Preiser W., Smith K.H. Universal Design Handbook
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10.6 INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
The evaluation was also intended to reveal which means were the most effective. A representative
selection of people, in more than 100 of the 431 municipalities, was asked to make an assessment of
this. This selection included both municipal employees and representatives from organizations.
The representatives from the municipalities were of the opinion that the directive was definitely
the most important means, followed by further training for planners. Representatives from organi-
zations for people with disabilities also thought that the directive was the most important means.
Conferences and the Internet course were ranked as the second and third most important means by
the representatives from the organizations.
The pilot projects tended to be more successful if the responsibility for including accessibility
was assigned to the community’s planning department, not the social affairs department. It had also
been observed that special plans developed with a focus on people with disabilities lose momentum
and do not easily find their way into the mainstream political process and general plans.
10.4 GOVERNMENT ACTION PLAN FOR UNIVERSAL DESIGN
IN KEY AREAS OF SOCIETY, 2005–2008
This action plan was designed to unify and strengthen efforts to increase accessibility to buildings,
outdoor environments, products, and other important areas of society. It had been drawn up by the
Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, in close cooperation
with other relevant ministries. The Ministry of the Environment was responsible for coordinating
activities relating to the action plan.
The goal of this action plan was to achieve satisfactory accessibility based on universal design
principles on a permanent basis. More effective laws and focus on local initiatives were important
features of the plan.
New Legislation That Incorporates Universal Design
In 2005 universal design had already been incorpo rated into the act relating to universities and
colleges and the act relating to vocational school education. In the years that followed, provisions
regarding universal design were incorporated into the regulations for public procurement, develop-
ment agreements, consequence analyses, and various means of public transport.
A significant breakthrough for universal design took place in 2009. A new act regarding discrimi-
nation and accessibility was introduced. The act stipulates that all constructed, physical environ-
ments for the public shall be universally designed.
In 2009, a new planning and building act was adopted. Universal design has a central role in the
preamble. As a consequence, universal design became a statutory requirement for both regional and
municipal planning and for building. The statutory provision was followed up by a new technical
regulation for buildings and installations, based on universal design.
Pilot Municipalities for Universal Design
A new pilot program directed toward the municipalities was given a central role in lending substance
to the concept of universal design. The lessons learned from the priority area “Planning for All” and
an intermediate “Programme of Action for Universal Design 2002–2004” formed the platform for
the coming intensive and targeted efforts in the municipalities.
In March 2005, the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion
sent out a joint letter with an invitation to every municipality in the country which asked them to
indicate their interest in becoming a pilot municipality for universal design. The application had to be
processed by the municipal council, which is the highest political body in a municipality, in order to be
considered. Thirty-six municipalities applied before the deadline expired, and 17 of these were selected
NORWAY’S PLANNING APPROACH TO IMPLEMENT UNIVERSAL DESIGN 10.7
to become part of the program. Emphasis was placed on having a wide spectrum of municipalities both
geographically and in terms of experience. For this reason, some municipalities with experience and
others that had a desire to get started were selected. From 2006, the municipalities were given some
financial support in order to run the development work. A vision and clear objectives for the work were
also formulated in collaboration with the municipalities. With the vision “The pilot municipality pro-
gramme for universal design creates local communities with good accessibility, equality, participation
and freedom of choice for everybody,” the following objectives were agreed upon:
1. Raise awareness and achieve results throughout the whole municipal organization—across sub-
ject areas and in all the municipality’s activities.
2. Contribute to measures in the local community by means of cooperation with trade and industry,
as well as with other participants, both private and public.
FIGURE 10.2 The main street in the city of Tromsø. Tromsø included uni-
versal design in the general plan for the city to ensure coordinated and compre-
hensive implementation.
Long description: The photo shows the main street in the city of Tromsø on
a Saturday morning in June. The street is crowded with people. A wheelchair
user and a man with a pram can be seen. The mountains in the background are
covered with snow.
10.8 INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
3. Ensure that physical solutions take into consideration good accessibility, safety, environmental
quality, and aesthetics.
4. Further develop goal-oriented cooperation with the municipal council for people with disabilities
and relevant user groups.
5. Contribute to increasing the competence of all those who are responsible for planning, implemen-
tation, and operation.
