Walkability is a relatively new concept that focuses on determining if a community or neighbourhood is pedestrian friendly (see Walk Score as a Google Map mashup that is a really cool application). As part of this measure, features that are measured include things like sidewalk continuity, population and employment density, land use mix, safety and security and a few other factors. However, although there is mention of accessibility for things like safety at crosswalks, there is very little mention of accessibility.
The “everyone challenge” is to embed factors that are relevant to people with disabilities, seniors, families with small children, etc. The current approach basically gives a neighbourhood credit for simply having a resource. If there is a recreation centre within a mile of a community, it would score points for that. For the other 20 – 40% of the population where this might not be enough it doesn’t take into consideration whether or not the building is accessible, whether or not there are inclusive programs and services and whether there are accessible paths from residential areas to accessible destinations (resources that meet the daily needs of citizens).
More work needs to be done to determine if the existing measures are the right ones or the measures are accurate for everyone while still being feasible to assess. The walkability scores you will find on the Internet leverage easy to access information from GIS (Geographic Information Systems) databases. This approach uses this data to develop proxy scores for walkability and ideally similar approaches can be found that can consider accessibility and inclusion.
More to come…
mike accessibility, community engagement, inclusive programs walkability
A survey on outdoor recreation (http://atfiles.org/files/pdf/OutdoorNextGen.pdf) identified the need to provide “gateway opportunities” to inspire and grow future generations of future outdoor enthusiasts. A gateway activity encourages participation in other activities which leads to active lifestyles.
A question is what are the “gateway recreation opportunities” for people with disabilities, seniors and other marginalized groups? Are they the same as the general population? I think this concept could have tremendous to how children with disabilities are taught in schools and the focus therapeutic recreation should have. The statistics also show a great dropoff in participation over someone’s lifespan (from 79% between the ages of 6 and 12 down to 34% by the time someone is 65). Considering demographics and the fact that people with disabilities already have much lower participation rates in outdoor activities, the opportunities to address this gap are incredible. Any solution, however, has to consider a strategic approach that considers environments such as:
- Formal and informal situations
- Schools
- Parks
- Recreation
- Rehabilitation
- Other???
If bicycling, fishing, hiking, camping, and running/jogging represent the gateway activities for the general population, where does that leave people with disabilities?
mike exercise, healthy living, inclusive programs
The STEP© Approach breaks up the customer experience into a connected series of steps to be assessed for accessibility and inclusion. This gives context to the organization or entity being assessed so that it can make informed, strategic decions about how to address any gaps. It also helps to identify novel and innovative ways to meet the needs of every customer, partner or citizen depending on the situation. The idea is that experiences are defined by interdependent products and services. Meeting or exceeding expectations means more than just successfully delivering on any individual stage but ensuring that there are no gaps between stages and that the provider-user interface is never compromised. The STEP© Approach provides a simple, yet powereful, model for taking stock of how a business or community is doing in delivering their products and services to everyone.
mike accessibility, inclusive programs
The National Center on Accessibility in the U.S. highlighted a number of best practices for parks and recreation organizations:
- Provide information in a variety of formats
- Exceed existing standards
- Facilitate inclusive programming and accessible facilities
- Train staff
- Establish an Advisory Board that includes people with disabilities
- Demonstrate buy in at the leadership level
- Market accessible and inclusive programs
- Recruit people with disabilities
- Promote inclusion as an organizational value
- Invest in adapted equipment
One idea I had for the first best practice that can go beyond parks and recreation is the use of podcasts or vidcasts to provide “virtual tours” of a variety of experiences that your business offers. For a restaurant this could be a feasible way to market and communicate your menu or for a museum an opportunity to provide information about the latest collection.
mike accessibility, inclusive programs