POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory Wheelchair accessibility to public buildings in Istanbul 이 호 진

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory CONTENTS CONTENTS 2 1. Introduction 2. Importance of accessibility to public spaces 3. Factors affecting accessibility of public spaces 4. Architectural barriers faced by wheelchair users 5. Field study 6. Results 7. Discussion & Conclusion

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory 1. Introduction 1. Introduction  Background - Accessibility to public environment is the human right and basic need of each citizen and is one of the fundamental considerations for urban planning  Studying purpose - Assess the accessibility of public buildings for physically disabled people in the case of Istanbul  Method -Carried out in Istanbul’s four different CBD(Central Business District) where numerous public buildings are present -Data collect : 26 public buildings providing a different kind of public service (26/30) -Questionnaire covering 9 sections investigating the wheelchair accessibility of public buildings. -Wheelchair accessibility is determined on a point scale based on each section by considering the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Guidelines. 3

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory 2. Importance of accessibility to public spaces  Define - Be defined as the freedom or ability of people to reach their basic needs so as to increase their quality of life  What is important on this definition is to address every resident equitably - Highlighted that participation to social activities outside home is a fundamental part  City layout (1) Public : concern all usages for everyone (2) private : concern only for use by certain groups of people.  all public property areas include theatres, cinemas, cafes, shopping centres, parks, hospitals, museums, libraries, etc 4

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory 5 3. Factors affecting accessibility of public spaces

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory 3. Factors affecting accessibility of public spaces 6 Inadequately designed built-up areas Lack of knowledge on disability in professional design education Unconsious and unwilling local governments Aesthetic standards of judgement in design education coming from the past  Inadequately designed built-up areas - Accessibility for disabled people is a universal problem of humanity  Lack of knowledge on disability in professional design education - 56% were unable to address the needs of disabled people in UK school (teacher’s awareness) - Only 13% of the architectural schools have courses related with the needs of disabled people in Turkey (only 11% obligatory status)  Unconscious and unwilling local governments - local governments have no valid and reliable data( users’ opinions) - organization of capitalist societies where profit comes before social objectives  Aesthetic standards of judgement in design education coming from the past - Architects no longer care how a thing works anymore but only care how it looks

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory 7 3. Factors affecting accessibility of public spaces Legal situation Legal loopholes on construction of built-up area Lack of standards for different impaired people Lack of sanction for unproperly designed environment  Legal situation - The origins of problems with access regulation lie in socioeconomic relationships (existence of frictions between local land economy and access regulation) - Problem with effectiveness and enforcement of access regulations (USA-ADA) - Some conflicts during the practicing period

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory 4. Architectural barriers faced by wheelchair users 4. Architectural barriers faced by wheelchair users 8  Assess  Measuring a building’s compliance to existing regulation  Public transportation - 80% of city’s underground stations are inaccessible for wheelchair user (London) - bus stop, car parking, location of bus stop, safe crosswalk etc…  Entrance - threshold or ramp, door width (heavy door and door width compliacne recorded at low %)  Toilet - Height of toilet seat, sink height usable mirror, grab bar (extremely serious)  Parking areas - Number of appropriate parking spaces (width, closest to entrance)  Public phones and drinking - Lack of provision

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory 5. Field study 9  Select - Istanbul : huge population and similar physical and legal characteristics of other metropolis of developing countries  Questionnaire - record the data from direct observation and measurement ( modified Useh et al.’s questionnaire + 3 more sections), nine sections - the level of compliance ( ADA Guidelines) - Section A : data related to the buildings (name, function, location, date of construction) - Section B-I : assessment data  Assessment method - 26 point-scale (perfect score 26, 100% accessibility) cf) Section E : 21, G : 22 H : 21 I : 15 - yes : 1, no : 0, partially : 0.5

10 6. Results

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POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory 7. Discussion & Conclusion  Sample - 1 museum, 2 hotels, 7 shopping centres, 1 post office, 1 bank, 3 concert hall & theatre complex, 1 cinema, 6 café & restaurant, 1 stadium  Analysis - highest compliant accessibility area ‘Entrance to building’, lowest ‘ Public Transport’ - results concordance (other studies) - first explorative step towards general knowledge  can’t be generalized ( 그럼에도 불구하고 이러한 방식으로 전해진 지식이 매우 중요하다.)  Conclusion - Result : wheelchair users experience with many accessibility problem - need to adapt international policy and regulations to country’s conditions - influence the willingness of service providers like shop owners - need to create a valid and reliable assessments To conclude ‘ the creation of a safe and pleasant enabling town centre is clearly a major achievement in urban design : not just for those with special mobility needs, but for society at large’ 12

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory 13 APPENDIX

POSTECH H uman S ystem D esign Lab oratory 14