6. Serve as a model and encourage other municipalities to increase their efforts toward universal design.
7. Offer suggestions and be a dialogue partner in the national effort for universal design.
The experiences from the 17 municipalities have been summarized in the T-1472 report “Universell
utforming som kommunal strategi” (“Universal design as a municipal strategy”). The municipalities
can refer to significant results regarding all seven objectives established for the work.
10.5 CONCLUSIONS
The two generations of pilot projects in municipalities and counties so far show that, through sys-
tematic planning, it is possible to place universal design higher up on the agenda.
Programs that aim to develop good practice in the municipalities and ensure that universal design
is included in their planning and work must be complemented with clear national guidelines and
laws. In addition, training and information are important aspects. This applies to politicians, munici-
pal employees, and representatives from special interest groups for people with disabilities.
Since the second generation of the pilot program was concluded in 2008, new goals have
emerged. A new Planning and Building Act, a new Discrimination and Accessibility Act, and a new
FIGURE 10.3 Chief planner Oivind Holand of the municipality of Verdal presents plans for
universal design to government officials and representatives of other pilot municipalities.
Long description: This photo shows government officials and representatives of other pilot
municipalities watching a presentation by chief planner Oivind Holand. Planner Holand shows
pictures and plans to the group of professionals while standing on the pavement in a wintry
Verdal community center.
NORWAY’S PLANNING APPROACH TO IMPLEMENT UNIVERSAL DESIGN 10.9
government action plan for universal design “Norway universally designed by 2025” are operational
from 2009. This provides new opportunities and new challenges for the implementation of universal
design as a national, regional, and local strategy and as a planning objective. New targets on main
sectorial areas will be released. As one of these, the Ministry of the Environment is preparing a new
generation of the pilot program. This is aimed at the regional level, i.e., the counties. Previous pilot
municipalities will be involved as resource municipalities during this venture. It will be started up in
2009 and will be an important part of the work that aims to make Norway universally designed by
2025, which is the government’s vision.
The universal design concept offers a framework for handling more accessibility features simul-
taneously, taking into account reduced mobility; hearing, vision, and learning abilities; as well as
allergic reactions. These factors represent a challenging diversity of planning conditions. At the same
time, these conditions fall in line with classical planning premises, such as high-quality pedestrian
areas, noise control, design for human perception, the choice of plants and trees in parks and public
outdoor areas, and pollution control.
The implementation of universal design in Norwegian legislation has revealed that some problem
areas require caution when describing and using the concept. This became especially apparent in the
development of the Planning Act, the Building Act, and the Discrimination and Accessibility Act.
Planning requires normative objectives that can lead developments in a definite direction. Universal
design provides such objectives. To a much larger extent, legislation relating to construction and discrim-
ination needs to establish minimum requirements in order for authorities to be able to determine whether
a law or a regulation has been observed. Furthermore, there may be a need for detailed standards. The
FIGURE 10.4 Assessment of walking routes in Jessheim, the community center of the Municipality of Ullensaker.
Black lines show routes that are universally accessible. White lines show street crossings that are problematic for pedes-
trians with visual or mobility impairments. The map served as a basis for planning more continuous pedestrian move-
ment, with links between parking and destination points via universally accessible sidewalks and street crossings.
Long description: This photo shows the community center of the municipality of Ullensaker as seen from the air with its
business and living areas. A railway line passes through the center. Black lines show the good accessibility of pedestrian
walking routes. White lines indicate limited accessibility at street crossings.
10.10 INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
same concept should be both normative and practical from a legal point of view. Opinions from different
sources were obtained, e.g., from the Center for Universal Design in North Carolina (Duncan, 2007).
The conclusion that emerged from this discussion was that universal design is used with two slightly
different definitions: one is an open normative definition for planning, and the other is more limiting.
Based on the experiences so far, it is obvious that the fundamental ideas behind a strategy of
universal design provide a better point of departure for discussing and explaining how people with
disabilities can be taken into account within a broader and higher-quality framework. Experience
has also shown that it is extremely important to underline that both the special and general aspects
must be included in universal design.
To establish a common understanding of what universal design is, the Ministry of the Environment
carried out debates with a number of special interest groups, government agencies, and public bod-
ies. The result was published in the thematic report Universal Design, Clarification of the Concept
(Ministry of the Environment, 2007).
10.6 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aslaksen, F., S. Bergh, O. R. Bringa, and E. K. Heggem, Universal Design: Planning and Design for All, Oslo,
Norway: The Norwegian State Council on Disability, 1997.
