Universal Design the Urban Scale: Boston

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Universal Design _at_ the Urban Scale Boston
Kumamoto
Universal Design _at_ the Urban Scale Kumamoto
Boston Valerie Fletcher www.AdaptiveEnvironments
.org
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Kawasaki and Simon quotes
Design must balance ethics and aesthetics for
the good of society. - Kazuo Kawasaki
Everyone designs who devises courses of action
aimed at changing existing situations into
preferred ones. - Herbert Simon
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Goals of the Session

• Share the rationale (the case) for
  universal/inclusive design at the urban scale
• Offer the context, process and outcome for two
  case studies of UD at the urban scale Boston
  Kumamoto
• Provide insights into the role of culture for
  integrating UD at the urban scale
• Pose a few hypotheses about strategy for success

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Philosophy

• An international nonprofit organization dedicated
  to enhancing the experiences of people of all
  ages and abilities through excellence in design.
• www.AdaptiveEnvironments.org

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Description

• 1st U.S. NGO focused on design in relation to
  disability aging
• Guidance on legal compliance promotion of best
  practices
• Urban design and architecture to information
  design
• Projects from local to international
• Host or co-host of Designing for the 21st Century
  Conferences since 1998 New York, Providence
  (2000) Yokahama (2002), Rio de Janeiro (2004)
  Kyoto (2006)

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Contact Numbers
New England Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
and Accessible Information Technology
Center 800-949-4232 v/tty
National Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST
ProgramDesign and Construction Resource
Center 888-341-7781 v/tty

Information and Guidance on the Americans with
Disabilities Act Accessible Information
Technology
programs of Adaptive Environments
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Adaptive Environments Home page
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Adaptive Environments products


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Two convictions...

• Design is powerful and profoundly
  influences our daily lives and our sense of
  confidence, comfort, and control.
• Variation in ability is ordinary, not
  special,
• and affects most of us for some part of our
  lives.

Adaptive Environments
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What is universal designinclusive
designdesign-for-all?
a framework for the design of places,
things, information, communication and policy
that focuses on the user, on the widest range of
people operating in the widest range of
situations without special or separate design
or Human centered design (of everything)
with everyone in mind
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The demographic catalyst rationale for UD

• Disability
• Aging
• Prevalence Issues

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15-24 years chart
Trace RD Center, University of Wisconsin
Courtesy Trace RD Center, University of
Wisconsin
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45-54 years chart
Courtesy Trace RD Center, University of
Wisconsin
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65-69 years chart
Trace RD Center, University of Wisconsin
Courtesy Trace RD Center, University of
Wisconsin
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75 years chart
Trace RD Center, University of Wisconsin
Courtesy Trace RD Center, University of
Wisconsin
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Agingthe numbers

• The rise in the proportion of the worlds old is
  the new centurys defining demographic trend
• Forecast of population proportion over age 60 in
  North America
• 2000 - 16
• 2050 - 30
• 2100 - 40
• Source Nature, vol.412, 2 August 2001
• More than half of Americas 74M baby-boomers are
  expected to see their 85 birthday. The
  Economist March 27, 2004
• 
  Adaptive Environments

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The Human Aging ProcessChanges (losses) in
Every System

• Cellular
• Circulation of Blood and Lymph
• Arterial System
• Bone
• Muscular
• Sensory
• Urogenital System
• Genital Function
• Body Fluid Thermal Regulation
• Respiratory Function
• Brain

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Percentage Chart
Percentage Increase in Age 60 by Region,
2000-2050
Source World Population Prospects, The 1998
Revision, Volume II Sex and Age. The Population
Division, Department of Economic and Social
Affairs, United Nations Secretariat
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Most prevalent reasons for functional limitation
of adults in the US...

