Psychometric Testing of Shopping Mall Universal Design Assessment Tool (SM-UD)

Abstract

While there are people with disability live in Kurdish parts of Iraq, a very limited number of buildings are properly designed to serve these people. Considering the challenges that people with disability face in public buildings, the United Nations has recommended the implementation of the Universal Design (UD) principles in public buildings in Iraq to ensure that all people could have access to the public buildings regardless of their abilities and backgrounds. Hence, there is a need to gather pertinent data by assessing the adherence of shopping malls in this part of Iraq to the Universal Design (UD) principles given the role of the facilities to the locals. The present study aims to develop a tool for assessing whether the shopping malls in Sulaymaniyah city adhere to Universal Design principles. An analytical tool, which was abbreviated as SM-UD, was developed using a wide range of shopping mall design elements. The tool was tested for reliability and validity through several statistical tests. Besides, the tool was tested for practicality and communicability in six different shopping malls of Sulaymaniyah. The reliability and validity test indicate that the majority of items showed good to excellent reliability and fair to excellent validity. The results of using the tool show that it is capable of identifying the drawbacks of shopping malls in terms of their universality of design. The proposed tool appears ready to be used by shopping malls’ managers and researchers.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Perceptible Principle of Universal Design in Shopping Malls in Southwest Nigeria

“…Such an environment provides flexibility, adaptability and comfort that can reduce the human life cycle impact and will encourage the participation of the residents in such a community [5]. At a broader scale, UD is a concept in design or a design approach with the intention of accommodating a wider range of users, their capacities and backgrounds notwithstanding [1].…”

Quantitative Interpretation of Universal Design Features in Shopping Malls: A Case Study in Kolkata, India

“…Abdullah and Jian (2020) state that a contextual research methodology can be adopted due to the lack of adequate techniques for interpreting universal design at shopping malls. Furthermore, they identify the following parameters for assessment of universal design: (a) stairs, (b) ramps, (c) escalators, (d) path of travel, (e) hallways, (f) elevators, (g) escalators, (h) doors' appearance, (i) maneuvering space, (j) architectural wayfinding, (k) graphical wayfinding, (l) service desks, (m) waiting areas, and (n) restrooms [27]. Adewale et al (2022) explain the importance of perceptible information in the design of shopping malls [28].…”