| 1. |
- Erdtman, Emil, et al.
(author)
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Between consultation and partnership : participation styles in Swedish urban revitalization processes involving disabled people
- 2024
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In: Journal of Urban Design. - 1357-4809.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Inclusive urban design relies on the participation of disabled persons. This study examines how the involvement of this group is perceived and managed in three revitalization initiatives applying current legal and moral requirements, e.g. ‘universal design’. Qualitative content analysis was conducted on go-along interviews and participant observation in projects related to public places and buildings in three Swedish cities. Two participation styles were developed: Consultation and Partnership. Officials were focused on Consultation while disability organizations desired Partnership. There were overlapping styles in terms of organization, identification, and internal tensions, leading to misunderstandings about collaboration, participants’ legitimacy, and opportunities for influence.
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| 2. |
- Ericsson, Stina, et al.
(author)
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The dis/ablement of bodies in semiotic landscapes – a citizen science approach
- 2021
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Much of our built environment is constructed to accommodate ‘normate’ (Garland-Thomson 1996; Hamraie 2017) bodies. This fact may remain invisible to normate users of public space, much as the ordering of human interaction through categorisation is often invisible (Bowker & Star 1999). Reading semiotic landscapes through the dis/abling (Campbell 1999) of bodies that (attempt to) move through them, in this talk we investigate how dis/ablised bodies and places are co-constituted and how hegemonic constructions of space can be noticed and problematised.Data was collected using a citizen science approach (e.g. Purschke 2017), whereby the public were invited to contribute data on experiences of categorisation in relation to exclusion and inclusion in public places. This was done using a purpose-designed app. Participants were encouraged to take and submit photos, write a comment about the photo and their experience, and to select one of three emotions, viz. happy, sad, or angry. To date, around 100 submissions have been collected.Data is analysed using visual multimodal analysis (Ledin and Machin 2018, expanded to include movement through, and presence in, space, as well as properties ascribed to the particular body acting in the place). This is also combined with a critical, multimodal discourse approach to dis/ability (cf. Grue 2015; Machin, Caldas-Coulthard & Milani 2016). The data includes examples of both ablement and disablement. Participants’ choices and descriptions of physical objects and places (signs, the placement of buttons to be pressed, contrast markings, etc.) reveal bodily requirements (linguistic competences, body height and dexterity, sight, etc.) and pinpoint the body in the landscape.The talk adds to the field of Linguistic Landscapes by considering the dis/ablement of users in semiotic settings of signs and the built environment. It also adds to the field by further developing citizen science approaches to linguistic landscapes.ReferencesBowker, G.C. & Star, S.L. 1999. Sorting Things Out: Classification and Its Consequences. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Campbell, F. 1999. ‘Refleshingly Disabled’: Interrogations into the Corporeality of ‘Disablised’ Bodies. Australian Feminist Law Journal 12 (1): 57–80.Garland-Thomson, R. 1996. Extraordinary Bodies: Figuring Physical Disability in American Culture and Literature. 1st ed. Columbia University Press.Grue, J. 2011. Discourse Analysis and Disability: Some Topics and Issues. Discourse & Society 22 (5): 532–546.Hamraie, A. 2017. Building Access: Universal Design and the Politics of Disability. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Ledin, P. & Machin, D. 2018. Doing Visual Analysis: From Theory to Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.Machin, D., Caldas-Coulthard, C.R. & Milani, T. 2016. Doing critical multimodality in research on gender, language and discourse. Gender and Language, 10(3): 301–308.Purschke, C. (2017). Crowdsourcing the linguistic landscape of a multilingual country. Introducing Lingscape in Luxembourg. Linguistik Online, 85(6).
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| 3. |
- Hedvall, Per-Olof, et al.
