Designing Cities as Human Rights Spaces for People with Disabilities
- Universal design and human rights cities for those with disabilities -
BAE Yoong-ho [Director, Korean Research Institute of Eco-Environmental Architecture]
Introduction: Are cities human rights friendly?
The 18th-Century English poet William Cowper wrote that “God made the country, and man made the town”.
Man-made cities offer convenience and comfort, but they can be unfriendly, especially to people with disabilities. Cities do not guarantee the human rights of people with disabilities, and so, in that sense, cities are not human rights spaces.
For people with disabilities, particularly wheelchair users, cities are sometimes an impassable jungle of stairs, paths blocked by trees, and steps up to inaccessible restaurants. Even the most essential of human spaces, the restroom, is not always available to wheelchair users, due to a lack of wheelchair-accessible restrooms.
.
.
.
In order to apply universal design in the planning, design, and development of our cities, it is essential that the national government adopts universal design as a principle for urban, architectural, transportation, and park development. Additionally, a universal design committee should be established under the direct supervision of the President or the Prime Minister, and dedicated universal design departments should be set up within national and local government administrative organizations. Furthermore, it would be beneficial to establish and implement a five-year universal design plan to facilitate these efforts.
Designing Cities as Human Rights Spaces for People with Disabilities
- Universal design and human rights cities for those with disabilities -
BAE Yoong-ho [Director, Korean Research Institute of Eco-Environmental Architecture]
Introduction: Are cities human rights friendly?
The 18th-Century English poet William Cowper wrote that “God made the country, and man made the town”.
Man-made cities offer convenience and comfort, but they can be unfriendly, especially to people with disabilities. Cities do not guarantee the human rights of people with disabilities, and so, in that sense, cities are not human rights spaces.
For people with disabilities, particularly wheelchair users, cities are sometimes an impassable jungle of stairs, paths blocked by trees, and steps up to inaccessible restaurants. Even the most essential of human spaces, the restroom, is not always available to wheelchair users, due to a lack of wheelchair-accessible restrooms.
.
.
.
In order to apply universal design in the planning, design, and development of our cities, it is essential that the national government adopts universal design as a principle for urban, architectural, transportation, and park development. Additionally, a universal design committee should be established under the direct supervision of the President or the Prime Minister, and dedicated universal design departments should be set up within national and local government administrative organizations. Furthermore, it would be beneficial to establish and implement a five-year universal design plan to facilitate these efforts.