework for universal design and equal access planning, how it transforms municipal investments and tourism developments, and insights on leading efforts in France
“Architecture can be empowering, only if architects develop empathy.”
—Raymond Lifchez, Professor of Architecture and City & Regional Planning, University of California, Berkeley
“Alone and small in the street, my self-awareness heightens. Large swarms of hurried people part when they see me approaching. My whole identity has changed in the eyes of the city within minutes. My wheelchair is my fortress and the enemy. With its large spindly wheels as my first and only defense, they are also my burden. Jarred into an utterly complex version of what I formerly knew as reality, my eyes begin scrutinizing and dissecting the cobbled street surface ahead into zones which I can and cannot access. Never before had I seen the streetscape in such meticulous detail. Tiny height differences such as curbs and grooves between cobbles become mountains, cruelly halting progress and making small advances, exhausting. Whilst battling physical obstructions, I myself have become one. If the pavements were widened, perhaps disabled citizens wouldn’t be seen as causing an obstruction.”
—Sophia Bannert from her essay on accessible cities ‘A Day in the Life of a Wheelchair User’
Universal design is the planning and engineering of environments and spaces to make them accessible to all people, regardless of age, disability, or other immobility conditions. OHK works worldwide and in partnership with many leading organizations and advisors of universal design and accessibility standards and takes pride in guiding and supporting administrators of new or historic cities to implement accessible-for-all development plans. With our partners, we have implemented award-winning universal design projects in many EU, Asian, and Gulf Cooperation Council countries. France, where we are actively involved, is an example of a country taking such challenges head-on at a national scale given that its expansive cities, old towns, attractive tourist sites, and countryside villages—lined with cobblestones, narrow alleys, and changing elevations—are generally difficult-to-navigate by disabled visitors (visiteurs handicapés). Photo © OHK Consultants.
OHK is strong in delivering turn-key solutions ranging from the conception of urban- or destination-wide tourism strategies to single project-scale plans. OHK advises governments on visioning, design, institutionalization, product development, and management approaches. We focus on implementing transformational processes and innovating tools that ensure continued competitiveness and promotion. Within the delivery of urban or site plans, our multi-disciplined teams have designed entire destinations as well as individual heritage and conservation sites, including UNESCO World Heritage sites in more than 30 countries.
OHK is seeing an increase in demand for planning studies and designs to enhance the built environment by providing ‘equal access’ for citizens and visitors who have reduced mobility or a disability. Having developed a proprietary approach to accessibility enablement in multi-scale physical environments whether a city, a town or a collection of buildings and spaces, our framework carries over the obligations of the UN's Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to implementation and well into compliance with regulations such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Our approach situates an individual’s mobility and challenges within the broader perspective and principles of ‘universal design’ while underscoring an understanding of the practicalities of a place’s heritage, culture, boundaries, past and present realities, and prospects.
As planning consultants, we are particularly drawn to tourist destinations that have the potential for outsized impact on their communities and surroundings. Through their economy, scale and growth, they have the opportunity to be a significant asset to their people and a policy model for urban enablement and social services that integrate accessibility, civic and tourist amenities into one transformative paradigm. The Tourisme & Handicaps Association in France promotes such policies in favor of accessibility for disabled people living in or visiting tourism destinations. It works on two recognition and labeling levels. First, it issues the 'Tourisme et Handicap' label to specific tourist sites, restaurants and hotels that comply with strict accessibility and usability standards. A special logo is displayed with different symbols indicating the sort of access afforded to people with disabilities—the label is only granted to a venue that addresses at least two disabilities out of four (physical, visual, hearing or mental). Secondly, it recognizes the territories in France that integrate accessibility across their tourist sites to facilitate daily life and travel. A destination qualifies for the label ‘Destination for All’ (Destination pour tous) every 5 years; currently, three communes have qualified, Amiens, Balaruc-les-Bains, and Bordeaux. The label is recognized internationally, particularly in Europe and North America and is valued by tour operators promoting travel to France. Photo © OHK Consultants.
We implement a four-pillar intervention framework that balances legal, innovation, and urban considerations of universal accessibility. This proprietary approach is applied to mobility and disability access strategy, planning, architecture, and engineering. It is situated firmly on the built environment, regardless of scale, and applies to an entire metropolis or a single building. We assess how development within the broader innovation, technology, and mobility domains fit into existing urban clusters and corridors as well as how anchors for access, circuits, and products can serve community members and visitors indistinguishably—citizens, businesses, seniors, visitors, disabled or challenged. The pillars of our framework not only underscore innovation and technology but also harmonize local conditions with global and globally-leading accessibility requirements to empower local actors to link accessibility and freer forms of mobility with urban, travel and tourism chains.
Recognizing the multifaceted nature of any city, tourist destination, or place in general, and the need to enable mobility and access based on circuits that connect sites and mini-sites, attractions and urban and tourism services and products, we take an approach that ensures the maximum social and economic benefits in both scale and form. We apply internationally accepted architectural guidelines and engineering standards and have partnered with proponents of various legislation and standards-setting initiatives to ensure knowledge sharing and participation in global best-practices. OHK is a supporter of promoting a common and global definition of, and implementation framework for, accessibility requirements that support and enrich existing general accessibility guidelines including obligations laid down in various laws and countries.
To learn more about the ‘Tourisme et Handicaps’ program which issues the disability-friendly label in France, visit their site and other government organizations that co-chair the commission responsible for Destination pour tous here and here.
To read Sophia Bannert’s essay ‘A Day in the Life of a Wheelchair User,’ visit here.
Ahmed is Managing Partner at OHK and regularly writes about strategy, entrepreneurship, design, and local development. Contact him to learn more.