(author)
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Categorisations Impeding and Supporting Universal Design
- 2021
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- *Introduction* The adoption of Universal Design in European countries introduces a demand for and ex-pectations of a culture which supports equality and non-stigmatisation, treasuring diversi-ty and striving towards a society for all. *Background*Universal Design comes with a set of values, which create tensions between established practices based on “persons with disabilities” as a distinct, separate target group, and the “nonclusive” mindset of Universal Design. Seen this way, Universal Design challenges ex-isting categorisations of people into e.g. who is and who is not or can and cannot be “disa-blized”. Thus, it is important to understand how categorisations operate and what is need-ed in creating categorisations that enhance the development of Universal Design. How can a shift in categorisation grounds support Universal Design? Will it obscure or hide diversi-ty as a side effect instead of acknowledging and respecting it?*Method*This paper contributes new knowledge about the processes of categorisation operating be-low the surface amongst the tacit and yet tangible forces which create inclusion or exclu-sion. It seeks to examine and discuss categorisation as such and how dividing people into separate categories construct similarities and differences between people. The theoretical underpinnings of Universal Design have been described as being under-developed, and the paper is an attempt to strengthen Universal Design by scrutinizing its underlying assump-tions and categorisations. The paper draws on four studies that are part of a Swedish re-search project on categorisation and Universal Design, which focuses on categorisation regarding gender and dis-/ability and involves two disciplines: linguistics and design sci-ences. *Results*The primary kinds of material that will be used in the paper are results from studies of pol-icy documents, corpus studies of newspaper articles, and photographs contributed by par-ticipants in a citizen science study.*Conclusion*Analysis is still ongoing. Conclusions will be added in the final abtract.
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| 4. |
- Magnusson, Charlotte, et al.
(author)
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Universal design : visualising diversity, two low hanging fruits
- 2024
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In: Design for All, India. - 2582-8304. ; 19:6, s. 113-129
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- To plan, design and build with diversity in mind is a complex process. While goals such as inclusion, participation and social sustainability may be present in the vision for a future product, service or environment, studies show that the initial vision isn’t always realized in the end result. There are still far too many products, services and environments that are hard to access or use for parts of the population. In this text we focus on comparatively simple, lightweight, tools – “low hanging fruits”. Such tools are already available, there are personas, context cards, but also checklists and guidelines. Inspired by the existing work, we have developed one deck of cards, intended to serve as thought support by visualizing population diversity. In order to obtain a similar effect in digital environments (egin digital twins and other 3D environments used in planning and development) we have also developed 3D models (vehicles, devices and humans) that can be put in the digital environment, and serve as a reminder to the users of the digital environment of population diversity.
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| 5. |
- Müller, Lilian
(author)
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Bridging the Gaps : Realising Human Diversity in the Built Environment through Universal Design
- 2023
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis explores how more equal and inclusive living environments can be achieved by using Universal Design (UD) to incorporate human diversity in all stages of planning and construction. The ongoing exclusion of persons with disabilities from the built environment does not result from a lack of knowledge on how to remedy existing obstacles nor of how to avoid creating new ones. Other reasons must be found. The aim of the thesis is to provide new knowledge and solutions regarding how UD can be implemented in urban development and the built environment, including the whole process from vision to outcome. The thesis is based on three studies, which resulted in five papers. The theoretical framework involves conditions that affect the planning and construction processes of today: forms of governance, the view of the users of the built environment and how they are categorised, choices and priorities in the planning process, and theories of UD. Triangulation was used in the studies as a research strategy, to test the validity and increase the reliability of the findings. The studies included a document study, a multiple case study, semi-structured interviews, workshops and go-along interviews in three cities. The findings show numerous factors that influence the conditions for how human diversity is included or not in urban development processes. These factors include the norms and categorisations of the users, current urban building trends and planning practices. Examples show how Universal Design can be implemented in the entire process – from idea to finished construction. The findings show the need for several changes. All studies demonstrate the importance of protecting significant societal goals throughout planning and construction processes. This indicates that public actors must take greater responsibility to lead planning processes and follow up on the results. The municipalities are at the forefront of defending social goals and operationalising conventions that Sweden as a nation has undertaken to follow, an example being the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Being able to access and use the built environment is a fundamental human right.
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| 6. |
- Müller, Lilian, et al.
(author)
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Is the city planned and built for me? : citizens’ experiences of inclusion, exclusion and (un)equal living conditions in the built environment
- 2024
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In: Journal of Accessibility and Design for All. - 2013-7087. ; 14:1, s. 32-51
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper is based on a study where four go-along interviews with a total of sixteen participants were conducted in three Swedish cities. The purpose of this study was to find out how different aspects and qualities of the built environment affected different persons in terms of experiences of inclusion and exclusion and strategies used to deal with obstacles in the environment. The study highlights the citizens' experiences and perceptions of the urban built environment, based on their individual conditions for using it, in relation to the planners' and decision-makers' visions, planning practices and construction. The participants were asked about their views on the necessary conditions for them to visit the city and its places and buildings, what barriers they might experience that either made them change routes or avoid the area completely and what kind of environments they experienced as welcoming and inclusive. The study shows that there is an ongoing multifaceted exclusion of citizens from the built environment. This situation is not in accordance with current building regulations, neither with overall societal goals and ambitions, nor with the international conventions Sweden has undertaken to follow. The study also points to opportunities to change the situation, with the help of knowledge about enablers in the built environment and how Universal Design can become an important planning variable to bring about change.
