The Board Papers
A Walk on the Wild Side
Marcia Cummings Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians
Summary: Walking in the city can be very relaxing, until you have to start dealing with the barriers and obstacles prevalent on our sidewalks—merchandise, bicycle racks, garbage cans, etc. They may not seem like barriers to you, but to someone who is blind they can turn a relaxing walk into a nightmare. How do we reclaim our sidewalks? ... More
A walk through West Bromwich
Making small interventions and taking large steps forward | Sylvia King and Brendan Jackson
Summary: We will take you for a walk through West Bromwich, in the heart of the Black Country in the industrial West Midlands, UK. It once boasted the longest high street in England, affectionately called The Golden Mile by local inhabitants, For many years it has been the principal retail and commercial centre of the Borough of Sandwell (population 297000) and has been a place of change and contestation, synonymous with urban decline. Broken up by a 1960s master plan in favour of traffic flow, it has now become the site of the largest community arts development in Europe, bringing together a unique partnership of private, statutory and charitable bodies with a mission to reverse the social, economic and environmental problems which have placed it consistently amongst the poorest areas in the country. The Public Building, an investment of GBP 40 million and designed by Stirling Prize winners, Alsop Architects, will sit at the heart of a new town centre and the first public square in Sandwell. The project has provided a focus for a GPB 350 million local regeneration initiative. We will describe the creative interventions that have acted as a fundamental catalyst on the surrounding environment of the town; the thinking of planners; the aspirations of diverse local communities; the dialogues between artists and the architect Will Alsop; and the creation of useable, stimulating and challenging internal and external spaces. ... More
“I really need to get out more”: the inclusive (universal) design of streets with older people in mind
Rita Newton et al. SURFACE Inclusive Design Research Centre, The University of Salford, UK
Summary: This presentation for Walk21 reports on the findings from a major UK government funded research project which investigated the extent to which the detailed design of neighbourhoods are supportive of older people in getting out and about. The research was part of a consortium project which was funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council looking at aspects of inclusive (universal) design for getting outdoors (I’DGO). Using a research sample of 200 people aged 65+ living in a range of settlement types and housing settings within the UK, in-depth interviews were undertaken to determine their preferences for different environmental design features at the scale of detailed design (for example, a participants preferred walking surface, preferred style of public seating) within a neighbourhood environment, and the reasons for these preferences. A physical audit was then undertaken of the street in which they lived, and of their wider neighbourhood environment using the Street Walkability Audit Tool which was developed with older people in mind using principles and practices of inclusive design. Findings are presented from 3 attributes of detailed design which focus specifically on footways, namely width, materials, and adjacent and shared use (cyclists and pedestrians). Findings from other attributes are available on the I’DGO Consortium website at www.idgo.ac.uk. The overall indicate that our research participants live in neighbourhoods which do not support the undertaking of daily activities. Typical barriers are poorly maintained footways, uneven surface finishes, insufficient seating along routes to activities, inadequate provision of controlled crossing points and the like. The implications of these barriers suggest that older people are prevented in getting out and about; and when they do go out, they experience the direct effects of poor design and maintenance, thereby compromising their enjoyment and quality of life. Keywords: environmental checklist, inclusive design, neighbourhoods, older people, streets, universal design, walkability audit. ... More
“No Lingering in Lewisham.”
Andrew Stuck, Rethinking Cities Ltd.
Summary: No Lingering in Lewisham! was a collaborative project that explored ‘play’ spaces in Lewisham – spaces that are provided, adopted, imagined, special and future - and the pedestrian journeys between them. Working with young teenagers at a secondary school in the north end of the borough, an innovative consultative process was devised, to inform stakeholders on what makes a great ‘play’ space. Teenagers ‘hanging about’ are often viewed as a negative leisure activity (for example, in shopping centres groups are often moved on for lingering). The project sought to provoke a creative response to this issue that involves young people mapping alternatives that invited debate with the local council and residents. The workshops were designed to stimulate creative responses to local urban planning of ‘play’ spaces (from walkways to fields) with those who wouldn’t usually be invited or concern themselves with this kind of intervention. They included auditing and mapping of routes and lingering places, stakeholder role play, modelling of desired places and routes, face-to-face and on-line conversations with policy planners, and presentations made by young people. The key objective was to involve local users in gathering information and having ideas on what makes a successful and sustainable play space for the city/locality. Target user groups included local councillors, policy planners, local residents, young people and teachers. In particular, the project aimed to impact on future access to and planning of public/private space in the built environment and how young people are invited into these decision-making processes. The paper will outline the process and how it was developed, identify the critical “moments of truth” and the lessons learned, and provide an evaluation of the project and the next steps that include the process being adopted borough-wide as a valid consultative tool involving young people. Project collaborators included the Design school at Goldsmith’s College of Art & Design (University of London), the Inter-Cultural Cities Project, officers and councillors from Lewisham Borough Council, including the Young mayor, and students and teachers at Deptford Green School. ... More
Accessibility for people with disabilities
Specific needs, global solutions | Ignasi Gustems Mateo, Barcelona Provincial Council
Summary: The great challenge is to propose accessibility solutions that have benefits for all social groups and which do not represent an obstacle for anybody. We will have to work and analyze three main areas: - Macro-accessibility, with the objective of promoting the continuity in the accessible itinerary, as if it was a chain that cannot be broken at any point. - Micro-accessibility, in detail. The degree of precision in the construction has to be greater because it affects people who need special attention. - Special places, such as streets with steep slopes, urban parks and beaches. ... More
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