Projects / Programmes
Accessibility of facilities in public use for the needs of the disabled
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.08.00 |
Social sciences |
Urbanism |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| T260 |
Technological sciences |
Physical planning |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.07 |
Social Sciences |
Social and economic geography |
Accessibility, built-environment barriers, communication barriers, disabled
Researchers (6)
| no. |
Code |
Name and surname |
Research area |
Role |
Period |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
21873 |
PhD Igor Bizjak |
Urbanism |
Researcher |
2019 - 2021 |
0 |
| 2. |
23665 |
Nina Goršič |
Urbanism |
Technical associate |
2019 - 2021 |
0 |
| 3. |
54951 |
Tilen Jurca |
Urbanism |
Researcher |
2021 |
0 |
| 4. |
24753 |
PhD Sabina Mujkić |
Urbanism |
Researcher |
2019 - 2021 |
0 |
| 5. |
22631 |
PhD Matej Nikšič |
Urbanism |
Researcher |
2019 - 2020 |
0 |
| 6. |
10488 |
PhD Richard Sendi |
Urbanism |
Head |
2019 - 2021 |
0 |
Organisations (1)
Abstract
It is estimated that disabled people account for 15-20% (about one billion people) of the active world population (World Bank Report presented at the High Level Meeting of the UN General Assembley, 2018). According the the Action Programme for the Disabled 2014-2021 (Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, 2014), over 15% of the total population of the European Union are disabbled people while this category accounts for between 12-13% of the total population of Slovenia, a proportion quite similar to the EU situation. The Action Programme further informs that 8% of this population have been declared as disabled on the basis of various acts, while the remaining 5% (according to the estimates of disabled people organisations) are categorised as seriously physically handicapped. All this means that disabled people constitute a very importang section of the population with the capacity to equally contribute to societal development but, regrettably, they are in the majority of cases not able to do that due to the presence of the barriers that they experience in their daily lives.
Disability has, for some time now, been recognised as an important political issue, especially in connection with the guaranteeing of universal human rights. At the international level, the year 1993 may be considered as one of the major milestones in this area. This is the year when the UN General Assembly adopted, for the first time, Standard regulations for equal opportunities for the disabled. The other important milestone was the year 2001 when the UN General Assembly recommended the preparation of a Convention on the rights of the disabled. This historical document, which was adopted by the General Assembly in 2006 presents the first legally binding document of the United Nations in the area of disability. Its fundamental aim is to guarantee the realisation of human rights and the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment as well as the prevention of discrimination against the disabled. The Convention recognises the importance of accessibility to the physical, social and economic environment and access to information and communication technologies in enabling the disabled to fully exploit and enjoy human rights and basic freedoms.
A key document in this area for European Union Member States is the Lisbon Strategy which sets the creation of new jobs and increasing social cohesion as some of the most important goals of the future development of Europe. As such, the active participation of people with disabilities in these processes presents a great challenge to all Member States, since it is estimated that the disabled account for 15 to 25 % of the working age European population. These percentages are expected to grow even higher in the future, given the generally low birth rates and a growing trend of an ageing society across Europe. It is argued here, that little has been done so far to ensure the effective integration and active participation of people with disabilities in all areas of implementation of EC policies.
In Slovenia, the rights of people with disabilities (like those of other citizens) are guaranteed by Article 14 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia which provides that “In Slovenia everyone shall be guaranteed equal human rights and fundamental freedoms irrespective of national origin, race, sex, language, religion, political or other conviction, material standing, birth, education, social status, invalidity or other personal circumstance. All persons shall be equal before the law.” (2004 Amendment, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 69/04).
In addition to this constitutional provision and on the basis of the above-mentioned EC documents, Slovenia adopted three important documents in this area, namely:
· Accessible Slovenia Strategy,
· Action Programme for the Disabled 2007-2013 and
· Action Programme for the Disabled 2014-2021
The Accessible Slovenia
Significance for science
While most of the previous activities in the field of disability were aimed at adopting various regulations, developing strategies and programmes, and formulating measures for achieving the set objectives, the proposed research introduces a new approach to the implementation of measures to provide barrier-free access. By designing a module for recording data on accessibility, which will be accessible at the location of the central database, we are promoting a different approach, namely a bottom-up approach instead of the top-down approach which has proven to be inefficient. The bottom-up approach empowers the disabled to get actively engaged in the fight against built-environment and communication barriers, by providing concrete proposals for resolving the various problems they face.
In addition, the central database that will be created will also be a tool that will enable the execution of analytical, expert and data management operations regarding the use of and necessary adaptation of facilities in public use, as well as regarding the assessment of their accessibility.
Significance for the country
The results of the research will significantly contribute to the fulfillment of the commitments and objectives that the Republic of Slovenia has adopted in this field in the documents: the Action Program for Disabled Persons 2007-2013 and the Action Program for the Disabled 20014-2021. The most relevant commitments, in this regard are the following objectives:
• To raise public awareness about the situation of the disabled people, their potential contribution to the development of society, their rights, dignity and needs.
• To enable disabled people to participate fully and effectively in society.
• To guarantee the right of the disabled to choose where and how they will live and be fully involved and participate in community life in an equal and non-discriminatory way.
• To ensure an inclusive education system at all levels and lifelong learning on the basis of equal opportunities and without discrimination.
• To guarantee disabled people access to work and employment without discrimination in a work environment that is open to the disabled, inclusive and accessible.