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| 7. |
- Müller, Lilian, et al.
(author)
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Planning for human diversity : design patterns of Universal Design
- 2022
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In: Nordic Journal of Architectural Research. - : SINTEF Academic Press. ; 34:2, s. 75-104
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ensuring the conditions for an inclusive society in the face of humandiversity places various demands on the built environment. Planning isessential for accommodating a wide range of individual preferences andabilities.This article examines the presence and absence of Universal Design (UD)in contemporary urban planning and construction in eight new or remodelledSwedish building and public space projects. The projects werestudied in-situ and via documentation from the planning and buildingprocess.The findings show two ways in which UD is present. The first is a patternwhere people are not separated from each other, whilst the secondis a pattern of facilitating equal use by placing low demands on users’abilities. It was revealed that UD was implemented more in remodellingprojects than in new constructions, which instead created new inequalitiesthrough categorisations of users and high demands on users’ abilities.They were also linked to an imbalance between green and socialsustainability.We argue that a change of mindset is pivotal for implementing UD.Human diversity must be a consideration throughout planning andbuilding processes, and creating a sustainable society requires UD. Thisarticle contributes new knowledge regarding patterns characterisingsuch a mindshift.
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| 8. |
- Müller, Lilian
(author)
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Vem bygger vi för? : Om tillgänglighet och universell utformning i stadens rum
- 2021
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Who are we building for? This is the overarching question in this licentiate thesis.The thesis aims to shed light on and problematise how people are included orexcluded in the built environment due to if, and how human diversity is expressedand visible in the plan and construction process. It is based on two studies that dealwith how the intended users of the built environment are categorised in planningand policy documents, what capacities and abilities they are expected to have, andhow values and goals linked to Universal Design (UD) can be traced in the builtenvironment.The first study examined how users of the built environment were described indocuments from the planning phases of future construction projects. How theywere categorised, which groups of people were made visible and invisible, andwhat requirements are placed on the user at an early stage of the process wereexamined in a selection of 15 policies and planning documents from a mediumsizedSwedish municipality. The results showed that categorisations appearedwidely in the documents and that patterns of differences and inequalities werefound throughout the material. Prominent characteristics of expected users wereyouth, education, health and success. Particularly notable was how older peopleand people with disabilities were absent in the materials. When they werementioned, it was primarily in connection with issues related to accessibility orcare. The image of the user that dominated was a young, mobile and highlyeducated cyclist. The study also showed how high demands were placed on theusers’ functional abilities, not least in connection with descriptions ofenvironmental sustainability.The second study was carried out as a multi-case study of eight selected, recentlycompleted remodelling and new construction projects in Gothenburg. The purposeof the study was to highlight the presence and absence of UD by identifying howthe completed building and sites included or excluded users. One goal was also toidentify critical phases during the planning and construction process, where humandiversity risk being lost, by examining what happens to UD-related values andgoals from start to finish of the process. The material included underlyingdocuments for the eight objects, 265 documents throughout the planning andconstruction process, notes and 436 photos from field observations.The results showed some clear patterns. One of the more surprising results washow UD goals and values were more prominent in the rebuilding projects than inthe new constructions. The differences between remodellings and newconstructions also showed how UD-related goals and values appear more clearlyin projects that are not primarily market-driven and where the ambitions to create aplace for everyone is visible throughout the entire process. It shows the importanceof diversity thinking being included in thought, action and demands through theprocess as a whole. The results from observations of the completed environmentsshowed that the invisibility of certain users in the planning stage corresponded to agreat extent with the invisibility of these groups in the completed environment.Common to several of the new construction projects examined, mainly in housingprojects, was how a very high profile was maintained regarding greensustainability, with innovative and costly elements, while minimum levels ofaccessibility related to building regulations were not achieved. These deviationsfrom the regulations have not been noticed during the process, and several of theprojects have instead been highlighted as exemplary projects, as they have wonprestigious awards in architecture and urban planning. Accessibility solutionsoften bore unmistakable signs of ‘adaptation measures’ that have either beenadded during the process or abandoned altogether. It gives the impression that it ishousing being built for the narrow norm of ‘normal users’.Categorisations of users existed at an early stage in the planning process and werealso found in the completed built environment. There seems to be a lack of tools totake better account of human diversity in the planning process and assert publicinterests as accessibility. The ‘normal user’ stereotype is strong, and the changedplanning conditions with a stronger market influence support this image.The results show how it is built for a particular imagined type of people andbehaviours, while others are excluded. New inequalities arise, and specialsolutions are created for some users. The studies confirm what has beendiscovered in previous research in several aspects, and show a great need forincreased knowledge, changed attitudes and ways of thinking that put humandiversity in focus. More equal conditions can be achieved if we set therequirements on the built environment instead of on the user’s functional abilities.By increasing the demands on the built environment, based on UD’s principles andgoals, conditions can be created to achieve values such as equity, inclusion andsocial sustainability.
