Disability studies
You will be required to complete a review of a public physical space and consider the accessibility limitations from the perspective of individuals with different types of impairments. For example, would an individual with mobility limitations, visual impairment, or intellectual disability be able to navigate the space or use It to its purpose as successfully as an able-boded individual?
1) Select a public space to analyze. It must include an external entrance, a public washroom, and a customer service desk of some kind. Examples include a mall or a library.
NOTE: You are not required to physically visit the location.
Try to choose a place that you know well and/or can access information online or by contacting a customer service representative.
2) Provide a brief description of the space (no more than 300 words). You may include 1 or 2 pictures of the space, however you CANNOT use pictures that have faces of other people without their permission.
You can use photoshop to blur faces or use promotional brochures or photos of the space available in the public domain).
3) Describe how users access and use the facility: a. Now does one enter the building?
b. How does a user communicate with customer service representative(s)?
c. Now is the service itself accessed/used?
d. What type of signage is used, how is it posted and where is it located? e. How does a user access the washroom?
f. Consider all aspects of access, such as physical barriers, location, distances, timeliness, language and volume, and signage.
4) Consider the same questions from the perspective of 3 differing abilities (1 from each of the following 3 categories): a. mobility limitation (i.e. a wheelchair or scooter user, a person with crutches or walking aids. etc.)
b. sensory impairment (i.e. blind, visual impairment, Deal or hard of hearing), c. an intellectual disability. ‘remember to identify which specific limitations you are analyzing the space for accommodation of.
5) Identify elements that the facility has done well to accommodate as well as those that would need improvement.
6) What modifications would be required in order to provide or improve equal and equitable access?
