The National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, and support from the Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs have successfully conducted public consultation meetings for revisions in guidelines and standards areas of universal accessibility in built environment in India. The consultation meetings were in the backdrop of ‘Building Accessible Safe Inclusive Indian Cities’ (BASIIC) program supported by FCDO, UK government.
The meetings, were held with persons with disabilities, elderly and their caregivers, women, and children on virtual platform. The broad objectives of the consultation were to understand the diverse needs of identified groups in different facets of independent life, understand the problems faced by them in the everyday life due to the inaccessibility of urban infrastructure and services, the IIT informed. The IIT claims that from their experience and suggestions, they would work towards introducing several improvements in the guidelines.
The discussion was divided into housing/residential, healthcare, mobility, education, employment, and recreation – five critical components of urban life with an overarching theme of assistive or smart technologies. The consultations had more than 40 participants from across the country on each day sharing their views and experiences.
Prof. Ajit K Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee said “In collaboration with NIUA, IIT Roorkee aims to foster the creation of accessible built environments with a human-centric approach. The workshops witnessed meaningful participation from diverse groups including persons with disabilities, the elderly, caregivers, women, and children. These sessions will lead to the development of Harmonised Guidelines for Universal Accessibility in Built Environments.”
Major concerns discussed included age-appropriate features in housing or apartment design, safety of personal information, significance of mixed land-use development, anthropometrical mismatch in housing, maintenance of streets and public spaces, absence of ramps and use of slipper materials in flooring etc.
Improper Implementation, lack of sensitivity in society/practitioners and need for stringent monitoring mechanisms were identified as overlapping concerns in both the consultations.
Hitesh Vaidya, Director, NIUA said “A city is for everyone. It is important for us to be more cognizant of the needs of vulnerable population groups i.e. children, elderly, and persons with disabilities. One of the key elements of Inclusive planning is participatory approach. The consultations will not only act as an insightful tool to mainstream the inclusivity and universal accessibility, but will also provide inputs to develop strategies, to make future cities more accessible and inclusive.”
The insights from these consultations will support in suggesting appropriate revisions in existing Harmonised Guideline and space standards for persons with disabilities and elderly, from the lens of universal design and inclusive planning.
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