Thea Kurdi

Do you want to hear a secret?

Accessibility consultants for the built environment have a unique vantage point in the design industry because we talk to everyone in the design build process: building owners, developers, facilities managers, policy makers, and people with disabilities.

We do this while doing building audits, attending design meetings, reviewing drawings, and helping others write accessibility standards. We actually have a treasure trove of secrets that aren’t really secrets at all, especially to people with disabilities. But they feel like secrets because almost no one seems to know about them.

So today I’ll share my top six insider secrets so you can leave confident you have solid information and knowing what you can do to help.

You might think this is something building owners or designers need to work on, but if you work, volunteer, live somewhere, or go to school, even if you don’t have a direct role to play in building or designing, your influence as a building user makes you more powerful than you know and able to influence success in achieving inclusion.

This is especially true with the Accessible Canada Act on the verge of becoming law. It’s never been a better time for everyone to know more about accessibility. Not unlike the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) The purpose of the act is “….Recognizing the history of discrimination against persons with disabilities in Ontario, the purpose of this Act is to benefit all Ontarians by (a) developing, implementing and enforcing accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures and premises on or before January 1, 2025; and (b) providing for the involvement of persons with disabilities, of the Government of Ontario and of representatives of industries and of various sectors of the economy in the development of the accessibility standards.”

So the question is…are we creating fully accessible buildings and places?

We have been working for decades to improve accessibility. Has all this effort helped? Are we there yet? While effort counts, we know it doesn’t guarantee results. Like working hard to refinish your floor only to find you’ve accidentally painted yourself into a corner?

Secret 1: Belief we’re doing a good job is wrong

The belief that we’re already doing a decent job at accessibility has been taking a firm hold. I’ve seen this belief itself become a key barrier because if you’re doing a good job, there’s no need to change codes, standard practices, education, etc.

We can look to social media to see how we’re doing in design.

There’s lots of good news. All kinds of people and organizations working on improving accessibility. Be sure to check out Smart Cities Library, 8 to 80 cities, #AXSChat, and the Older Women’s Network of Ontario and their #LivingInPlace campaign.

But we also find the AODA Alliance’s Picture Our Barriers campaign, where people tweet #AODAfail with photos showing barriers they find all over Ontario, and their three YouTube videos about barriers in brand-new college and transportation facilities.

Apps like AccessNow allow disabled people to report their experiences of buildings and other places and how accessible they find them to actually be. Barriers are also being called out as discrimination, like in this tweet from the Honorable David Onley, the former lieutenant governor of Ontario, here calling out a sign on an exterior path that shows the international symbol of accessibility inside a red circle with a diagonal red line over it. While likely meant to indicate the path is not accessible, it can also be interpreted as “no people with disabilities.” Yikes!

Ableism and discrimination are never something anyone wants associated with a business or brand.
So barriers are being called out, showcasing the reality that people with disabilities face every day. If these are mistakes, they aren’t benign mistakes.This isn’t meant to be discouraging, but if after decades this is where we are, it’s time we are honest about the results and that we start coming up with different solutions.

While we might accept that older buildings wouldn’t be accessible, people assume new buildings must be by now. People with disabilities are telling us that’s not true. We get asked a lot, “Can you name a building that is a good example?”

I can name some that are better than most, but not one place that is fully accessible. Not one I’d award with a gold star for a whole building. Not one that’s designed or built without mistakes or includes everything we already know needs to be done. Most of our current best are really only providing better access for wheelchair users. This is despite the fact we changed the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and our Human Rights Code over 30 years ago to say people with disabilities are equals and built spaces shall not discriminate against them. This is despite the fact that Canada signed the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2010. This is also despite accessibility requirements being part of the New Urban Agenda, the Sustainable Design Guidelines (#SDGs), the Smart Cities guidelines, and progressive municipal accessibility standards starting back in 2001.

We’re still surrounded by barriers? Yes! These AODA Alliance videos are sadly not anomalies, but more often the rule. Barriers are hiding in plain sight. People don’t know they are looking at them. Are they in our design magazines? In buildings and spaces winning design awards? In the latest design trends? Well let’s see, what do you think makes for an accessible building? I bet, like most, you think of four features: ramps, power door openers, elevators, and washrooms.

Done, right? Not. Even. Close.

Now assuming even these four things are done right in the first place, as mentioned, these are really focusing mostly on the needs of people using wheelchairs, not people with vision loss, people who are d/Deaf, or who have autism or cognitive impairment, or who use guide or service animals, or scooters, or any combination thereof.

On some projects I’m asked to report how accessible the design is to the project’s goals in the contract, and it’s not unusual to find designs are getting 70% to 80% of accessibility requirements wrong or that they have elements missing.

