T-1253 Planning for all

Introduction to priority area

Planning for all

Accessibility is a key element in planning physical surroundings. Obstacles large or small affect the quality of life and daily activities of the individual. Accessibility affects the individual, but is also an expression of the general mentality and policy. Details and general concepts must be seen in context and solved methodically in consultation with all sections of the population.

Greater awareness and knowledge of this factor in designing urban areas, residential areas, parks and recreational areas and transport modes will result in a more open and useful society for everyone. One must stress accessibility in a broad perspective. In that way, community planning in general can adopt the tenet that everyone shall have possibilities for education, work and services. The Ministry of the Environment is currently collaborating with the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs to enhance accessibility through greater emphasis on this element in the general planning of the society. Special attention is given to improving the practice of the Planning and Building Act.

Better accessibility for all

Improving accessibility means improving the surroundings for everyone, but primarily for the disabled.

The design of our surroundings affects our daily lives. Inappropriate and poorly considered solutions can result in reduced safety, greater daily physical and mental strain and limited possibilities for activity. Disable persons are particularly affected by this. Great distances, steep terrain and high pavement curbs create additional obstacles for the physically disabled. For asthmatics, it means problems being outdoors during periods of major pollution. Children, elderly, visually handicapped and people with learning difficulties can have problems mastering a complex traffic system or finding their way in an unmanageable area.

Facts about the disabled

Nearly 20% of the Norwegian population is permanently disabled because of allergy, reduced mobility, poor vision, hearing or ability to grasp information in one’s surroundings. People with allergies/asthma and those with motor disabilities comprise the largest groups. Seventy per cent of all people experience disability at some time in their life.

Already now, the elderly constitute a large part of the disabled population. Trends show that the number of elderly will increase after the year 2000. This "elderly wave" will mean more people with reduced physical ability, which poses a challenge to community planning. Certain types of disability are also increasing among young people. Particularly disturbing is the increase in asthma among children.

Surveys on conditions of daily living show that disabled people are worse off than the average population. This concerns factors such as income, labour force participation, housing, education, access to leisure activities and social contact. Relatively many disabled live in areas where houses and outdoor areas are poorly arranged.

Greater attention must be paid to the needs of the disabled in planning

In planning cities and villages, residential environments and outdoor areas, initially all sections of the population must be considered. This is set forth in the preamble to the Planning and Building Act and followed up through laws, regulations and guidelines.

Nevertheless, measures are implemented that tend to limit the possibility for participation and self-fulfilment. The government has announced that the needs of the disabled shall be one of five premises to be stressed in land-use and town planning policy in the future. Accessibility in the broad sense shall be a guiding principle in all municipal planning. Good accessibility for the disabled calls for awareness in general planning and detail of physical design. This particularly applies to land-use and town planning, where accessibility and quality for user groups may include everything from arranging pedestrian areas to location of residential areas. Local sector plans are also important for accessibility to outdoor areas and functions. Housing programmes, school development, social services and waste treatment are examples of plans affecting the daily activities of the individual, and where consideration of the disabled must be stressed.

Government documents and guidelines relating to planning and design for the disabled

Political documents

• Report No. 29 to the Storting (1996-1997): Regional planning and land-use policy. Ministry of the Environment 1997
• Government’s plan of action for the disabled 1998-2001. Ministry Health and Social Affairs 1998
• UN Standard Rules for Equalization of Opportunities for Disabled Persons. Ministry of Health and Social Affairs 1995

Acts and guidelines

• Planning and Building Act
• National policy guidelines for co-ordinated land-use and transport planning. Circular T-5/93. Ministry of the Environment
• National policy guidelines to promote the interests of children and adolescents in planning. Circular. T-2/92 and T-4/98. Ministry of the Environment.
• Objectives for parks and recreational areas. Circular. T-13/85. Ministry of the Environment
• Technical Regulations for the Planning and Building Act 1997
• Vegnormalen (Handbook No. 017. Road and street design). Directorate of Public Roads

Obstacles large or small affect the quality of life and daily activities of the individual

Local government plays a key role

Local authorities will also have important responsibility in ensuring that the disabled and their organizations have an opportunity to promote their views and interests to the municipality by taking part in preparing plans and implementing measures.

