Good Practice for Providing Reasonable Access to the Physical Built Environment for Disabled People

This international comparative research, funded by the European Union, was conducted jointly by researchers at the Universities of Leeds and Malta. CDS staff involved in the project at Leeds were Simon Prideaux, Geof Mercer and Colin Barnes (Sociology and Social Policy) and Prof Steve Male (Civil Engineering).

For more information please email Simon Prideaux.

Summary

This research examines what is deemed to be ‘reasonable’ in terms of access to the ‘physical built environment’. It entails a review of EU legislation and a review of the interpretations given in member states such as Italy, France, Ireland, Sweden and the UK. Comparisons are also made with Malta, as an exemplar of the new member states, and non-member states such as Australia and the US. This research report:

• Examines the legislative structures and technical expressions of discrimination and disability in the context of the built environment
• Focuses upon the United Kingdom, Malta, Ireland, France, Italy and Sweden in Europe and contrasts them with the non-European states of Australia and the United States of America
• Reveals three observable approaches to help prevent the built environment from discriminating against disabled people
• Shows how the United Kingdom, Malta and Ireland take a path of amicable cooperation and negotiation to establish ‘reasonable’ adjustments to improve access to new and old buildings
• Demonstrates the way in which France and the United States of America tend to adopt a prescriptive course of technical detail and legal compliance to enhance access
• Explains how Australia follows an intermediate route of cooperation and human rights legislation to achieve the same goals
• Notes how Italy and Sweden are embedded in cultural and political systems that render their approaches too specific to be applied elsewhere
• Evaluates the strengths and weakness of each approach
• Recognises the mistakes that have to be avoided
• Makes tangible recommendations on how to make further progress

Published Papers

Prideaux, S. (2006). Good Practice for Providing Reasonable Access to the Physical Built Environment for Disabled People. Leeds: Disability Press.

NB this report is available in hard copy at a price of £5 while stocks last (please email Marie Ross for details)

An international seminar to launch the findings was held in Leeds in April 2006.

Papers available online

We hope to make the full findings available online in due course.