• Arthritis
• Back problems
• Heart disease
• Respiratory disease
• Source Centers for Disease Control

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Most prevalent causes in children 3-21 in the US

• 1. Specific learning disabilities 44.4
• 2. Speech or language impairments 16.9
• 3. Intellectual disability - 9.2
• 4. Emotional disturbance 7.4
• 5. Other health impairments (primarily
  respiratory) 5.3
• (source U.S. DoE, 2001-2002,
  IDEA)

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Timing is just right WHOs new definition of
disability Sustainable Design
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Who definitionRedefines disability and
health2001

• A dramatic change in how we understand
  differences in functional ability adopted by 191
  member states after 10 years in development

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Mainstreaming and Parity

• mainstreamed the experience of disability and
  recognized it as a universal human experience
• Established parity between physical and mental
  etiology

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World Health Organization definition

• Defined disability as a contextual variable. A
  person with a functional limitation is more or
  less disabled based upon the intersection with
  the environment
• Physical environment
• Communication environment
• Information environment
• Social environment

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World Health Organization facilitators

• Called for an international effort to identify
  facilitators that would go beyond barrier removal
  to enhance everyones experience.
• promoted universal design as a framework to
  create facilitators

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Green Design

• A worldwide movement for design that is
  environmentally responsible
• Driving a whole new agenda for planning, design,
  public policy
• Overlap with UD as human health well-being
  expand as green design performance measures
• Green Design assumes an evolving knowledge base
  lots of work to do, room for everyone to play

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Green design as sustainable
But, green design is only one element of
sustainable design and development
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A redefinition of sustainable design
development

• Environmental sustainability
• Economic Sustainability
• Social Sustainability
• (includes universal design)

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two key elements

• Universal Designs two key elements for UD at the
  urban scale
• User/Experts
• Seven Principles

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User/Experts

• People whose abilities and experiences differ
  from the norm know what works and what doesnt
  for them.
• We cannot design effective solutions without that
  expertise.

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The 7 universal design principles were developed
by American designers and advocates of universal
design in 1997
Today, these tools are common internationally. Ex
amples of good design are likely to incorporate
more than one principle.
Adaptive Environments
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Points to remember
1. Disability is contextual a person with a
functional limitation is more or less disabled
based on her interaction with the physical,
communication, information and social/human
environment. 2. Take your existing
knowledge and experience and refine it to take a
lead in identifying facilitators in every type of
environment for every potential user.
Adaptive Environments
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Japan national context

• aging population
• market opportunity
• Population peaked in 04 at 127M and is expected
  to
• decline by 2050 to 69M
• 42.3 60
• 15.6 80 (UN Population Division, 2001)

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Japan recent news...

• The International Association for Universal
  Design (IAUD), founded in 2002, has 145
  dues-paying corporate members.
• Toyota, Panasonic, Toto lead on company-wide
  commitments to an integrated green design UD
  mission
• The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and
  Transport established national policy on
  universal design in July 2005. It requires the
  participation of diverse users.

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Case Study Kumamoto
July 7, 2006
Low-floor streetcar In Kumamoto City
Kumamoto Prefectural Government

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Kumamoto City
Capital of Kumamoto Prefecture 650,000 residents
Kumamoto Castle
Mount Aso
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Yoshiko Shiotani, Governer of Kumamoto
Prefectural Government
Yoshiko SHIOTANI. Governor of Kumamoto 1984
Director of the Infant Care Center, Jiai-En
Social Service Center (until 15 March, 1999) 1999
Vice-Governor, Kumamoto Prefecture (16 March,
1999 to 15 March, 2000) 2000 Governor, Kumamoto
Prefecture (The first term 16 April, 2000 to 15
April, 2004) 2004 Governor, Kumamoto Prefecture
(The second term since 16 April, 2004) With
long experience in the field of social welfare,
the Governor chose Universal Design as the base
of all of the Prefectural policies. In 2001, the
Prefecture organized an International Universal
Design Symposium and established the Kumamoto
Universal Design Promotion Guidelines.
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The Kumamoto Universal Design Promotion Guideline
Citizen education in Universal Design the
Guidelines
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Prefectural Housing Complex at Kengun, Kumamoto
City 1
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Prefectural Housing Complex at Kengun, Kumamoto
City 2
All units universally designed with common space
on a wooden deck outdoors.
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Creating a Community Hub
Residents include people with disabilities and
older people, a mix of supports and activities
can be tailored to each residents needs and
preferences
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Creating Community Bonds

