Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

Promotion of Non-Handicapping
Physical Environments for Disabled Persons:
Guidelines

United Nations
New York, 1995

ST/ESCAP/1492

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

This publication has been issued without formal editing.

The cover design was contributed by
Mr James Harrison, Senior Lecturer,
School of Architecture,
National University of Singapore.

Foreword

In the course of the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons, 1983-1992, it has been increasingly recognized that the majority of people with disabilities, particularly those in the developing countries, were marginalized from society. Concern over this issue led the Governments of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) region, at the forty-eighth session of the Commission held in Beijing in April 1992, to declare, through resolution 48/3 of 23 April 1992, the period 1993-2002 as the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons. At its forty-ninth session, held in Bangkok in April 1993, the Commission, through resolution 49/6 of 29 April 1993, welcomed the signing of the Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities in the Asian and Pacific Region and adopted the Agenda for Action for the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002. The mandates of the Commission include specific recognition of the urgent need to remove the physical barriers to the full participation and equality of people with disabilities.

The mandates also recognize that the increasing numbers of people surviving to older ages in the Asian and Pacific region are adding to the numbers of persons with disabilities. It is estimated that the number of people aged 60 and over in the region will increase from 170 million in 1980 to 235 million in the 1990s. That number will increase to 623 million by the year 2025. This would mean that, by the year 2025, 56 per cent of the worlds elderly persons will be in the ESCAP region, as compared with 45 per cent in 1980. The needs of frail and infirm elderly persons for accessible built environments are similar to those of the group generally described as persons with disabilities.

As part of a series of regional initiatives to translate into action the goals and objectives of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, ESCAP in 1993 embarked on a project to promote non-handicapping environments for persons with disabilities and elderly persons in the Asian and Pacific region.

The preparation of guidelines for the promotion of non-handicapping environments is an activity under the project. The ESCAP Social Development Division and the ESCAP/United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (HABITAT) Joint Section on Human Settlements, Rural and Urban Development Division, collaborated closely in the development and implementation of the project.

Policy makers, practitioners, researchers and representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from both within and outside the ESCAP region contributed to the preparation of the guidelines. Among them were leaders of the self-help movement of people with disabilities and researchers working on access issues. Many of those experts participated in a meeting convened at ESCAP headquarters, Bangkok, from 6 to 10 June 1994. The meeting revised a preliminary draft of the guidelines. Subsequently, the revised draft was reviewed, further strengthened and adopted by a regional meeting of senior officials and executives of self-help organizations of people with disabilities and elderly persons in the ESCAP region, held at ESCAP headquarters, Bangkok, from 14 to 18 November 1994. Their expertise and experience ranged from architecture, civil engineering, law and local government administration to public awareness promotion and town and country planning.

This publication is intended for reference by decision-makers and programme personnel working on human settlements issues, especially those in architecture, research and training, supporting self-help initiatives and NGO networking, and in urban planning and management. Self-help organizations of people with disabilities and rehabilitation personnel involved in addressing access issues may also find the publication useful.

It was not possible to include in the guidelines the promotion of accessibility in rural areas and slums, although the issues had been raised by the regional meeting. It was felt that as a follow-up to the present publication, guidelines on better access for non-handicapping rural and slum environments should constitute the focus of a separate regional project.

In view of the rapid urbanization in the ESCAP region, it is hoped that national governments, local authorities and NGOs will use this publication in a concerted effort to build barrier-free structures that are in consonance with national and local conditions, bearing in mind the overriding theme of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons: full participation and equality.

I should like to express my gratitude to the Government of Japan for its support of this pioneering regional project. I also wish to place on record my appreciation of the support rendered by the Governments of Canada, Finland and Sweden, as well as the Municipal Environment Cooperation Programme-Asia sponsored by the Commission of the European Union in making available the services of their respective experts. Finally, I thank all the experts who responded with valuable contributions to the secretariats request for assistance in the preparation of these guidelines.

Adrianus Mooy
Executive Secretary

Contents

Foreword

Chapter I. INTRODUCTION: CONCEPTUAL ISSUES

A. Preamble

B. Bult environment: What is included

C. The process

D. Control and enforcement

E. Research, design criteria and guidelines

F. Professionalism and education

G. The role of users

H. Strategies for change: Some remarks on the guidelines

Chapter II. PLANNING AND BUILDING DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS

A. Introduction

B. General considerations

1. Definitions: impairment, disability and handicap
2. General planning and design considerations
3. Access needs of diverse disability groups
4. Specific needs of diverse disability groups

C. Planning and design recommendations

1. General requirements
2. Public transport
3. External environment
4. Public buildings
5. Housing
6. Information technology
7. Rural requirements
8. Slum requirements

D. Local authority initiatives

E. Special considerations

1. Children with disabilities
2. Fire safety
3. Adaptable housing

Chapter III. PUBLIC AWARENESS INITIATIVES

A. Introduction

B. The initiatives of key agencies and persons

1. Government
2. Self-help organizations of people with disabilities
3. The role of elderly persons
4. Local-level access groups
5. Associations of professionals
6. Higher education institutions

C. Promotion of Public Awareness: Principles and strategies

1. Printed materials and alternative formats
2. Use of correct terminology
3. The mass media
4. Forming a speakers bureau in the community
5. Approach to the rural community
6. Launching a National Access Awareness Campaign

D. Training on access issues

E. Regional cooperation

Chapter IV. ACCESS POLICY PROVISIONS AND LEGISLATION

A. Introduction

B. Definitions

C. Approaches to the promotion of barrier-free environments

1. Initiative approach
2. Social responsibility approach
3. Good practice approach
4. Mandatory approach
5. Incentive-disincentive approach
6. Economic approach
7. Combination of the above approaches in an overall strategy

D. Development of access policy provisions and legislation

1. Objectives
2. The main stages in the development of access policy provisions and legislation
3. Pre-formulation
4. Role of government officials and legislators
5. Formulation
6. Implementation
7. Enforcement
8. Monitoring and reviewing
9. Strengthening access policy provisions and legislation

Annex I. Requirements for buildings and related structures

Annex II. Design recommendations

Annex III. A sample illustrative outline of access legislation

Annex IV. Sample list of access legislation in the ESCAP region

Annex V. Implementation of access legislation through the establishment of access committees: the Australian approach

Annex VI. National Access Awareness Week Campaign: the Canadian Experience

Annex VII. Disability simulation exercise

Annex VIII. Sample community accessibility check list

Annex IX.Report of the Regional Meeting on the Promotion of Non-Handicapping Environments for Disabled and Elderly Persons, Bangkok, 14-18 November 1994

Illustration Credit

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Promotion of Non-Handicapping Physical Environments for Disabled Persons: Guidelines
- Contents -

UNITED NATIONS
New York, 1995