local government’s role in - centre for universal...

COTA New South Wales

Universal Design:

Local Government’s role in

implementation

Jane Bringolf

COTA NSW

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Introduction

• Resistance to uptake of UD in housing

(Australian perspective)

• Language use and interpretation

• Regulation and role of local government

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What is universal design?

• A way of designing products with the whole

population in mind

• It’s not a set of designs for a

particular group of people –

not a product or type

• It aims to improve functionality

for everyone

• It should also be aesthetically

pleasing

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It is not ‘special’ housing

It’s not

Adaptable Housing

Accessible Housing

Visitable Housing

Seniors Living

‘Disabled’ Housing

Or any other special type of housing

It’s about including as many features as

possible that improve function for everyone

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Why is it important?

• Exclusion and inability caused by poor design has social and economic costs

• Specialised and parallel designs are stigmatising - reinforce negative stereotyping and continued exclusion

• Ageing population an economic

and social policy challenge

• New homes have 60% probability of an occupant with a permanent disability

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Aim of the study

To find out why there is resistance to the uptake of universal design in new-build mass market housing in Australia.

Wanted to find out why barriers exist.

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Participants in the study

Built environment industry:

• In-depth interviews

• Postal and online survey

New home buyers:

• In-depth interviews

• Postal survey

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What the literature says

• Disability natural part of human experience

• Previously hidden away - viewed as state

welfare responsibility

• Segregation considered normal

• Civil and human rights not changed things

• Anti discrimination legislation retains

notions of ‘normal’ and ‘non-normal’ – not

educative or attitude changing.

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Professions and trades

– Also subject to societal attitudes

– Technical efficiencies of industry paramount

– Change required throughout delivery chain

– Not just a design issue

– Industry infrastructure issue

– Myths abound about difficulty and cost

– Consumers not demanding universal design

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What I’ve found out

• Language and terminology is holding us

back

• We aren’t all talking about the same idea

when we say universal, accessible,

adaptable, visitable, or even ‘disabled’

design

• Language is still centred on segregation –

housing for ‘us’ and housing for ‘them’

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My Proposition:

We have too many words and

not enough understanding

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Visitable

Seniors

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Where the words come from

• Some terms come from human rights

legislation and are stuck there: – Accessible and visitable

• Some come from policy shifts: – Adaptable, ageing in place

• Some come from a person-centred view: – Usable, person-environment fit, universal

Some come from marketing practice - branding

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Is branding better?

• Lifetime Homes

• Livable Housing Design

• Lifemark

• Smart Housing

• Lifecycle Housing

• Easyliving Homes

• Housing 4 Life

• Flexhousing

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Do we need so many ‘types’ of housing

exclusively for ‘other’ people?

Not if we start acknowledging that

ageing, illness, disability and

accidents are a part of being human,

and we…

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Expect it,

and plan for it

in every home

from this point

forward.

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Once we get clarity…

• We will stop focusing on WHO it’s for

• Start focusing on WHAT it can do and

• HOW it can be implemented

• Then we can start researching ways to

make it work better

• Cost arguments will disappear

• Everyone can capitalise on

more functional environments

and products!

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What I’ve found out

• Construction cost 1-2% more to change

existing floor plans of mass market homes

• Cost almost nothing if done from start

• Builders still think

‘normal’ vs ‘special’

so therefore

it must cost more

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A note about costs

• What does it cost NOT to have UD?

– Not borne by design, property or construction

industries

– Are borne by society, particularly weakest

members

• Research by NSW State land corporation

– Little if any cost if designed from outset

• Cost is always the easiest and well

accepted response

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Why we don’t have UD?

Simplistically -

• Code word for ‘disabled’ design

• This means grab bars

• Grab bars are ugly

• No thank you.

Arguments against UD

are based on existing

concepts of ‘disabled

design’. They are…

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Argument 1

From the perspective of aesthetics:

Disabled design is often unattractive

And unattractive things don’t sell

Therefore no-one wants to make it and

no-one wants to buy it.

False premise – doesn’t need to be ugly

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Argument 2

From the perspective of market demand:

Disability and ageing isn’t my business

My business is mainstream market segments

The mainstream market isn’t asking for it

Therefore I won’t build it.

