The role of the university in making the built environment more accessible and inclusive for people with disability: A case study from New Zealand

The need to reduce inequality for people with disabilities is a strong theme in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Cities and communities should be inclusive, but the Built Environment has many buildings and spaces with problematic access features that make full participation impossible for this demographic. Universities can play an important role in addressing the issues underlying barriers to access and in providing clear steps for improvement and inclusion. The role involves interacting with all the key stakeholders including people with disabilities, disability advocacy organisations, construction professionals, legislators, students and the general public. This research demonstrates the role in a case study project by two New Zealand universities. A panel of experts with a lived experience of different disabilities provided oversight. The academics designed coursework to facilitate student engagement in the concepts of Universal Design and supervised student research involving building owners, advocacy organisations, construction professionals and people working in buildings. Presenting the research to audiences of legislators, construction professionals, advocacy groups and others interested in accessibility helped raise awareness amongst the stakeholders and led to a petition to the government with recommendations for achieving improved accessibility in the Built Environment. Other outputs included fact sheets for construction businesses, conference presentations, reports and articles for academic journals. The research plan may provide a useful roadmap for other academics to follow in their attempts to improve accessibility and inclusion in the Built Environment for people with disabilities.