Economic and Technical Analysis of Universal Accessibility in Social and Private Housing in Chile

Abstract

According to studies of accessibility in Chile show that the country is aging, by 2050 the population of the third age will increase to more than double where, in addition, the third of that group will develop some type of disability, with the physical type prevailing. Under this problem, Chile has modified his regulatory building body (OGUC) in 2016 establishing new design standards in order to have homes with basic characteristics of accessibility universal. But these modifications are not retroactive in housing policy. Because of this, the present study analyzes the incorporation of accessibility standards into social and private housing that are already built. Technically, it discusses basic solutions to comply with the regulatory approaches and then analyze the economic impact of the solutions, along with the modifications of non-structural elements for regulatory compliance without changing the useful surface of the housing. Showing to achieve accessibility in an existing private home the cost can increase by 0.08 UF/m2 and for social housing by 0.05 UF/m2. The study shows that with a good projection of the evolution of the people who will inhabit the houses, in conjunction with decisions from the design stage, they can have affordable housing at a low cost preventing the owner have to make large investments for adapt his house to any situation of disability that may be present throughout life.

Breaking Down Barriers: Findings from a Literature Review on Housing for People with Disabilities in Latin America

“…In the second place is found the group with a physical disability (36%), with a strong focus on reduced mobility [ 43 , 47 , 57 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 66 , 70 , 72 , 74 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 81 , 83 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 94 , 95 ].…”

“…For the second most important group, disabled people (36%), as mentioned above, the main issues analysed are housing regulations [ 47 , 49 , 54 , 59 , 64 , 66 , 82 , 83 , 87 , 93 ], use of technology [ 50 , 51 , 56 , 71 ], and accessibility problems for people with physical disabilities [ 60 , 72 , 78 , 88 , 89 , 94 ].…”

“…The most prevalent is the analysis of accessibility in social housing, with 12 studies, since, as pointed out by several authors, the accessibility criterion is mandatory for housing developed by the state [ 46 , 49 , 57 , 63 , 69 , 72 , 77 , 78 , 82 , 87 , 95 , 96 ]. There is even research comparing the regulatory accessibility status of private and social housing [ 59 ]. Moreover, there are two groups, each with more than 10%, where the accessibility of housing built for the older people ( n = 3) is analysed [ 73 , 80 , 84 ], or accessibility in condominium housing ( n = 4) [ 53 , 70 , 90 , 91 ].…”

“…Three Chilean studies associated with the analysis of costs to achieve regulatory compliance related to accessibility stand out. Ferrada, Valderrama and Fuentes Contreras [ 59 ] carried out a technical study of non-structural modifications to social and private housing to achieve regulatory compliance, showing that, in private housing, this is achieved by increasing space by 0.08 US/sq.m, and, in social housing, by 0.05 US/sq.m. Montoya and Valderrama-Ulloa [ 66 ] analysed the degree of accessibility compliance in five private apartments, demonstrating that, with non-structural modifications (e.g., moving partitions), the costs of modifications are almost negligible.…”

A tool for universal accessibility assessment in the interior of dwellings

“…It is mainly because implementing new accessibility policies is slow and the multiple building regulations that projects must meet. And although norms and rules exist, their inspection tools are scarce and not very functional (43).…”