Accessibility Standards and Universal Design: MIUSA
Accessibility:
There are many resources in the United States and abroad for information on accessibility standards for buildings, also known as universal design. The following organizations offer publications and/or technical assistance on accessibility. Some of these organizations base their standards on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). While the Americans with Disabilities Act is a U.S. law, accessibility standards produced under this law are suitable for use by any organization seeking to assure the accessibility of its facilities.
Universal design definition:
Universal design is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.
Principles of Universal Design:
- Equitable Use: The design does not disadvantage or stigmatize any group of users.
- Flexibility in Use: The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.
- Simple, Intuitive Use: Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user's experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.
- Perceptible Information: The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user's sensory abilities.
- Tolerance for Error: The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions.
- Low Physical Effort: The design can be used efficiently and comfortably, and with a minimum of fatigue.
- Size and Space for Approach & Use: Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use, regardless of the user's body size, posture, or mobility.
Resources:
Access Board
1331 F Street NW, Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20004-1111 USA
Tel: (800) USA-ABLE (800-872-2253) or (202) 272-5434 (for technical assistance)
TTY: (800) 993-2822 or 202-272-5449
Fax: (202) 272-5447
E-mail: info@access-board.gov(general information) or ta@access-board.gov(technical assistance questions)
Web: www.access-board.gov
Access Board is a federal agency that develops minimum guidelines and requirements for standards issued under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA). It provides technical assistance on those guidelines and standards, including the accessibility of buildings, transportation vehicles and telecommunications. It also provides enforcement of the Architectural Barriers Act, investigating complaints under the ABA. Access Board does not enforce the ADA, which is generally the responsibility of the Department of Justice. Access Board produces a number of publications, including Access Currents, a newsletter, and ADA Accessibility Guidelines, which provides detailed information on accessibility standards; this publication is also on its website at: www.access-board.gov/adaag/html/adaag.htm
NOTE: Technical assistance questions sent by fax or e-mail should include a telephone number, and a good time to call if possible in order that the agency can provide interactive technical assistance.
AccessIT
Box 357920
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-7920
Toll Free Voice: (866) 968-2223
Toll Free TTY: (866) 866-0162
Local Voice and TTY: (206) 616-2223
Fax: (206) 543-4779
E-mail: accessit@u.washington.edu
Web: http://www.washington.edu/accessit/index.php
The National Center on Accessible Information Technology in Education (AccessIT) at the University of Washington serves to increase access to electronic and information technology for students and employees with disabilities by leading a nation-wide effort to incorporate accessibility into policies and practices in the nation's classrooms, computer labs, libraries, offices, and everywhere else where information technology is used in education. It is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education and is located at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Adaptive Environments Center
374 Congress Street, Suite 301
Boston, MA 02210 USA
Tel: (617) 695-1225 Fax: (617) 482-8099
E-mail: adaptive@adaptiveenvironments.org
Web: www.adaptiveenvironments.org
Adaptive Environments Center provides information and technical assistance regarding architectural accessibility and universal design standards. Its website includes links to other resources related to universal design.
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
11 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036 USA
Tel: (212) 642-4900 Fax: (212) 389-0023
E-mail: info@ansi.org
Web: www.ansi.org
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) provides information on accessibility standards related to architecture.
Centre for Accessible Environments (CAE)
Nutmeg House
60 Gainsford Street
London SE1 2NY UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: (44-207) 357-8182
Fax: (44-207) 357-8183
E-mail: info@cae.org.uk
Web: www.cae.org.uk
Centre for Accessible Environments (CAE) is a technical information, training and consultancy resource committed to the provision of buildings and spaces that are accessible to all users, and to the enhancement of quality in design.
Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access
School of Architecture and Planning - University at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY 14214-3087 USA
Tel: (716) 829-3485 ext. 329
Fax: (716) 829-3861
TTY: (877) 237-4219 ext. 336
E-mail: idea@ap.buffalo.edu
Web: www.ap.buffalo.edu/idea/
Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDEA) provides resources and technical expertise in architecture, product design, facilities management and the social and behavioral sciences to a broad range of people, including people with disabilities.
Center for Universal Design
North Carolina State University
School of Design
Box 8613
219 Oberlin Road (delivery address)
Raleigh, NC 27695-8613 USA
InfoLine: (800) 647-6777
Tel/TTY: (919) 515-3082
Fax: (919) 515-3023
E-mail: cud@ncsu.edu
Web: www.design.ncsu.edu/cud
Center for Universal Design's mission is to improve the built environment and related products for all users by effecting change in policies and procedures through research, information, training and design assistance.
Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs)
Tel: (800) 949-4232
Web: www.adata.org
Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs) provide information and technical assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act. There are 10 regional offices. Regional DBTACs can be reached automatically by dialing the national toll free number, or you may visit the website.
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)
2212 Sixth Street
Berkeley, CA 84710 USA
Tel/TTY: (510) 644-2555
Fax: (510) 841-8545
E-mail: shenderson@dredf.org
Web: www.dredf.org
Contact: Susan Henderson
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) is another resource to learn more about standards for accessible buildings. DREDF is a national, nonprofit law and policy center, dedicated to furthering the civil rights of people with disabilities. DREDF provides technical assistance, information and referral, and training to individuals and organizations on disability-rights laws and policies; provides legal representation directly and as co-counsel and amicus in cases of disability-based discrimination; educates people with disabilities; and trains law students through the Disability Clinical Legal Education Program. DREDF was key to the effort to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act and continues to provide expert training to individuals, businesses, etc. on that law.
Equal Access to Software Information (EASI)
EASI Corp
PO Box 818
Lake Forest CA 92609
Tel: (949) 916-2837
E-mail: info@easi.cc
Web: http://www.rit.edu/~easi/
EASI's mission is to serve as a resource by providing information and guidance in the area of access-to-information technologies by individuals with disabilities. We stay informed about developments and advancements within the adaptive computer technology field and spread that information to colleges, universities, K-12 schools, libraries and into the workplace.
Planning for All
Ministry of the Environment
PO Box 8013
Dep, 0030 Oslo NORWAY
Tel: (47-22) 24-90-90
Fax: (47-22) 24-95-60
E-mail: postmottak@md.dep.no
Web: www.miljo.no
Planning for All is a program run by the Ministry of the Environment of Norway. Its goal is to use planning as a tool to improve accessibility in the environment for people with disabilities.
Project Action
700 13th Street NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20005 USA
Tel: (202) 247-3066 or (800) 659-6428
Fax: (202) 347-4157 or (202) 737-7914
E-mail: nsmith@easter-sealsdc.org
Web: www.projectaction.org
Funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transportation Administration, Easter Seals Project ACTION promotes cooperation between the transportation industry and the disability community to increase mobility for people with disabilities under the ADA and beyond. We offer various resources, as well as training and technical assistance, in an effort to make the ADA work for everyone, everyday. More than a dozen years after our creation, our goal - and our name - remains unchanged: Accessible Community Transportation In Our Nation (ACTION). Through the National Institute for Accessible Transportation (NIAT), a resource center and publications clearinghouse, it offers materials to the public free of charge. An online database of accessible transport in the United States is available on its website.
Trace Research & Development Center
University of Wisconsin-Madison
2107 Engineering Centers Bldg.
1550 Engineering Dr.
Madison, WI 53706
Tel: (608) 262-6966
Fax: (608) 262-8848
TTY: (608) 263-5408
Email: info@trace.wisc.edu
Web: http://trace.wisc.edu/
The Trace Research & Development Center is a part of the College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Trace's mission is to prevent barriers and capitalize on the opportunities presented by current and emerging information and telecommunication technologies, in order to create a world that is as accessible and usable as possible for as many people as possible.
World Wide Web Consortium Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
MIT/LCS Room NE43-355
200 Technology Square
Cambridge, MA, 02139 USA
Tel: (617) 253-2613
E-mail: wai@w3.org
Web: www.w3.org/WAI
World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), in coordination with organizations around the world, pursues accessibility of the Web through five primary areas of work: technology, guidelines, tools, education and outreach, and research and development.
PUBLICATIONS:
Inclusive Design: Designing and Developing Accessible Environments
by Rob Imrie and Peter Hall
Paperback - 208 pages (October 2001)
E & F N Spon; ISBN: 0419256202
Inclusive Design is a documentation of the attitudes, values and practices of property professionals, including developers, surveyors and architects, in responding to the building needs of disabled people. It looks at the way in which pressure for accessible building design is influencing the policies and practices of property companies and professionals, with a primary focus on commercial developments in the United Kingdom. The book also provides comments on, and references to, other countries, particularly the United States, Sweden and New Zealand.
WEBSITES:
Accessibility for the Disabled-A Design Manual for a Barrier Free Environment is an online manual prepared by the Lebanese Company for the Development and Reconstruction of Beirut Central District in cooperation with the United Nations and the Ministry of Social Affairs National Committee for the Disabled. The manual addresses urban and architectural design considerations for Beirut, and it may be useful for similar cities and countries.
www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/designm
The Independent Living online library lists and links to hundreds of universal design resources at:
Web: www.independentliving.org
Recommendations for transportation accessibility/guide to making transportation accessible for persons with disabilities and elders in countries around the world are available at the following website:
