Poorly designed communities can make it difficult for people with mobility impairments or other disabling conditions to move about their environment; consequently, people with a disability often are more vulnerable to environmental barriers.
Barrier attributes within our environment can include
In one major U.S. city, researchers found that three out of five people with disabilities and elderly persons do not have sidewalks between their residences and the nearest bus stop. An even greater percentage of households lack curb cuts (71%) and bus shelters (76%) close to bus stops. Researchers also determined that close to 50% of the elderly and people with disabilities live within two blocks of a bus stop, but that the lack of sidewalks, curb cuts, and bus shelters actually made use of the transportation system impossible, creating a situation where fewer than 10% of such persons use public transportation. Such environmental barriers can affect the access that people with a disability have to basic health care, social services, and other necessary activities.
Public health has helped address these problems in many communities by promoting the use of universal design in community planning and architectural decisions. The concept of universal design maintains that all products, environments, and communications should be designed to consider the needs of the widest possible array of users.
Universal design, as defined by the National Endowment for the Arts, goes
beyond the mere provision of special features for various segments of the
population. Instead, universal design emphasizes a creative approach that is more inclusive
--
one that asks at the outset of the design process how a product, graphic
communication, building, or landscape can be made both aesthetically pleasing
and functional for the greatest number of users. Designs resulting from this
approach are more likely to serve a wider array of people: individuals who have
temporary disabilities, people who have permanent disabilities, and everyone
whose abilities change with age.
For more information about accessibility & the environment, refer
to the
following resources:
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities -
Disability and Health
(http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dh/)
The goal of the Disability and Health team at NCBDDD is to promote the
health and well-being of the estimated 54 million people with disabilities
living in the United States. The NCBDDD Web site includes information on
accessibility in
products and environments (http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dh/accessibilityguides.htm)
Additional information on accessibility and related topics can be
found in the Additional Resources section.
References
Barreto R, editor. The art of universal design: Designing for the 21st Century II
Preconference,
2000 June 14. Available from URL:
http://www.adaptenv.org/index.php?option=Resource&articleid=149
Gilderbloom J, Markham J. Creating the
Accessible City. From: Housing quality among the
elderly: a decade of changes. Int J Aging Hum
Dev 1998; 46(1).
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