Built Environment Design Toward an Inclusive Society: How Can We Improve the Existing Infrastructure in Cities?
Built environment design has responded to the needs of the users. However, industrialization, urbanization and drastic change in technologies revealed a widened gap between users’ abilities and required ability level. Quite a large portion of population h
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Abstract Built environment design has responded to the needs of the users. However, industrialization, urbanization and drastic change in technologies revealed a widened gap between users’ abilities and required ability level. Quite a large portion of population has been excluded from using the built environment, in larger cities. Those excluded and suffer most include seniors and people with disabilities. We have tried to fill the gap, but the efforts have usually lagged behind. Besides, such efforts were a bit of compromise, partly due to existing hardships of infrastructures. Should such compromises be acceptable, or should we struggle to ask more efforts toward better design for fuller inclusion? This presentation examines the state-of-the-art in Tokyo, which will host the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics Games. The discussion compares the historical background, conditions of existing infrastructures, people’s perceptions toward inclusion, and global trends including UN Convention of Rights of People with Disabilities. Keywords Accessibility Tokyo
Building design Inclusion Olympics/paralympics
1 Introduction With its successful bid to host the 2020 Olympic/Paralympic Games, Tokyo is tuned to prepare an accessible environment. The reference document is the IPC Guide made referring to London Olympic/Paralympic Games (IPC [1]). Its message is that the environment, built environment in particular, needs to be accessible and usable for everyone, not just for people with disabilities. It is in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, with inclusion in its heart. However, as is usually the case, the built environment is far lagged behind the idea. It is to some extent inevitable because it costs much to improve. Once built, S. Kose (&) Office via Parco, 2-9-4, Higashi-Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0021, Japan e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 G. Di Bucchianico and P. Kercher (eds.), Advances in Design for Inclusion, Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing 500, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41962-6_27
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building could last more than hundred years, and the society’s general assumptions at the time of its building decide the requirement level of functionality, whether safety, usability, accessibility, and provisions of building services (such as elevators and air conditioning).
2 Background Most of buildings in Tokyo were built after the Second World War, but many were built before Japan was aware of the coming of a highly aged society. It was only in 1986 when we were told that about a quarter of Japanese population will be 65 years of age and over in around 2030. The estimate became much higher as years went by, and a quarter line was already passed in 2013, with the projected peak of about 40 % 65 and over to come in around 2055 (Fig. 1). Before the alarm was rang, major argument was to design for people with disabilities, or barrier-free design. Therefore, it was quite difficult to convince the public to accept
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