Bringa, O. R., “Norway’s Planning Approach to Implement Universal Design,” in Universal Design Handbook,
1st ed., W. Preiser and E. Ostroff (eds.), New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001.
Duncan, R., Universal Design—Clarification and Development, Raleigh, N.C.: Center for Universal Design,
College of Design, North Carolina State University, 2007.
Hanssen, M. A., and K. B. Stokke, Funksjonshemmedes interesser i planlegging etter plan- og bygningsloven,
Oslo, Norway: Norsk institutt for by- og regionforskning, 1999.
——— and ———, Funksjonshemmedes interesser i planleggingen. En evaluering av programmet ”Planlegging
for alle,” Oslo, Norway: Norsk institutt for by- og regionforskning, 2002.
Høyland, K., and S. Nistov, Hensynet til funksjonshemmede i planleggingsprosessen, Trondheim, Norway:
SINTEF Bygg og miljøteknikk, 1999.
Lund, E., “Does Planning for Everyone Truly Encompass Planning for All?” lecture on the Nordic Symposium
Local Planning in Change: New Possibilities and Role, in Lillehammer; Oslo, Norway: Ministry of the
Environment, 2003.
Ministry of Children and Equality, Norway Universally Designed 2025: The Government’s Action Plan for
Universal Design and Increased Accessibility 2009–2013, Oslo, Norway, 2009.
Ministry of the Environment, Planning for All: Introduction to Priority Area, Oslo, Norway, 1999.
———, Directive T-5/99E: Accessibility for All, Oslo, Norway: Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Local
Government and Regional Development, and Ministry of Social Affairs and Health Care, 1999.
———, Universal Design. Clarification of the Concept, Thematic Report T-1468 B/E, Oslo, Norway, 2007. Versions
available in Norwegian, English, German, Spanish, Russian, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Japanese, and Chinese.
———, Universell utforming som kommunal strategi. Erfaringer og resultater fra pilotkommunesatsingen 2005–2008.
Rapport T-147, Oslo, Norway, 2009. Shortened version: Universal Design as a Municipal Strategy, T-1472 E.
Saglie, I.-L., Medvirkning for funksjonshemmede: Deltakelse i plansaker etter plan- og bygningsloven, Notat
1999:111, Oslo, Norway: Norsk institutt for by- og regionforskning, 1999.
Welch, P., Strategies for Teaching Universal Design, Boston: Adaptive Environments and Berkeley, Calif.: MIG
Communications, 1995.
10.7 RESOURCES
Universell utforming (web site): http://www.universal-design.environment.no/. All publications in English that
have been used as references may be found on this site.
CHAPTER 11
THE IMPACT OF AGING ON
JAPANESE ACCESSIBILITY
STANDARDS
Satoshi Kose
11.1 INTRODUCTION
Within the context of the rapid aging of its population, this chapter discusses the implications for
building accessibility in Japan. The introduction of the new Accessible Built Environment Law
(2006) is described, as well as how dwelling design for an aging society has progressed in the last
20 years. Japan is among the first countries to succeed in persuading the general public to accept
design-for-all concepts for dwellings. Japan may be the only nation that has used economic incen-
tives at the federal level rather than legal enforcement. The lessons learned and possible future
directions are also discussed.
11.2 AGING AND URBANISM IN JAPAN
The notion of the emergence of an aging society in Japan is relatively new, and its consequences have
rarely been taken seriously, even by the government, until fairly recently. However, Japan is becom-
ing a society with a rapidly growing population of elderly people (National Institute of Population
Problems, 1986; National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, 1997). In 1970, just
7 percent of the population was of age 65 or older. In 1994, the figure had reached 14 percent. It took
only 24 years—i.e., less than a generation—for Japan to double this percentage, a rate that has never
been paralleled. In 2013, more than 25 percent of the Japanese population will be aged 65 or older,
and the rate is expected to reach 40 percent in 2052.
It must be pointed out that in-family care has been implicitly integrated into the system of social
welfare services in Japan. Moreover, the social assumption was that the eldest son’s family would
take care of the aging parents, preferably as an extended family. Unfortunately, the social context
that supported this arrangement is becoming less prevalent, partly as a result of social change and
the decreasing numbers of children.
Design requirements in dwellings for the aging population had never been properly met by design-
ers, although the aging population was increasing (Kose and Nakaohji, 1991; Kose et al., 1992). The
situation is similar in the larger community environment. It is true that barrier-free design has long been
tried in larger buildings with the assistance of design guidelines, but this has only been on a voluntary
and negotiated basis, because virtually nothing is required by the Building Standard Law of Japan.
