Built Environment

The Chandigarh Smart City Limited will be coming up with a first-of-its-kind Sensory Park. In a tender floated by the Chandigarh Smart City Limited, the park will be developed at a cost of Rs 1.74 crore. These are specialised parks for all kinds of visitors, with special emphasis on children with disabilities, providing individual and combined sensory… Continue Reading »

SCOTLAND: Plans for a new legal requirement for all homes in Scotland to meet quality and accessibility standards has been included in a major national housing strategy, published today. The new Housing Standard, applying to all tenures, is an important element of Housing to 2040, which sets out the path for how Scotland’s homes and communities… Continue Reading »

GERMANY: Berlin has introduced a law elevating the status of pedestrians and making its mobility ecosystem more usable for wheelchair users and the visually impaired. The so-called ‘pedestrian law’– an amendment of the city’s 2018 Mobility Act – was passed by the state parliament at the end of January and is the first time a German city has… Continue Reading »

UK: The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has called on the UK government to make a series of changes to make housing more accessible for those with limited mobility, as well as more adaptable as their needs change with age. The committee recently published a report, which outlines a series of recommendations to government… Continue Reading »

ICELAND: A new accessibility fund will provide financial support to Reykjavík businesses who want to increase the accessibility of their establishments. The fund was spearheaded by entrepreneur Haraldur Þorleifsson in collaboration with city authorities. Founder of design company Ueno, which was recently purchased by Twitter, Haraldur is a wheelchair user himself and recently moved home to… Continue Reading »

VIETNAM: Entrances accessible to ambulant disabled people will be created in beaches along Da Nang City’s 30-km coastline, the city’s authorities said on Sunday. The work to install 24 such entrances at popular tourist beaches on Vo Nguyen Giap, Hoang Sa, Truong Sa, and Nguyen Tat Thanh streets was approved at a cost of over VND10.9… Continue Reading »

CANADA: The federal government, through the National Housing Strategy (NHS) delivered by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), is providing $190,000 in funding to the CSA Group to support research and develop a national standard for affordable, adaptable, and accessible homes across the country. “Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Research is key… Continue Reading »

TAIWAN: The city of New Taipei will open Taiwan’s first baseball and softball fields designed for people with disabilities at a riverside park in Shulin District on Sunday (Nov. 22), according to a city official. The city built the accessible fields in Lujiaoxi riverside park to cater to the growing number of people who have visual… Continue Reading »

CANADA: While the COVID-19 pandemic has spotlighted the need for safe housing, Ontarians with disabilities have always lived with the harsh reality that their housing choices are extremely limited, chronically inaccessible and often substandard and unsafe. One in seven Ontarians have a disability. Yet, Ontarians with disabilities routinely face discriminatory screening practices by landlords and… Continue Reading »

INDIA: The Punjab Cabinet today approved the ‘Punjab Divyangjan Shaktikaran Yojana’ to provide a barrier-free environment to persons with disabilities by making government and public-centric buildings, public transportation and websites accessible to them. The Punjab Cabinet today approved the ‘Punjab Divyangjan Shaktikaran Yojana’ to provide a barrier-free environment to persons with disabilities by making government and… Continue Reading »