Housing at the fulcrum: a systems approach to uncovering built environment obstacles to city scale accessibility and inclusion

Abstract

In the context of rising numbers of people with disability in Australian cities, this paper describes a study determining actions to overcome unintended obstacles in the built environment to city-scale accessibility and inclusivity in a regional city in Australia. Prior studies have largely failed to connect social inclusion obstacles in the built environment with factors leading to social exclusion in other domains that have impact on, and are impacted by, the built environment. An approach based on systems thinking allowed a wide range of stakeholders, including many with lived-experience of disability, to exchange ideas in a short timeframe linking the built environment with other obstacles to accessible and inclusive cities. One hundred and nineteen actions were identified to overcome these obstacles, with 37 of these prioritised according to impact and feasibility. Nineteen of these 37 are imbedded in the built environment. Access to appropriate and affordable housing was identified as a key factor across all domains. Importantly, it was found that access for people with disability to appropriately designed and affordable housing was at the fulcrum of many other issues, across numerous city domains, that created obstacles to meaningful living and fulfilled lives. The process advanced understanding of how housing is impacted by, and has impacts on, a wide sphere of socio-political and physical contexts. Disability • Inclusion • Accessibility • Housing • Systems-thinking * Richard Tucker

Re-framing Built Environment Practice: Towards an Accessible City

“…Our observations of systemic industry failure align with the findings of Rachele et al (2020) who investigated relationships between people with disabilities' built environment accessibility experience and urban policy making in Melbourne (Victoria's state capital) and Tucker et al (2021), investigating 'what is required to overcome entrenched obstacles to implementing accessibility and inclusivity in the built environment' in Geelong (Victoria's second city). It is obvious to us that built environment practice needs to be challenged into deeper ways of thinking that acknowledge, specifically, its historical control over built environment outcomes (Habraken, 1987) particularly that of accessibility (Imrie, 1998;Jackson, 2018), and critically, its accountability in serving the public good (Bristol, 2018).…”

“…It is often considered as an after-thought and only in terms of technical and regulatory compliance. Tucker et al (2021) note that a 'core reason identified for lack of progressive development was a focus on minimum standards'. On the other hand, Rachele et al (2020) found that people with disabilities' built City Space Architecture / UN-Habitat environment accessibility experience is often compromised by built environment practitioners' lack of attention to basic compliance.…”

“…While the experience of collaborating with users meaningfully contributes to design discussion and is insightful, collaborating with various project consultants for project delivery remains very technically oriented. Mechkaroff's journaling echoes Visionary Design Development's consultancy dealings with fellow practitioners and issues raised in the Rachele et al (2020) and Tucker et al (2021) articles. Within the architectural profession in Australia, accessibility is inherently considered in terms of DDA compliance and/or BCA requirements, even in initial design phases.…”

Strategies for Alleviating Spatial Disadvantage: A Systems Thinking Analysis and Plan of Action

“…It is also worth highlighting that most actions for alleviating socioeconomic suggested in the workshop crossed practice domains, which is consistent with what the research suggests are the most effective and commonly used intervention strategies [14,[58][59][60][61][62].…”

A tool for universal accessibility assessment in the interior of dwellings

“…It is necessary to have homes that consider accessibility issues to minimize the need for improvements or modifications once people age (40). In this regard, people need to make the best choice regarding their housing options, especially when they have any disability (41,42). Nevertheless, no studies or tools insightfully assess the accessibility in the real estate market.…”