How Universities Can Help Make Our Cities More Accessible For People With Disabilities

(MENAFN- The Conversation) People living with disabilities, ranging in severity, regularly face barriers. Oftentimes, built environments are designed in ways that fail to consider the needs of those in situations of disability. That can include improperly sized ramps for wheelchair users or public spaces that are not sensory friendly.

One 2024 study found that most buildings in Canada are not accessible for people with disabilities .

This lack of accommodation can have a serious impact on a person's quality of life. For example, people with disabilities report challenges in their workplaces , such as a lack of automatic door openers and poor signage and way-finding.

If our public spaces are not accessible to all, then they cannot be truly public. The first step in changing our built environment is to bring awareness to the different forms of disabilities that people in Canada experience.

The number of people in Canada living with disabilities increased by about five per cent from 2017 to 2022 . In 2022, the Canadian Survey on Disability showed that 27 per cent of Canadians aged 15 years and older had one or more disabilities that impacted their daily activities.

As a professor in a school of design and the dean of the Faculty of Environmental Design at the Université of Montréal, I believe it's urgently important to explore how faculties of architecture, design, landscape architecture and urbanism can inform design practices through the way we teach and conduct research.

Our objective must be to teach students how to make our built environment more inclusive and universally accessible through creative means rather than basic technological add-ons.

In 2022, 72 per cent of people with disabilities reported that they experienced one or more barriers to accessibility due to their condition. The Canadian government has recognized these challenges by setting ambitious nationwide accessibility targets for 2040 .

Standards exist for accessibility and inclusivity in Canada , but they are not systematically applied. Furthermore, when designing for universal accessibility, the emphasis is on conformity rather than experience, on separation rather than integration, and on functionality rather than fulfillment.

Take, for example, a multi-storey office building that provides separate entrances and facilities for people with disabilities. The building complies with the minimum accessibility requirements set by local building codes, but does so in a way that isolates people with disabilities rather than integrating their needs into the overall design. This building does not provide the same experience to all people and therefore separates rather than includes diverse populations.

The universal accessibility of public spaces and buildings is a complex design problem . It is especially difficult for retrofits, since solutions can quickly become costly, particularly in heritage buildings.

But if changes are managed carefully, costs can become manageable . Universal accessible design is also challenging for new buildings and spaces, but if universal design is prioritized right from the outset of a project, architects and developers can create inclusive environments that accommodate diverse needs without incurring substantial additional expenses .

Universal accessible design is not just a question of following a set of codes, but rather a question of designing for an equitable, qualitative accessible experience . This means ensuring that all people, regardless of their physical or mental situations, are offered equivalent spatial experiences.

Universities that offer teaching and research programs in a universal accessible design can make a real difference. But it's integral that teaching is developed alongside the research, as understanding of needs and best practices are in continual renewal.

Faculties with such programs and courses could achieve this by enabling students through creative engagement of this difficult subject. Furthermore, being in these design environments allows students to understand these societal issues as leverage for innovative solutions, rather than just satisfying building codes.

Those designing university courses should ensure issues of universal accessibility are embedded throughout a student's academic journey, and included in a way that helps empower the graduating students.

Students graduating from these programs will become the young professionals in the fields of design, architecture, urbanism or landscape architecture.

Unfortunately, the exact likelihood of students specializing in universal accessibility - and applying their knowledge in their careers - is challenging due to limited specific data. But there is an increasing recognition of the importance of accessibility in various sectors, leading to more roles that require expertise in universal design and inclusive practices.

For instance, in Québec, efforts are being made to integrate and retain people with disabilities in the workforce , highlighting the need for professionals trained in inclusive access and universal accessibility.

Incorporating more discussion on universal accessibility in the classroom and in university research environments can help students apply their expertise in the design of our built environment throughout their careers.

Yet, higher education institutions are still not giving enough attention to courses related to universal accessibility and design . Institutions in Canada often struggle with how to provide students living with disabilities with barrier-free environments .

A national research project led by the Université of Montréal called Quality in Canada's Built Environment is bringing together research groups from universities across the country to develop solutions based on the lived experiences of people living with diverse conditions. This is a key research approach to help sensitize students across the many programs touching the built environment that is also having an impact on student learning experiences .

In 2020 alone, more than 77,000 students graduated in the fields of architecture and related studies in Canada . If every graduate is sensitized to the barriers faced by people living with disabilities, we could begin to see a shift in how our built environments are imagined and constructed by those who design them.

By fostering dialogue between research, education and practice, universities can ensure a future where accessibility is seamlessly integrated into the every day.

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