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| 9. |
- Müller, Lilian, et al.
(author)
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Visions of a City for All: Resources, Choices and Factors Supporting and Impeding Universal Design in the Urban Development Process
- 2022
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In: The Journal of Public Space. - : City Space Architecture. - 2206-9658. ; 7:2, s. 63-78
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Despite laws, policies and visions to create cities and societies for all, barriers still exclude persons with disabilities from using buildings and public places. Our study aimed to identify choices made during the urban development process that include or exclude users in the built environment; how and when these choices arise during the process; and what is needed to implement universal design (UD) as a strategy and tool to secure all users equal opportunities in the built environment. The study involved employees and private actors in city development processes. The participants were asked to identify impediments and support of UD in completed building projects to shed light on choices made during the process and on conditions needed to implement UD along the process. Four workshops were followed by qualitative interviews with key players. The analysis was based on qualitative data from workshops and interviews.Aspects impeding and supporting UD and conflicting visions and goals were identified in all phases, as well as the need for tools to implement UD. The findings show that accessibility for all users is dealt with (too) late in the process, often giving rise to special solutions. Urban trends such as densification and high exploitation can cause the exclusion of some users, and an unbalanced view of sustainable development prioritising ecological aspects puts high demands on users’ abilities. The findings also show how UD appears more clearly in remodelling projects than in new constructions. A strong vision from the start to build for all users clearly supports UD throughout the process. Other factors such as pre-studies that include human diversity, allocation of resources and experts’ early opinions also prove to be clear drivers for UD.Overall, the findings reveal a demand for solutions that can maintain early visions and goals throughout the processes. We conclude by providing seven recommendations for addressing these challenges.
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| 10. |
- Müller, Lilian, et al.
(author)
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Visions of a City for All : Resources, Choices and Factors Supporting and Impeding Universal Design in the Urban Development Process
- 2022
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In: The Journal of Public Space. - 2206-9658. ; 7:2, s. 63-78
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Despite laws, policies and visions to create cities and societies for all, barriers still exclude persons with disabilities from using buildings and public places. Our study aimed to identify choices made during the urban development process that include or exclude users in the built environment; how and when these choices arise during the process; and what is needed to implement universal design (UD) as a strategy and tool to secure all users equal opportunities in the built environment.Despite laws, policies and visions to create cities and societies for all, barriers still exclude persons with disabilities from using buildings and public places. Our study aimed to identify choices made during the urban development process that include or exclude users in the built environment; how and when these choices arise during the process; and what is needed to implement universal design (UD) as a strategy and tool to secure all users equal opportunities in the built environment.Aspects impeding and supporting UD and conflicting visions and goals were identified in all phases, as well as the need for tools to implement UD. The findings show that accessibility for all users is dealt with (too) late in the process, often giving rise to special solutions. Urban trends such as densification and high exploitation can cause the exclusion of some users, and an unbalanced view of sustainable development prioritising ecological aspects puts high demands on users’ abilities. The findings also show how UD appears more clearly in remodelling projects than in new constructions. A strong vision from the start to build for all users clearly supports UD throughout the process. Other factors such as pre-studies that include human diversity, allocation of resources and experts’ early opinions also prove to be clear drivers for UD.Overall, the findings reveal a demand for solutions that can maintain early visions and goals throughout the processes. We conclude by providing seven recommendations for addressing these challenges.
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