But before exploring the Seven Principles of Universal Design in the next article let's sum up about the UN definition of disability. You can find it spelled out in mind-numbing detail as "The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health," known to mere mortals a the ICF.
When I wear my travel agent's hat and think in terms of markets and profitability, what fascinates me about this document and this definition, is the insights it offers into seemingly unrelated demographic groups.
I claimed that "all non-disabled persons are only temporarily able-bodied." A lack of capacity can be temporary - most often it is. (That, by the way, is one explanation for the difference in self-understanding and attitude between those who were disabled in their youth and seniors who are disabled slowly through aging. It takes a while to figure out what's permanent loss and what isn't.)
Enlarge your mental image of who "the disabled" are and suddenly you include:
And once you begin to think about who travels and how they might be inconvenienced by the design of things are they are there is also:
Wars continue but they will not do so forever. When peace breaks out whose hotel will the disabled veterans and civilians choose? As any under represented group is likely to say, "Just because you don't see us now doesn't mean we're not here."
But the perspective can be shifted yet again and ICF even recommends it. What exactly is this "normal capacity" that we unconsciously design for?
Broadly speaking, it traditionally boiled down to males between 20 and 40 years old. That meant, that all children, (everyone to the age of 20), all mid-career adults, and everyone else in the remaining 50 years of their lifespan have "abnormal capacity" - they have more in common with "the disabled" than the norm.
Designing exclusively for such an abnormally restricted definition of "normal" starts to seem pretty ridiculous from a marketing perspective, doesn't it?
Not to mention that it is a losing business proposition.
Next Article:
Applying the Seven Principles of Universal Design when developing travel and vacation products.
Additional Reading:
"Anxiety to Access" - Study of Travel Behavior http://tinyurl.com/27ap6
"Market Study" - Open Doors Organization http://tinyurl.com/2t2mw/
UN Definition of Disability
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