Connecting With Partners: Universal Design and Accessibility
September 30, 2020
Robert Lipka (RL) is a principal urban designer with the Urban Design Team at the City of Edmonton. He is involved with a variety of projects including reviews for land development applications, transportation projects, he has assisted in the development of the City’s Accessibility Policy (C602), and continues to provide reviews and training on urban design, universal design (accessibility issues) and CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design). Robert is a collaborator with the Centre for Healthy Communities (CHC) and has shared his extensive knowledge of Universal Design with us. We had the opportunity to connect with Robert about the concept of Universal Design and how it relates to some of his exciting work with the City of Edmonton.
CHC: How would you describe Universal Design to somebody unfamiliar with the concept?
RL: Universal Design, to me, is all about designing the built environment for everybody, and I think that’s why the term is so powerful. In the past, terms like barrier free design, inclusive design, and accessible design were used to describe such work. However, these earlier terms were generally focused on people with disabilities, such as people in wheelchairs, or people who have visual or hearing impairments. While this is obviously important, it ignored so many other people and hence the term Universal Design was created to include people of all ages and abilities. It includes a broader range of people such as those who may only have a temporary disability, for example, an avid skier who gets an injury during a weekend ski trip who may be forced to use crutches for a few months, or what about a parent travelling with young children who happen to be using a stroller to access stores along a main street or what about someone carrying a bunch of heavy bags after shopping or heading into the airport. Universal Design is good for everyone, not just for those with a disability.
Along with Universal Design, the City is also making sure that we include GBA+ (gender based analysis) to ensure we include people of different genders, cultures, languages, etc. so that nobody is left out of the design process.
CHC: So when you think about the work that you’ve done with the City of Edmonton and other groups, what is a major challenge or barrier that you experience?
RL: I think the biggest challenge for me is that a lot of people don’t think that the application of Universal Design principles are important because they don’t experience accessibility issues on a daily basis. Many see this type of design as being only useful for people with disabilities, in particular those with visible disabilities. Obviously there are many people out there that experience invisible disabilities as well so I try to educate people about all types of disabilities to ensure that no one is forgotten.
CHC: Have you made any unexpected connections or partnerships while doing this work?
RL: Yes, that happens a lot! I met one particular lady who used to work for the City who is completely deaf. She was presenting about how to design for people with hearing disabilities. We’ve had a number of great chats over the last couple of years and she has really opened up my eyes on how to apply design techniques to various places and spaces throughout our city to make sure they are accessible to people with hearing impairments. I have also met with people who either have dementia or are knowledgeable about designing places and spaces for people with dementia. There are so many different disabilities out there to be aware of so my advice to any designer is that you need to get out there and speak to a variety of people who all have different disabilities. By doing this, I believe I am slowly becoming a better designer by simply listening and learning from those who live with these challenges every single day of their lives.
CHC: If someone, whether it be an individual or a group, wanted to begin engaging with this idea of Universal Design and Accessibility, is there a main piece of advice or wisdom that you would impart on them?
RL: As I mentioned earlier, I think the first thing every urban designer/planner in the world should be doing is to simply listen to people who use the built environment. We need to let them talk and tell us about their day-to-day experiences in life. The second piece of advice I would provide is that we need to be looking to other places in the world that are doing some great things to make their places more accessible. For example, during my 10 years living and working in New Zealand I learned a lot about Universal Design. In 2005, their central government drafted a report to seek enforcement of a person’s right not to be discriminated against in the provision of public transport, it was entitled “The Accessible Journey”. The ultimate goal of this work was to create a more accessible built environment for all New Zealanders. I strongly believe that with the advent of the Accessible Canada Act, and of course the City of Edmonton’s Accessibility Policy, we are starting to see a shift in thinking here that one day will make Edmonton, and hopefully all of Canada, a much more accessible place to live, work, and play for people of all ages and abilities!
CHC: Do you currently have any new and exciting projects on the go?
RL: Right after this meeting I’ll be reviewing drawings for the creation of Edmonton’s first shared space on the portion of 103 Avenue between 100 and 101 street NW, which is really exciting! This type of design is popular in Europe, New Zealand and a number of other countries. The idea is to create a street that is designed entirely at one level from building face to building face - meaning there is no separation between vehicles and pedestrians (there are no sidewalks and no curbs). Pedestrians, cars, and cyclists can all move through the space and are treated equally as no street markings, signs, or traffic lights are provided. Users are then forced to take cues from one another travelling through the same space. It sounds scary but I can assure you that, if well designed, these spaces can be completely safe for all users. The one key feature we are trying to introduce into this project that unfortunately does not always exist in shared space projects, is the addition of a universal movement zone. This will be provided on both sides of the street to offer some additional safety for people with visual impairments moving through the space. I’m really excited to see this unique space in Edmonton, as it will be the first shared space in Canada to more fully consider people with disabilities.
CHC: To tie back to the Centre for Healthy Communities, how would you say that your work relates to the idea of a ‘healthy community’?
RL: Oh that’s easy! Allowing people to be able to move throughout their cities unimpeded using active modes, instead of just travelling by car, is the key to creating healthier cities. A lot of urban designers and health experts are finally starting to connect the overall quality of our built environments to the many public health problems that Canadians are experiencing. It is pretty simple really, by creating neighbourhoods and communities that are more walkable and more cycle friendly, we will be helping to create an overall healthier society in the end. And of course, an important aspect of this is ensuring that we are creating places that are accessible to people of all ages and abilities. In doing so, we will be giving people the opportunity to enjoy all the aspects of their neighbourhood, our city’s beautiful river valley, and of course other exciting places and spaces throughout Edmonton and that has to be a good thing!
For more information, please contact Robert Lipka: robert.lipka@edmonton.ca.