Statistics of WHO shows 15% of global population (about one billion people) may suffer temporary or permanent injured in the life. The number will increase for aging population. The special community can participate and contribute in the society under the improvement of infrastructure by accessible environmental design and inclusive design, which indicates the direction of urban construction in future.
In the “British Design Day” Partner Activity of HIDW 2021, domestic and foreign design experts gave speech on the theme of “Building a Caring and Inclusive Future City – accessible environmental design”. The following are some opinions.
Lv Shiming
Member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and Social Construction Committee,
Vice Chairman of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation
Integration and Sharing–Beautiful Barrier Free
Barrier-free environmental construction is the livelihood project, happiness project and benevolent government project to meet the demands of all people for beautiful life, such as equal participate in the social life and sharing the fruits of social development.
It’s necessary for the whole society to promote the construction of barrier-free environment. High-quality accessible environment is the important measures to meet the needs of general public for beautiful life and the requirements to realize all-round development of human being and common prosperity.
Where is the future benchmark of accessible environment in China?
Lv Shiming thought Xiongan would construct the accessible environment with high standard, high quality and high grade. He said, the Party and country attached great importance to barrier-free environment construction and the president Xi Jinping indicated it was a symbol of national and social civilization. There was a series of strategic planning on barrier-free environment construction in the 14th Five-Year Plan and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035.
With accessible environment construction winning great popular support in the new era, it has been involved into every aspect including national development, rural revitalization, urban renewal, old building renovation, elderly-oriented project, welfare facility construction, accessible living transformation, informationalized popularization and social public service. It shows the superiority and human rights protection under the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
The inclusiveness of design is especially important for accessibility.
Zhang Qi
General Manager of Arup Urban Innovation Center
People-oriented and Diversified Vision–ARUP Inclusive Environment Design
Inclusive design focuses more on the sustainable development of community city and the human dignity, which is not just limited within the disabled or barrier-free standards. It’s delivering this concept.
Zhang Qi thought we can know the characteristics of inclusive design in three dimensions:
The first was humanistic concern, including aging in society, change in physiological needs, identification of identity and culture, and accessibility of flow lines.
The second was demand driving, including psychological demand, user demand and disabled demand especially.
The third was digital empowerment. High-tech drove the development of accessible design and inclusive design.
With the example, Zhang Qi said London 2012 Olympic Games was known as the most inclusive for its realization of 100% accessibility. It designed all slopes in flat or low degree to make all areas accessible for the disabled athletes and audiences, which was fulled inclusiveness.
In addition, he said London stepped into urban revitalization and renewal for hosting London Olympic Games, at the same time, changed the Olympic host city into the areas with the most vitality from slums. It was used continuously after the competitions to for embracing inclusive design.
Johnny Li
Head of BRE Northern China Accessible Design and Diversified Vision Make the World Warmer Barrier-free facility design was defined in 1972 and was issued by the United Nations’ Disabled Persons’ Federation.
What’s barrier-free facility?
Barrier-free environment means people are freedom to choose how to enter, approach and use a situation or its correlates, rather than a behaviour or condition. Environment plays an all or part role in the desired situation, with the characteristics of accessibility, convenience, resource availability, special support and equality.
We should focus on the environment and the definition of barrier-free facility, including from the relationship with human to the connection among facilities.
BRE (Building Research Establishment) created the first regulations in British building field in 1966, which defined the general accessibility for buildings. It proposed that buildings are built for everyone, in other words, rooting for everyone. We should take into consideration building environment for everyone’s life details, from human’s age, gender, race to physical condition.
About accessible environment design, president Xi Jinping offers a beautiful blueprint for Xiongan New Area with foresight. Xiongan will be an accessible future city for smart life, a carbon neutral city for living, a healthy city with green environment, a smart city to realize the dreams, a comprehensive city for sharing. We believe Xiongan would be worthy of the accessible example with great beauty in future.
The People's Government of Hebei Province
Industry and Information Technology Department of Hebei ProvinceManagement Committee of Xiongan New AreaHebei Industrial Innovation Design Center
Qinhuangdao Municipal People's GovernmentXinji Municipal People's GovernmentDingzhou Municipal People's GovernmentShenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association(SIDA)Municipal People's Government from all cities including Dingzhou and Xinji
Hebei International Industrial Design Week
