Universal and Accessible Design: On-line Lesson

IT is not only a legal requirement, but an ethical and moral obligation to make sport and recreation areas and facilities accessible to people with disabilities. Helping design accessible and universal sport and recreation facilities instead of "handicapped" facilities is the primary focus of this lesson.

Terminology is an critical consideration when addressing issues related to individuals with disabilities. The currently accepted professional usage is known as "person-first" terminology. It focuses on the person before the disability. While a person may have a handicap they should not be considered disabled.

Accessible: is referring to meeting the needs of people with disabilities. It may also refer to making something usable or available through some type  of adaptation or modification for individuals who have disabilities.

Universal design: creates a widely inclusive environment that effectively blends a variety of design concepts, including accessible, into a range of useful options for all users. This approach facilitates inclusion by focusing on people's abilities and emphasizing socially meaningful roles.

The most important federal government and civil rights legislation which relates to persons with disabilities are:

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) The Americans with Disabilities Act guarantees disabled people access to employment, public accommodation, transportation, public services and telecommunications. President George Bush signed the law July 26, 1990. Considered landmark legislation, the ADA provides for the first time comprehensive federal civil rights protection for people with disabilities. However, the legislative concepts incorporated into the law are not without precedent. The prototypes for the ADA are the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion and national origin in employment, public accommodations and the provision of state and local government services, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits discrimination against disabled people by recipients of federal funds.

A place of public accommodation is defined as: "A facility, operated by a private entity, whose operations affect commerce and fall within a least one of the following 12 categories":

1. places of lodging
2. food or drink establishments
3. exhibition or entertainment
4. public gatherings
5. sales or rental
6. service
7. public transportation
8. public display or collections
9. recreational areas
10. educational facilities
11. social service establishments
12. exercise or recreation facilities

Reasonable accommodation requires that employers and facilities make an accommodation if doing so will not impose an undue hardship on the operation of the business or facility (Miller, 1992, p. 18).

Eligible individuals are defined as those who have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity.
 

The Five Titles of the ADA

1. Title I, This is the regulation the EEOC has issued interpreting Title I of the ADA. It pertains to employment questions.
2. Title II, This is the regulation DOJ issued interpreting Title II of the ADA. It pertains to state and local governments but does not pertain to transportation issues.
3. Title III, This is the regulation DOJ issued interpreting Title III of the ADA. It pertains to public accommodations.
4. Title IV, This is the regulation which requires telephone companies to provide interstate and intrastate telecommunications relay services for speech and hearing impaired individuals.
5. Title V, Refers to the administration and handling of complaints under ADA.

What is Reasonable Accommodation Under the ADA?

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to make reasonable accommodation for a qualified individual with a known physical or mental disability. Potential reasonable accommodations include job restructuring, reassignment to a vacant position, part-time or modified work schedules, assistive technology, or aides or qualified interpreters.

Although the ADA does not require employers to make accommodations that pose an "undue hardship" (defined as significantly difficult or expensive), the experiences of employers around the nation demonstrates that many accommodations cost nothing, and few pose the "significant expense" that many employers fear. Studies conducted in 1986 and in 1992 showed that more than half of the accommodations made for employees with disabilities cost nothing, while another fifteen percent cost under $500. Tax credits are available to businesses who remove architectural barriers, target jobs for individuals with disabilities, or provide assistive technology or interpreters to workers with disabilities.

People with Disabilities - National Survey on Recreation and the Environment (NSRE)

Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities

This document contains scoping and technical requirements for accessibility to buildings and facilities by individuals with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. These scoping and technical requirements are to be applied during the design, construction, and alteration of buildings and facilities covered by titles II and III of the ADA to the extent required by regulations issued by Federal agencies, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Transportation, under the ADA.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Access Board recently published guidelines for recreation facilities which are available for public comment. Presented here are highlights of these guidelines.

The proposed guidelines would add a new chapter on recreation facilities to the ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG). Like ADAAG itself, this chapter would address only those facilities that are newly built or altered. (Generally, existing facilities, while subject to certain ADA requirements, are not addressed by ADAAG except where altered). The guidelines provide scoping requirements, which indicate what is to be accessible, and technical requirements, which explain how to achieve access. The
guidelines address:

Application of Title III of the ADA

Title III covers private, for profit businesses, and not-for-profit agencies. Its specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by private entities in places of public accommodation and requires places of public accommodation and commercial facilities to be designed, constructed, and altered in compliance with the ADA accessibility standards.

Striving for Inclusion: Accessible and Universal Design

It has become apparent that creating accessible facilities helped more than just people with disabilities. Universal design includes other important concepts that benefit all people. The concepts include:

Related Links

[Indoor Recreation Facilities] [Class]

Copyright 2001 Northern Arizona University, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED