An account of experiences written by one of the Nature’s Way team on the UN Climate Change Conference, 2021. Second talk in a series at COP26.
I was really looking forward to attending the GDI COP26 event. GDI stands for Global Disability and Inclusion and was created out of the legacy of the London 2012 Olympics. The GDI also includes on their team, design alumni of the RCA University, and as part of an MSc in Assistive Technology about 5-6 years ago, Inclusive Design was my favourite module. This was what started me on my Design Thinking journey.
The truth is, and the irony was not lost on me, for various reasons including technical barriers (the remoteness of where I was in Scotland at this point and heavily reliant on the internet) and due to economic barriers – I’d already used all 4 GB of data and getting a PAYG SIM was becoming very problematic, I wasn’t actually able to join this event live. Instead watching it later on Youtube.
I guess designers might see this as a useful exercise in empathy as a true-to-life simulation for experiencing the various barriers that might also affect people’s ability to access NbS. Something we are very interested in as designers making Nature-based Solutions (NbS) inclusive.
Climate change is also very clearly something that is happening globally. With reportedly the residents of Fairbourne in North Wales being the first UK climate change refugees, with nearly 10% of its community impacted by requiring help with one or more activities. Affecting people with disabilities disproportionately. The GDI reporting that 1 billion people world-wide had a disability, the largest minority group. (https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/fairbourne-village-lost-sea-climate-change/ ).
Not all barriers are physical though
In Nature’s Way, some of our research has considered access issues from various perspectives. Inequalities arising from people in society with disproportionately less access to green spaces, physical barriers and mental barriers. Ranging from barriers to people with autism, dementia and learning disabilities (all at much greater risk of isolation, hate crime and violence), as well as perhaps more moderate mental barriers such as a fear of outside, the weather or simply being alone and feeling vulnerable. One person I met that stands out was a father of a child with a disability who as well as experiencing the physical barriers first hand with his son, also had a sense of guilt if he came alone to enjoy and relax in nature.
The benefits are profound though, as one participant explained to me: “Nature doesn’t judge you, you are outside of ‘normal life’. You feel different, can do different things, there is less ‘noise’ to distract you”. I think the emphasis on the word noise was not only audible noise or city and urban areas but also the noise that so often occupies our thinking.
Clearly the focus in this event was on how climate change impacts people with disabilities disproportionately more, and to inclusively design more resilient urban environments and include people with disabilities in this activity. I thought that I might learn something from this event on the theme of inclusion for Nature-based Solutions.
The other parallel I picked up from this event and Nature’s Way research was through work showcased in event by what the Asia Development Bank (ADB) is doing. Working across the Asia Pacific. We found of course within our research that access to nature is affected more so if you are Black, Indigenous or a Person of Colour (BIPOC), with demographics, deprivation and inequalities playing a big role. However add to this disabilities and there is a doubling effect of this problem.
Here are the lessons I picked up that I believe are transferable to NbS:
The factors and lessons influencing inclusive design or urban resilience are valid to NbS
1-in-7 people on the planet are disabled. And 80% of people with disabilities live in climate vulnerable areas. There are 1.2billion people living with a disability. All NbS’s really do need to consider people with disabilities. Not least because it can lessen the burden on those with disabilities but also those providing care too. But there are a number of possible practical design issues and barriers to consider:
- In a very wet country like the UK that is only getting wetter, water damage to expensive hearing aids can cause anxiety and lead to reluctance to go outside and join in other social nature-based activities
- Unpredictable weather means taking more things. If you’re disabled taking more stuff is not easy, keeping warm, cool, dry. All in one day
- Rain means more likelihood of flooding and potentially means being excluded or at very best less accessible routes due to softer so firm ground
- With fewer possible accessible routes this most likely means not being able to participate at all, but if the skies open whilst you are out, you could be stuck for a while
- Anxiety over routes might be addressed by signage but this can in some locations be difficult or expensive to maintain, and be subject to vandalism
Positive changes and better collaborations
So what is to be done?
Joining up knowledge, skills, services is something raised by the speakers of priority and we found the same true in Nature’s Way. Initially thinking we would design a NbS, we actually found that the ideas, skills, and knowledge already existed. It was just not that well connected and sat within silos.
Chief of Urban Sector Group Manoj Sharma for ADB Asia Development Bank presented a number of Asia Pacific project examples with some insightful lessons.
- Make sure the signage is useful and inclusive which means visible and well maintained. Consider fonts, colours, braille and even sound (including messages, like talking benches, or listening benches could be helpful)
- Remember that not all barriers are physical, so messages of being safe, secure and what to expect, how to get help might also be needed
- Transport needs; where people with disability are less likely to have personal transport
- Disabled cycle path users, with bars designed to prevent motorised vehicles such as motorcycles could be a barrier to disabled users of 3 wheeled bikes.
Mayor of Banjarmasin, Indonesia, Ibnu Sina, discussed opportunities and challenges and Ahmad Rifai Co founder of Kota Kita Indonesia, a non-profit expert in urban planning and community participation also shared their insights and lessons. And whilst the focus was on cities, inclusively designing NbS is vitally important to people with disabilities also.
Speakers said the COVID19 pandemic demonstrated how people with more vulnerabilities are impacted more adversely and in particular give consideration to:
- Women, something we found some resonance with in research in community groups in Bradford
- the informal economy (less money, zero hrs)
- older people
- children and
- People with disabilities
Barriers don’t just make access harder. It excludes, making access impossible. It is therefore vital to consciously enhance inclusion and participation in the design and planning stages of NbS solutions right from the start.
Gordan Rattray of the European Disability Forum also shared some helpful lessons:
- Disability inclusion builds resilience of society as a whole and benefits all
- There can be no inclusion without participation and the need to work with recognised OPD’s is vital (NGOs that are organisation’s working for persons with disabilities, where they are directly made up of people with disabilities and thereby representative of a communities’ voice).
- Start from the beginning with participation – don’t wait
- Ask what input, capacity, and skills they have. Do they need any specific training to overcome any barriers to participate?
Finally, Gordon put forward 4 ideas:
- Build on and develop national legislation and best practice on inclusion and access;
- Provide guidelines to put accessibility and inclusion at the heart of design
- Develop incentives and disincentives, to support and offer guidance first and then enforce through auditing, and finally;
- Ensure that those who design and build solutions receive ongoing training on disability and inclusion
Iain McKinnon, Director of Inclusive Design and GDI then closed the event with a q&a.
Iain’s experience included design of the Olympic Park in London. The GDI came from the legacy of the 2012 London Olympics. Iain’s main lesson and insight was that diversity of thought is vital to good outcomes in inclusive design.
Whether that’s sports, climate change resilience and adaptation or indeed in the case NbS and solutions that need to be tested.