Responding to the Design Needs of Disabled People

The physical and spatial configuration of the built environment suggests that urban design practices are inattentive to the needs of disabled people. From the absence of induction loops in public buildings to the dearth of accessible transport, disabled people's urban design needs appear to be an insignificant concern to those involved in the production of the built environment. There is, however, little knowledge of how the needs of disabled people are defined and incorporated, or not, into the design and development of the built environment. In seeking to redress this research lacuna, the paper focuses on the values and actions of, and interactions between, key actors and agencies in the development process, and their respective roles in addressing the design needs of disabled people. The paper begins by providing an overview of dimensions of disablism in design and development processes. The core of the paper is based on research of diverse actors and agencies in urban design and their understanding of, and responses to, the needs of disabled people. The paper concludes by exploring some of the possibilities for transforming disablist and disabling design processes.