A Reflection on Design and How it Promotes Inclusion and Care in the City

Introduction

Buildings and urban spaces derive their quality from fulfilling peoples’ needs and demands. The design and placement of people’s homes have a significant impact on their overall quality of life and happiness. Design, planning, and management decisions have the potential to either boost or lessen people’s sense of belonging, especially in urban dwellings (Persson, Åhman, Yngling, and Gulliksen, 2015). Cities have a way of creating a sense of belonging for everyone. Designs are a two-sided sword with the ability to improve or hinder someone’s well-being include enhancing or decreasing feelings of safety and security, increasing and restricting boundaries, promoting and restricting movement, and many other things. Through the development of empathy and a giving perspective, they may be able to assist communities in overcoming actual and imagined problems.

Inclusion and Care Using Design

The purpose of inclusive design is to remove the roadblocks that create excessive effort and social isolation in people with disabilities. It gives everyone the ability to participate in everyday activities in an equitable, confident, and autonomous manner. Uncovering new views on how people interact with the built environment is made possible through a more inclusive design approach. According to Mahadevia and Lathia (2019), this opens up new avenues for putting one’s creative and problem-solving talents to good use, as well. Even after a decade of advances in accessibility, planning, and infrastructure investment, those living in poverty and other disadvantaged circumstances are still far more likely to live in substandard conditions. Planning and design must take into consideration the social, cultural, and economic inequities that are being incorporated into new developments and neighborhoods.

A collaborative effort between facilities managers, surveyors, building control surveyors, architects, planners, engineers, and access specialists is necessary to establish an inclusive workplace. Persson et al. (2015) add that the responsibility for creating an inclusive environment ultimately falls on the shoulders of developers, landlords, and service providers. Urban properties must be built, constructed, and operated in line with inclusive principles, or the owners and other shareholding agents are exposed to legal consequences. On a daily basis, these stakeholders should make it a point to comply with accessibility regulations. Human imaginations and lateral thinking should be put to use in order to come up with distinctive and imaginative solutions for real people in all their varieties, ensuring equitable access in design.

The potential of a design to generate an inclusive environment must always be considered while evaluating it. Douglas, Lennon, and Scott (2017) found that a design that does not do this is not acceptable. A good design should reflect the diversity of the people who use it rather than imposing any restrictions on a section of users. The fact that the physical environment is created and managed in an inclusive manner causes aggravation and difficulty for a large number of individuals, including disabled people, the elderly, and families with small children. When a facility is designed with inclusivity in mind, it benefits everyone who uses it.

When a single design solution is incapable of meeting the needs of all users, inclusive design steps in. An inclusive workplace does not attempt to meet every individual’s demands (Hollands, 2008), rather it does it best to ensure that overall wellbeing of all users is maintained. For example, taking into account people’s diversity, on the other hand, may help break down barriers and exclusion, and it typically results in more comprehensive solutions that benefit everyone. While handicapped people are not all alike, including their needs in the design process ensures that everyone benefits. A design embraces everyone on an equal footing by adhering to the same high design standards for all users’ access requirements (Rahim et al., 2014). Users should be motivated by an environment that goes beyond the bare necessities of technology.

The application of inclusive design results in increased flexibility. Adhering to inclusive design principles requires an understanding of how and by whom the building or space will be used (Lemaire and Kerr, 2017). Places must be built in such a manner that they can adapt to changing requirements and usage. Accessible buildings and environments are more convenient and joyful to use for everyone. For example, signage, visible lighting, visual contrast, and materials all contribute to making environments accessible to all. Building accessibility encompasses more than its architectural layout. Additionally, Mahadevia and Lathia (2019) observe that it requires individuals to possess sufficient knowledge, often prior to leave their house, in order to feel secure entering a facility or site. When guaranteeing this ‘intellectual’ and ’emotional’ access, signage, lighting, visual contrast, and materials must all be addressed. It is crucial to begin the design process by examining the transportation patterns to and within a development. Roads, parking lots, walkways, entrances to buildings, and other paths should all be considered. It is vital for visitors to be able to utilize all components of the site, including the interiors of buildings.

Care and Inclusion in City Designs: A Case of Improving Quality of Life

Perhaps, if designers build the physical environments in a more egalitarian, inclusive and cohesive manner, our communities, services, and gathering spaces will all contribute to a more equal, inclusive, and cohesive society as a result of our efforts. People’s reactions to the built environment are influenced by social, cultural, and economic variables (Rahim et al., 2014). In order for users to feel comfortable in any particular place or setting, the entire breadth of their experience must be taken into consideration.

Many cities continue to fail to take into consideration the special obstacles that persons with disabilities confront when designing their layouts and public spaces. People with disabilities will feel better integrated into society if cities are designed with their needs in mind when they are created. Anti-discrimination legislation will also have a positive impact on the housing rights of the disabled (Persson et al., 2015). By engaging more people with disabilities in the design process, designers may take into account the many different types of exclusion and barriers that people face on a daily basis. People should be able to use the spaces and structures that have been created via design and development to build strong, vibrant, and long-lasting communities. Good designs must make sure that as many people as possible are involved in the design process in order to accomplish this. The effect is that this inclusion will benefit everyone as well as increase the cohesiveness and enjoyment of society as a whole.

Good design can only be accomplished by building an environment that meets as many people’s requirements as is physically and technologically possible. It is likely that everyone, whether they are a traveler with heavy luggage, a parent with little children, an old person, or someone suffering from a medical condition, may have restricted movement at some point (Douglas et al., 2017). Identifying and addressing inclusion barriers as early as possible in the design process can help to ensure that outstanding design can overcome them. Inclusive design acknowledges and celebrates people’s differences rather than creating barriers between them. For example, Persson et al. (2015) reminds designers of a need to be considerate, ensuring to have an inclusive design for all stakeholders, something that can be achieved by using green and technologically-advanced designs. While understanding the needs of wheelchair users and individuals with mobility impairments is vital, it is also critical to understand the problems experienced by people with learning disabilities, mental illness, visual impairments, and hearing impairments.

Conclusion

The role of design is to improve the well-being of users of a facility. However, designs have the power to enhance or decrease feelings of safety and security, increase and restrict boundaries, and promote and restrict effective movement. The purpose of inclusive design is to remove the roadblocks that create excessive effort and social isolation in people with disabilities. The potential of a design to generate an inclusive environment must always be considered as an evaluation measure. Good design can only be accomplished by building an environment that meets as many people’s requirements as is physically and technologically possible through inclusion and equitable considerations.

Reference List

Douglas, O., Lennon, M. and Scott, M., 2017. Green space benefits for health and well-being: A life-course approach for urban planning, design and management. Cities, 66, pp.53-62.

Hollands, R.G., 2008. Will the real smart city please stand up? Intelligent, progressive or entrepreneurial?. City, 12(3), pp.303-320.

Lemaire, X. and Kerr, D., 2017. Inclusive Urban Planning–Promoting Equality and Inclusivity in Urban Planning Practices. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351902692_Inclusive_Urban_Planning_-_Promoting_Equality_and_Inclusivity_in_Urban_Planning_Practices

Mahadevia, D. and Lathia, S., 2019. Women’s safety and public spaces: Lessons from the Sabarmati riverfront, India. Urban Planning, 4(2), pp.154-168.

Persson, H., Åhman, H., Yngling, A.A. and Gulliksen, J., 2015. Universal design, inclusive design, accessible design, design for all: different concepts—one goal? On the concept of accessibility—historical, methodological and philosophical aspects. Universal Access in the Information Society, 14(4), pp.505-526.

Rahim, A.A., Zen, I., Samad, N.A.A. and Rahim, C.R.C., 2014. Universal Design and Accessibility: Towards Sustainable Built Environment in Malaysia. Universal Design, pp.299-306.