What is Accessibility?

Accessibility refers to the ease with which everybody can approach, enter and use buildings, outdoor areas and other facilities, independently, without the need for any special arrangements. Accessibility is a feature that makes the environment user friendly and safe for all and not just the persons with disabilities.

Accessible design or ‘Design for All’, better known as Inclusive or Universal Design,  aims to eliminate or at least minimize the barriers that confront all building, product or facility users without, in the process, introducing new difficulties. In practice, where the guidance for accessible/ inclusive design is followed, the accessibility and comfort of the environment will be enhanced for all users. Accessible design includes landscape, engineering, architectural, product or process and it should respond to the greatest diversity of human need possible.

Accessibility is a concern for everyone, not only for a disabled minority with special needs as is commonly perceived. Other people may also benefit from improved accessibility, for example parents with pushchairs, people with injuries, the elderly and tourists with heavy luggage. With an increasingly diverse, and ageing, society, we should progress towards accessibility for all, because it fosters inclusion, sustainability and cost-effectiveness.

A common mistake made by most architects and designers is that they only consider wheelchair users when designing for accessibility and completely forget the needs of other disabled people such as those with vision and/or hearing impairments, etc. It is important to realize that accessibility is beyond simply installing ramps. Moreover, a fully accessible building may be rendered inaccessible to persons with disabilities due to staff’s lack of understanding of the needs of disabled clients, inappropriate staff attitude, and/ or non-disabled friendly organizational policies and procedures. It is therefore essential to involve a professional ‘Access Consultant’ if a fully inclusive environment is to be achieved. Also, an Access Consultant will be able to consider all barriers, besides physical/ structural barriers, that can limit or promote the accessibility and recommend additional solutions such as provision of assistive devices, staff training, and suggesting appropriate changes in policies, practices and procedures.