My point? We can’t get better if we don’t know we actually need significant improvements, if we don’t dismiss our stereotypes, and don’t stop making assumptions about people’s disability or capabilities.

Secret 2: Not providing equality for life and safety
Here’s one example of how we’re missing the mark. Our building code has contradictions. For one, it’s supposed to be about protecting life and safety, but during a fire what does the sign by the elevator say? “In case of fire do not use the elevator.” If your average building is sprinklered, which most new buildings are, no area of refuge is required. What’s an area of refuge? It’s an identified safe place to wait for rescue, if you can’t use the stairs, that’s smoke protected with two-way communication, so you can let people know you are there. When the fire alarm is activated, an able-bodied person goes to the closest stairs and leaves the building, even if the building is sprinklered. But if you can’t take the stairs? How is leaving people behind equity?

So what can you do? Don’t wait for the code to be fixed. Require additional accessibility in your build contracts, including areas of refuge in every exit stairs, even if the building is sprinklered.

Secret 3: Confusion about the law
The building code (OBC or NBC) and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) are not the only legislation that must be followed.

Most people don’t know our Human Rights Code actually prevails over the building code (and AODA). People often mistakenly only design “up to building code” because they don’t know the human rights code requires design not to discriminate, even if it doesn’t tell you how.

The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has published articles warning that if a complaint comes to their court, they do not accept as a defense that the design followed the building code and AODA.

So we need to significantly improve legislation because currently, during design and construction people have to guess what more to do beyond code, and each builder can pick a different set of guidelines. That’s not consistent or predictable, especially for people with disabilities. And it’s hard to impossible for the design and build industry to do in a competitive bid environment.

Secret 4: Building codes currently exempt housing from accessibility
Did you know the building code exempts housing from accessibility requirements unless you’re in Ontario and it’s an apartment or condo?
Source: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/120332

Anyone who has helped aging parents with housing or who has kids with disabilities knows we already have a crisis in accessible housing.

But in Ontario it’s only in a limited way for 15% of the apartments (3.8.2. Occupancy Requirements). How is this possible given our Charter of Rights and Human Rights Code?

You likely want and deserve the right to choose housing in the right location with amenities to suit your lifestyle and budget. Now imagine not having a choice at all, but being forced to settle for imperfect options from a limited pool, if you can find anything at all. It’s a reality people with disabilities face every day and that a growing number will experience as their needs change over their lives.

That’s not equality.

In 2018 a new infographic from the Canadian Survey on Disability was published showing lots including that the number of people with disabilities in Canada has risen dramatically to 22%. This means that with our current population (36.71 million in 2017), actually over 8 million Canadians benefit from accommodations.
Source: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-627-m/11-627-m2018035-eng.htm

But those numbers are underreported because—surprise!—they only rely on self-identification. It doesn’t capture people who won’t check that box on their census form, or those who don’t feel like they have a “real” disability, or any of the temporary disabilities we all get.

Want proof? How many of you use eyeglasses? They are assistive equipment, yes? Do you identify as having a disability? At what point would you?

But if it’s 1 in 5 people you might be wondering, where are they?

Seventy percent of people with disabilities look just like me. I pass as an able-bodied person because my disabilities don’t require an obvious mobility aid like a wheelchair or white cane.

And have you ever considered we are all only temporarily abled? One hundred percent of us are an illness, an accident, or aging away from getting a disability if we don’t already have one. The need for inclusion is far greater than we plan for.

And it’s not just about physical features either. What about the community aspect of housing? Something the industry calls “visitable design.” Currently, inaccessible design means not everyone can come visit for coffee, borrow sugar, babysit, go trick or treating, come for a BBQ, or stay for a few days. This creates isolation, which we know is bad for mental health. Mental health is something we’ve been working really hard on, especially in the last few years. Are we considering how housing is contributing?

And because design isn’t even required to be “adaptable,” transforming your home so you can age in place, like over 90% of us want to, is prohibitively expensive. Did you know we have over 1,000 Canadians a day turning 65? What are we going to do? Build long-term care homes for everyone? I’m not sure we can even afford that. Requiring accessible design is much smarter planning.

Secret 5: Not using evidence-based dimensions
Our building legislation and standards don’t always use evidence-based dimensions in the requirements. They generally are not based on research for what people need.

What?!

So how are standards and legislation created? Generally, by committee. Have you ever tried to create anything by committee? The word “compromise” comes to mind. And compromise isn’t bad, unless the results leave people compromised. Committee decisions are done behind closed doors, and committees don’t have to report what items were discussed, why any decision was made, or who voted for or against.
And what if these decision makers don’t represent the people they are deciding the requirements for? It’s like having men decide on women’s health legislation.