County authorities and the county governor have an important function as technical advisers on planning. County plans and signals from county councils may include priorities that are important to addressing the needs of the disabled. However, local political priorities and planning are the most important factors in creating better accessibility and better conditions for the disabled.

The needs of the disabled must be considered centrally in the municipal plan and objectives and instruments must be introduced and applied to the various sectors of the municipality. There will be a need for co-operation between the sectors and municipal departments in order to develop good, co-ordinated measures. It will also be necessary for departments with little involvement in this effort to learn more about accessibility. In particular, the planning departments will need to use their expertise to perceive the needs of the health and welfare sector and incorporate those needs in the planning system.

Participation shall be a permanent part of the planning process

Stressing the needs of the disabled in planning also poses a challenge to the disabled, their interest organizations and local and county councils. The Planning and Building Act has clear regulations on participation in the planning process and information on municipal planning work. The regulations and practice thereof provide a good basis for user participation.

The aim is that users shall be heard throughout the planning process, also in the introductory stages where main principles and objectives are formulated. It is preferred that the organizations and councils themselves take the initiative and help give local authorities a good basis for decision-making through a broad and democratic process.

Joint effort by the Ministry the Environment and Ministry of Health and Social Affairs

It is also crucial that we find solutions that can make participation by the disabled as a permanent and natural part of the planning process and that accessibility and the needs of the disabled become a permanent component of planning for all.

The government’s commitment through the Action Plan for the Disabled 1998-2001 supports the policies rendered in Report 29 to the Storting (1996-1997) “Regional planning and land-us policy” on paying greater attention to the needs of the disabled in planning.

This commitment will be followed up through a four-year programme assigned to the Ministry of the Environment. A key task is to provide answers as to how the needs of the disabled shall be addressed and what things are important to stress.

Universal design

There have been ongoing efforts for a long time to make accessibility for the disabled a part of the general way of thinking in planning and design. The development of the concept Universal Design is one of the most interesting initiatives.

Universal design means designing products and surroundings in such a way that they can be used by all people, to as great an extent as possible, without the need for adaptation and special design.

A key factor in this concept is that the needs of all user groups must be addressed in the solutions as far as technically and practically possible. Supplementary solutions or compensatory solutions for special user groups shall only be used when absolutely necessary. Universal design provides a useful definition of how equal-opportunity and integration policy can be realized in physical design and planning.

For example, effort should be made so that day care centres are located in areas with little air pollution and with grounds that everyone can use. Requiring and arranging that children with asthma or motor disabilities shall be concentrated in special day care centres departs from the universal design concept.

The road ahead

The Ministry of the Environment will apply a number of measures for stressing accessibility in the planning process.

• A circular will be prepared, addressed to counties and municipalities, clarifying the key aspects of this work.
• The Planning and Building Act will be reviewed to consider whether there is a need for changes.
• Preparation of national policy guidelines will be considered.

A number of measures will be implemented for developing knowledge, methods and good practice:

• Reports, training and information will give local and county authorities a better basis for making decisions on how to specify accessibility in each plan.
• Trial projects in local and county areas will provide knowledge and experience on user participation, methods and good working arrangements. The Ministry of the Environment will allocate funds to trial projects based on applications from local and county governments and organizations.
• Collaboration with universities and colleges will help design basic planning studies that meet these needs.

Current publications on plan content and participation:

• Development Plan. Building Plan. (Reguleringsplan. Bebyggelsesplan) Guide. Ministry of the Environment 1998.
• Guide to Universal Design (Veiviser til universell utforming). Norwegian State Council on Disability 1998
• Accessibility in outdoor areas. (Tilgjengelighet i uteområder). Norwegian Association of the Disabled 1998
• User Participation in Planning (Brukermedvirkning i planlegging). Norwegian State Council on Disability 1995
• Universal Design (Universell utforming). Norwegian State Council on Disability 1997
• Life Span Standard in Steep Terrain (Livsløpsstandard i bratt terreng). Byggforsk 1991

This page was last updated October 26th, 1998 by the editors