11.1
11.2 INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
11.3 INFLUENCE OF INTERNATIONAL ACTIONS ON JAPANESE
ACCESSIBILITY LEGISLATION
It was not the United Nations International Year of Disabled Persons in 1982 or the International
Decade of Disabled Persons between 1983 and 1992, but the enactment of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) in July 1990 that prompted the Japanese government to introduce some
accessibility measures at the national level.
In the past in Japan, the accessibility issue was mostly under the control of the Welfare Ministry
and its departments. As early as 1974, Machida City, one of the local municipalities, issued “Design
Guidelines of Buildings and Facilities toward Realizing a Welfare City,” which aimed at creating
an accessible environment for wheelchair users from the welfare perspective. Although it was not
mandatory, the local government tried to influence building developers as much as it could to include
barrier-free design for wheelchair users in larger buildings and facilities. Although they succeeded
to some extent and other local governments followed, voluntary compliance was not as effective as
desired, and the move toward realizing barrier-free environments was slow. Part of the problem could
be attributed to insufficient coordination in the local governments between the Buildings Control
Department and the Welfare Department.
To overcome this limitation, some local governments went one step further and introduced local
building ordinances that incorporated mandatory accessibility requirements. Kanagawa Prefecture
started the discussion in 1988, and after careful preparation the revised building ordinance was
enforced in 1990.
11.4 OVERVIEW OF THE BUILDING STANDARD LAW
The most important point was that the Japanese Building Standard Law was established in 1950, and
no revision had ever been made regarding the basic philosophy. Thus it became evident that the law
is far removed from the current social context. In the early 1990s, with the impact of the ADA, the
central government attempted to find ways to integrate new trends toward accessibility into its own
policy initiatives. As a result, the new Japanese with Disabilities Act, which was handled mainly by
the Ministry of Health and Welfare, was enacted in 1993. A completely updated version of the old
Law on Measures for the Disabled, this revision appeared to have been accelerated by the ADA. In
effect, it paved the way to establish a special law by the Ministry of Construction, the Accessible and
Usable Buildings Law. This was the launch of a new era to ensure that environments would accom-
modate the aging society. Proposed in the spring of 1994, the new law passed the Diet on June 28,
1994 (Law 44, 1994). Government officials had feared there would be arguments against enacting
the law, but the time was ripe and it passed without major opposition.
The new law, however, did not replace the Building Standard Law. Rather, it provided an alter-
native procedure to obtaining a building permit if the building incorporated accessible and usable
design features.
11.5 NEW POLICIES AND INCENTIVES
The government also enacted preferential interest rate schemes and subsidies linked to the law at
the same time, which were expected to work as incentives. Such measures were previously enacted
by some local governments, e.g., for the installation of elevators in railway stations. New measures
included tax exemptions for unavoidable floor area increase as well as other provisions. The dif-
ficulty was that the effort necessary to apply for such benefits did not always justify the extra work
in terms of time and cost.
Policy measures by the Ministry of Construction were also issued in June 1994 as a move
toward a barrier-free built environment, ranging from housing to urban infrastructure (Ministry of
THE IMPACT OF AGING ON JAPANESE ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS 11.3
Construction, 1994). When they were issued, public transportation was under the control of the
Ministry of Transportation, and the issue could not be referred to by the Construction Ministry.
However, with the buildings being made accessible, people realized that public transportation must
be made accessible as well. This forced the Transportation Ministry to introduce Accessible Public
Transportation Law, but people had to wait until 2000.
The inclusion of housing issues in the policy measures agenda was an attempt to integrate the
whole problem of living environments. Previously, dwelling design solutions relied completely on
efforts by the private sector and funding by individual residents, unless they were part of public
rental housing schemes.
The attempt to solve the housing problems of the aging society originally occurred when the
population forecast was announced by the National Institute of Population Problems in 1986 (Kose,
1987). The Ministry of Construction asked for research and development funds to tackle the emerging
issues. Being responsible for promoting the five-year R&D project, the researchers with the Building
Research Institute recognized the housing problems as more urgent than building design accessibility,
and they continued efforts to make dwellings more suitable to the increasingly aging society.