The disability community has a rallying cry, “nothing about us without us.” You can help ensure people with disabilities are always included in the decision-making process, and decisions are made with full transparency.

Secret 6: Accessibility is worth the cost

People think accessibility is hard and expensive. And when you’re trying to renovate inaccessible places, you’re often right. But people apply this lesson too broadly, talking themselves out of accessibility altogether. It’s only hard and expensive because we design by creating spaces for able-bodied people, then try to make it accessible afterward, even in new construction.

When anyone starts worry about costs to build in accessibility accommodations, ask about “life cycle costing.” How much will it cost to fix later versus doing it right now? It might also be useful to remind them that these accommodations that are new to them aren’t any more expensive than it is to provide chairs for audiences who didn’t bring their own or providing lighting for those of us who aren’t blind. Most accommodations help make spaces better for everyone.

We also sabotage projects by starting accessibility far too late. Traditional practice starts when we are ready to build. We have the location, we know what we want in that space, and we have set the budget. Then we start the selection process to hire an architectural or design/build team.

We often see it’s only now that additional requirements for better accessibility are added to the project, like the City of Mississauga’s own Facility Accessibility Design Standards and requiring the team to include an accessibility consultant. Sounds perfect!

But accessibility actually has to be integrated by the building owner/developer long before the design team is hired in the pre-design decisions.

Society assumes, with laws that are over 30 years old that our design/construction post secondary training teaches graduates full inclusive design. But graduates tell me in my training sessions and show me in their drawings they are finishing school having learned little beyond code minimums about inclusive design for a full spectrum of abilities.

It’s not uncommon to hear, ”No one ever taught us this.” Or, “I never thought about that…” We have to update the fundamental principles design professionals are educated with.

And it should be remembered accessibility consultants consult, give advice, we’re not dictators. People can and do ignore us. And it should be considered who’s hearing our advice. Who’s deciding what to maybe ignore?

But good news! Getting accessibility right isn’t rocket science and 80% of accessibility accommodations cost nothing, with little to no space impact. Like using color contrast. Good design is easy with experience and a different approach.

This leaves us with the remaining 20%, which does take planning. So here are 4 easy ways you, can help in pre-design to get most of that 20% right:

1 The first is the functional programming stage, where we figure out all the different rooms types needed and how much space each needs. Make sure your spaces include accessible design space requirements like areas of refuge in all exit stairs.

2 The second is the feasibility study, where you find a site or address for your project and put together the expected budget. Make sure the budget includes funds for accessibility features like assistive listening systems at all service counters.

3 The third is the furniture, fixtures and equipment list to ensure we don’t sabotage accessible spaces. Make sure your FF&E has been reviewed to include accessibility features like for your phone systems.

4 The fourth is adding accessibility commissioning, which is a solution that already standard practice for sustainable design. Commissioning helps to ensure it’s built correctly in the first place because if it’s wrong, the contractor has to fix it. Really, the minute you think about renovations or building new, start with accessibility. Start on Monday. It’s never too soon.

Conclusion

So generally, we’re thinking about accessible design and accommodation all wrong.

We’re letting bias about what we think people with disabilities can, want or should do affect our designs. And we haven’t updated the training for design and construction professionals, ensuring all of their amazing problem solving abilities are helping make things inclusive. Accessibility isn’t an afterthought. It isn’t a nice to have thing, if we want to spend money on it or if we feel like it.

It’s smarter design.
It’s the law.
It’s the right thing to do.

We’ve forgotten it’s our largest minority group. Over 1.3 billion people with disabilities on the planet account for over $229 billion global market share in revenue and spending. The World Economic Forum said that’s the equivalent of ignoring the market share of the USA, Brazil, Indonesia and Pakistan combined. The Conference Board of Canada in 2018 reported that Improved Access for People with Disabilities can add nearly $17 billion to the Canadian economy by 2030. Accessibility is good for our economy and tourism, #PurpleDollar.

It’s time we remember, the human condition is a lifetime of changing needs and abilities. It’s in fact a rookie mistake to design for the able-bodied only. And since everyone now wants sustainable development, there is nothing more sustainable, more durable, than integrating accessible design.Into diversity and inclusion? Instead of calling it “accessible design,” think of it as “inclusive design.”

But maybe we’ll know we have actually achieved equality, seeing people with disabilities as people first, when we just call it “design.”

The old saying, you’re either part of the problem or part of the solution is especially true here. I’m inviting you to join Team Solution to help us futureproof our buildings and spaces and stop discrimination in our built environment.

Thank you.

My TEDx talk is out on YouTube now: https://t.co/HGE9nRTAQy

The Act (AODA)
Source: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/120332