• Kumamoto City shopping district
• Redesigned signage, renovated pedestrian
  environment
• Rolling carts for all shoppers even at small open
  stands
• System of volunteers to assist elders with
  shopping

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Creating Community Power
Community childcare designed for all children
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Universal Design Sightseeing Monitoring Tour 1
Traditional boating on the Kumagawa River
redesigned to make it easy and welcoming to older
people
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Universal Design Sightseeing Monitoring Tour 2
Routine engagement of User/Experts for all new
projects renovations here at Kumamoto Castle
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Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children 1
New centers design engaged hundreds of students,
families and interested citizens. Participation
continued throughout the entire process of
planning, design and post-occupancy evaluation.
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Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children 2
Detail of childrens rest room
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Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children 3
Detail of dining room
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Case Study 2
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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US national context

• People with Disabilities
• Aging Baby Boomers
• We have an aging society and
• an adolescent culture.
• (Barbara Defoe Whitehead, Social Historian)
• In 2050, US population expected to be 400M
• 26.9 60
• 7.5 80 (UN Population Division, 2001)

60 year old Goldie Hawn Cover of AARP 2 06
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U.S. Recent News

• Model green UD projects underway by two
  Independent Living Centers in Chicago and
  Berkeley
• GM Ford are waking up to UD with Proof of
  Concept initiatives
• General media about or referencing UD expanding
  annually including agendas-setting design
  magazines
• US Access Board establishes a new practice of
  identifying Optimal recommendations in their
  new Courthouse Standards Committee.

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Case Study Boston,Massachusetts

• 590,000 people in a metropolitan district of 3.2
  M
• Capitol city of the oldest geographic population
  in US
• 2nd most expensive US city

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Our opportunity South Boston WaterfrontCirca
1998

• The first new neighborhood in Boston since Back
  Bay 150 years ago
• Over 1000 acres of underused land, mostly open
  parking and port-related business
• Development right outside AE office
• New Executive Director gets Board to agree to
  priority on UD at the urban scale

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Vision intersection of opportunity timing (we
invited ourselves)

• Secured initial support from the Boston
  Foundation
• Secured initial political support from the Boston
  Redevelopment Authority
• Secured initial moral support from the Boston
  Society of Architects

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Projected Development in relation to central city
Fan Pier Parcel
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Projected buildout of initial 127 acres
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Education
Created an initial booklet to pitch the concept
designed to fit into breast pocket of suit
jackets (developers!) based on the 7 UD
principles with global images
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Education 2

• Secured three MIT Urban Planning interns for 18
  months each between 02 05
• Conducted workshops each year at the largest
  architectural event in the region Build Boston
  (in 2003 with UD colleagues from Japan, UK, Spain
  co-presenting on UD at the urban scale
• Conducted a conference, Streets Fit for People,
  in October of 2001 with a dozen governmental,
  non-profit and developer partners.
• Collaborative Charrette with the Boston
  Redevelopment Authority 2/04

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Education Ped Design 10 01
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Education AE BRA Charrette 2, 2004
AE set the theme with a presentation on
international urban features that combined UD
delight
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Citizen/User Participation

• Elder focus groups from different neighborhoods
• Working with kids
• Childrens Museum (180 8-10 year olds)
• Adolescents (20)

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User/Citizen ParticipationKids built a
cardboard city fit for people (especially kids)
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Strategic Collaborations
City Government Planning, zoning,
transportation, public works, disability
commission, elder commission, Boston Civic Design
Commission State Government Department of
Environmental Protection, Highway, Department of
Conservation Recreation