As early as the mid-1980s, several housing manufacturers, and prefabricated housing manu-
facturers in particular, foresaw the aging of their clients as a business opportunity and began to
showcase their design concepts for the aging society as strengths. During the research processes,
the Building Research Institute collaborated with some of these housing manufacturers in order to
integrate the revolutionary yet feasible housing design guidelines. Since most Japanese housing
consisted of owner-occupied, detached houses, which were usually privately financed, it was crucial
to obtain the support of such prospective buyers.
Through various surveys and experiments, these 5-year research efforts attempted to bring to
fruition the Design Guidelines of Dwellings for the Aging Society (Kose, 1991, 1992b; Kose et al.,
1992). The draft design guidelines were released in the spring of 1992 (Kose, 1994) and were finally
issued in June 1995 by the Ministry of Construction. They required that three basic criteria be met:
(1) floors without level changes, (2) handrail installation when keeping the body balance is crucial,
and (3) corridors and door widths that permit assisted wheelchair passage (Kose, 1997). These were
the problems commonly encountered in modifying existing dwellings (Nomura et al., 1990), and it
was predicted that these requirements would change expectations for the future.
The guidelines were quickly incorporated into the government housing loan schemes by the
Housing Loan Corporation of Japan (Kose, 1996) because they were considered essential for the
realization of policy measures for housing for the aging society. They were not mandatory. However,
coupled with the preferential loan schemes, they provided strong incentives. Design standards of
major housing manufacturers were changed almost overnight when the Housing Loan Corporation
decided to drastically change the system—in other words, to require energy-conscious design, highly
durable design, or design for the aging society.
Around 20 years ago, even housing for senior citizens ignored the decreasing capabilities of the
aging residents, and small floor-level changes constituted tripping hazards. Nowadays, most of these
problems are nonexistent, not just in manufactured housing, but also in dwellings made by local
builders. The most remarkable change is the introduction of the accessible bathroom unit that elimi-
nated level changes between the dressing area and the wet area. Since this was realized without any
cost increase, one can call this a true example of universal design (Kose, 1998). Figure 11.1 shows
level changes in a dwelling unit for seniors, Fig. 11.2 is an early example of an accessible bathroom
unit, and Fig. 11.3 is a more recent, more sophisticated design example.
11.6 THE NEED TO REVISE THE BUILDING STANDARD LAW
TO INCORPORATE ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
The problems designers and clients are faced with due to building control are probably not unique
to Japan. However, it is true that there are several limitations of the present Building Standard Law
in the Japanese system. The following issues need urgent solution:
11.4 INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
1. The assumptions about building users, as far as their capabilities are concerned, are inadequate,
as pointed out in part by the Accessible and Usable Building Law.
2. There is no explicitly stated established system for routine revisions.
3. There are no considerations for compromises when alterations to existing buildings are at stake.
4. While there is too much emphasis on specification requirements, the performance standards are
too vague.
5. The delegation of authority to local ordinances is too restrictive.
FIGURE 11.1 Level changes to enter a bathroom. There exist two level
changes, one between the wooden floor and clothing area, the other between the
clothing area and the wet area of the bathroom. This is a bathroom in a dwelling
unit for frail seniors built around the late 1980s.
Long description: This photo shows existing two-level differences, one
between the wooden floor and the clothing area, the other between the clothing
area and the wet area of the bathroom. This is a bathroom in a dwelling unit for
frail seniors built in the Tokyo metropolitan region around the late 1980s.
THE IMPACT OF AGING ON JAPANESE ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS 11.5
A major breakthrough came when the Accessible and Usable Building Law was amended
in 2002. When the Building Standard Law was extensively revised in 1998, the Ministry of
Construction did not include an accessibility clause. However, in 2000, the Accessible and Usable
Public Transportation Law was introduced. It raised awareness of accessibility in public areas,
i.e., through one’s path of travel toward the destination, typically a public building. After discus-
sion of the problems that still existed with the Accessible Building Law of 1994, the Ministry of
Construction decided to upgrade the requirements. Some building types, such as educational facili-
ties and offices, were covered. The most important change was that the requirements, if they were
FIGURE 11.2 The level change between clothing area and wet area is elimi-
nated in the dwelling. To facilitate this, a wide water channel exists between the
two spaces. This was designed and built between 1996 and 1997 as a standard
design feature.
Long description: This photo shows a bathroom where the level difference
between the clothing area and the wet area is eliminated in the dwelling. To
facilitate this, a wide water channel exists between the two spaces. This was
designed and built between 1996 and 1997 as a standard design feature for
manufactured housing.