Premise of ugliness at play here

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Argument 3

From the perspective of difference:

People with disabilities and older people

need places built specially for ‘them’

And they need to be separate from ‘us’

And special housing has its own

market demographic

Therefore I will build special places

if there is money in it.

False assumption – most want to stay put

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These arguments are influential

BUT

They are a cover for another reason:

To protect the current

housing system where

cost efficiencies are

locked into the

housing delivery chain

Real Argument?

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Engineers

Tradespeople

Building

Designers

Architects

Planners

Regulators

Property

Developers

Builders

Original photo by wxhongqi@gmail.com guo.oliver@hotmail.com

The house building machine

Regulators

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Housing Delivery Chain

• A factory-style production line

• But lots of people ‘own’ different parts of

the machine

• Lots of reliance on others – no payback or

ownership for innovation, but lots of risk

• Works because of tight controls

• Regs keep everyone in line

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Engineers

Tradespeople

Building Designers

Architects

Planners

Regulators

PropertyDevelopers

Builders

A connected but fragmented

industry

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Systems Theory*

Big machine-like organisations don’t change

easily

– Tend to look inwards for solutions

– Closed to external feedback: coded ‘error variance’

– Tighten internal controls in response to threats

– No point of authority or responsibility

– Causes “one right way” to do things

– Efficiency remains, but effectiveness is lost

– Risk averse – any change is a risk to profits

*Katz & Kahn, (1978). The social psychology of organisations

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Which is why

industry says...

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“It has to be regulated”

In spite of 85% of industry respondents

saying universal design is desirable,

almost the same number say nothing

will change without legislation.

They are locked

into a system they

cannot easily

change themselves

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All change is difficult, but…

• Industry locked into system

• Appeal to external umpire – the regulators

• Consequence – lots of policies, regulations

• Need to cut through with simpler solution

• Go back to beginning, think again

from an inclusive planning

perspective

Engineers

Tradespeople

Building

Designers

Architects

Planners

Regulators

Property

Developers

Builders

Original photo by wxhongqi@gmail.com guo.oliver@hotmail.com

The house building machine

Regulators

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Role of Local Government

• This is where planning authorities and

local government fit in.

• Study had no focus on local government

• But could it be a route to successful

implementation?

• Would it work better if the focus was taken

from design details to notions of inclusion

and inclusiveness?

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Role of Local Government

• Change the paradigm from universal

design to designing universally

• Design policies and plans universally

• Let the design details follow on

• Make it everyone’s business, not just

social services

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Norwegian Model

• Deals with the thinking

process

• Becomes everyone’s

responsibility

• Simplifies the system

• Norway universally

designed by 2025

Changes the UD emphasis

from user to planner

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Norwegian Model

• Strategies for land use planning

• Supported by the Planning Act

• Principles of equity and social inclusion

• Solutions for everyone, not about

problems for some

• Applied to buildings, outdoor areas and

road systems

• Accessibility possible on hilly terrain

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Norwegian Model

• Political commitment

• Linked with sustainable development,

safety, economics

• Education program

• Community participation

• Implemented within existing $ frameworks

• Principles inherent across government

• Planning policies not design details

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Conclusions

• It’s a paradigm shift – needs attitudinal

change

• Attitude and language are linked

• Consumers not thinking or planning ahead

• Industry can’t change easily without

legislation

• Who is going to take responsibility?

• Can’t keep designing as if ageing and

disability don’t exist

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Thank you!

Dr Jane Bringolf Liveable Communities Project Manager

jane.bringolf@cotansw.com.au

http://cotansw.com.au/programs/liveable-communities/

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References

Bringa, O. (2007) Making Universal Design Work in Zoning and

Regional Planning

Bringolf, J. (2010) Calling a Spade a Shovel: Universal, accessible,

adaptable, disabled – aren’t they all the same?

Bringolf, J (2011) Barriers to universal design in Australian housing http://udeworld.com/presentations/papers/Bringolf%20UD%20Housing%20

FICCDAT.pdf

Smith, SK., Rayer, S., Smith, EA. (2008) Ageing and Disability –

Implications for the Housing Industry and Housing Policy in the

United States.

Norway Universally Designed by 2025 (2009)

http://www.regjeringen.no/upload/BLD/Nedsatt%20funksjonsevne/Norw

ay%20universally%