The Growing International Appetite for Information About Accessibility and Universal Design
For more than 30 years, attention to and policy development about accessible design has evolved. Most of that time, activity was concentrated in the developed nations though the catalysts varied. People with disabilities took the lead and staked a claim to civil and human rights in the US, Canada, and to some extent, the United Kingdom, Western Europe and Australia. This focus on design as an element of civil rights and social justice is a shift from the paternalism that characterized attitudes toward disability. In other nations, like Japan, the demographics of aging drove design change.
The US has been a unique model for any nation seeking to move forward with accessibility. The commitment of federal resources for compliance, design guideline development, research, training, information and enforcement has not been matched elsewhere. Other nations initiating accessibility policy have been able to build from the policies and design guidelines of the US.
Beginning with the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968, government structure to support compliance, information and enforcement took shape. The US Access Board was founded in 1973 when it was clear that reliable compliance and design standards for accessibility were keys to making the ABA meaningful.
The Americans with Disabilities Act provided a powerful claim on society by extending responsibilities beyond entities receiving federal funds to state and local governments, as well as "places of public accommodation" and commercial facilities. With the ADA Standards for Accessible Design (commonly called ADAAG), a more comprehensive set of legally enforceable standards was introduced than had been used else in the world. With the ADA, the US also reinforced a public agency model for implementation and enforcement. The Access Board's mandate expanded to include developing accessibility guidelines for facilities and transit vehicles covered by the ADA, providing technical assistance and training on these guidelines and conducting research to support and maintain the guidelines. The ADA is enforced by other federal agencies such as the US Department of Justice, US Department of Transportation, and US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Japan is an example of a culture that promotes the welfare of people with disabilities by stressing responsibilities of others rather than the rights of people with disabilities. A tradition of 'warm heart' laws relies on voluntary commitment in reducing environmental barriers. Separate experience for people with disabilities, such as specialized schools, is the norm. Educational mainstreaming has recently been promoted if the family can secure the agreement of a local school and the municipality. In 2000, Japan passed a transportation accessibility law, the most stringent obligation to date, but applicable primarily to new construction.
However, Japan has an unrivalled awareness and commitment to universal design. It's driven by the dramatic demographic of aging and the urgent need to make design a tool to support independence. Japan's population is expected to peak this year at 127 million and decline to 69 million by 2050. In 2050 40% of their population will be 60 or older, with 15% aged 80+. It is not surprising that the International Association for Universal Design (IAUD) was created in Japan in 2003 and began operations with 120 corporate partners.
The United Kingdom, like the US, has a vibrant disability community. Some disability-related legislation was enacted during the post-World War II years, but required primarily voluntary measures. Not until the Disabilities Discrimination Act 1995 was there legislation that required public and private entities to make facilities, transportation, housing, employment and other services accessible. In 1999, a related law was passed that emphasized rights and created the Disability Rights Commission. The Secretary of State has enforcement responsibilities, but the UK has nothing comparable to the US Access Board. Many people are concerned about the lack of a structure for information and training, as well as oversight, regarding these laws. On a positive note, the Royal College of Art's Helen Hamlyn Institute and a number of other academic initiatives have made inclusive design a compelling and prestigious priority for young designers.
Above: Curb cuts on a city street in São Paulo, Brazil.
Brazil is an interesting example of a developing nation that is moving quickly toward a national policy on universal design. Brazil is the most populous nation in Latin America; it has the world's 9th largest economy and the 4th largest economic gap between rich and poor. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was elected in 2002 to address disparities in social equity. His slogan - a nation for all - has been a stimulus in advancing the concept of design that works for everyone. Pockets of activism are creating new transit models, accessible affordable housing and other government initiatives that make inclusive design a public policy priority.
Above: Accessible design will be a key to sustainability as population increases in the developing world. Providing access to a home will allow an individual with a disability or an elder to remain in that home for a longer period of time.
Aging population demographics is driving a renewed attention to accessible design. In developed nations, lifespans average 30 years longer than in 1900. Even though people with disabilities have increased as a proportion of the population in developed nations, 80% of the world's people with disabilities live in the developing nations. Population growth and economic expansion for the next hundred years will occur in the developing world. While the population of developed countries is expected to rise to 1.2 billion by 2050, the population in developing nations will surge by 55 percent to 8 billion. Africa and southern Asia will see the largest increases. [Source: Population Reference Bureau, August 2004] In China alone, there are expected to be 400 million people over the age of 60 by 2050. These early years of the century offer an opportunity to build an international consensus that sustainable development must be linked to accessible design.
Other factors enhance the potential for consensus. For the first time, the World Health Organization's (WHO) new classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, issued in 2002, offered a common definition of disability. It also posits that functional limitation exists in the interaction between the person and the built and information environments. By anticipating diversity of ability, design could minimize functional limitation.
As the century opened, the United Nations made a renewed commitment to people with disabilities. In 2001, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. The resolution intended to knit disability into the fabric of UN human rights protections and into development policy. It committed to 'consider proposals for a comprehensive and integral international convention to promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities, based on the holistic approach in the work done in the fields of social development, human rights and non-discrimination.' The resolution also established an Ad Hoc Committee to carry out this work. The next meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee will take place in January 2005 and will devote substantial time to the topic of accessibility.
Even the major international development banks are looking at issues of inclusive design. All of the banks are in the process of requiring accessibility as a condition of funding. Judy Heumann, former Assistant Secretary of Education and co-founder of the World Institute on Disability, is the Special Advisor on Disability to the World Bank.
As lead sponsor of Designing for the 21st Century III, An International Conference on Universal Design, Adaptive Environments chose dialogue between the developed and developing nations as its theme. The conference is December 7-12 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There are over 200 sessions with presenters from 32 nations. Sessions will be translated into Portuguese, Spanish and English with computer-aided real time transcription (CART) in English and sign language in Portuguese. Approximately 800 delegates are expected from 50 nations. The UN and development banks are participating. For the first time, the US Access Board will provide consultation to share their experience with people from around the world. A draft declaration on the role of design in social sustainability is planned as a conference outcome and will be submitted to the UN's Ad Hoc Committee before their January meeting.
Perhaps the most gratifying testament to the rightness of the timing for the dialogue is that we have been deluged with stories from people across the developing nations and applications for sponsorships so that they can attend the conference. The number of disability activists, designers and government policy makers is evidence of both appetite and readiness. The architect in El Salvador who is writing design guidelines for accessibility, the person with a disability in Nepal who is educating the government about accessible design, the woman in Columbia writing guidelines on accessible web design for her state are just a few of the stories. Although international tensions and instability dominate the news, this is also a time of unparalleled opportunity for exchange and collaboration. Dramatically expanded options for communication, especially the internet, allow us to build bridges across all of the world. We feel honored to play a role. Please see more on the conference website 
(www.designfor21st.org).
