Urbani izziv Volume 33, No. 2, December 2022
: 127-141
(Articles)
UDK: 338.483.13-056.26:004
doi: 10.5379/urbani-izziv-en-2022-33-02-06
Author
Igor Bizjak
Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia, Ljubljana
igor.bizjak@uirs.si
Title
Accessibility of buildings for the functionally
impaired: An inventorying method using online
tools
Abstract
The situation in Slovenia in terms of the accessibility
of public buildings for functionally impaired persons is
concerning. Most often people with disabilities already
face barriers when accessing the building (no disabled
parking available, stairs leading to the entrance into the
building, thresholds that are too high, doors too heavy to
open, handles set too high, etc.) and then in the building
itself (staircases, unadapted lifts, insufficiently large toilets, etc.). To show potential barriers to the functionally
impaired as well as the building owners and maintenance
staff, a method is presented for inventorying building
accessibility for the functionally impaired using online
tools. The method relies on relevant universal accessibility
legislation and standards, and it is important because it
facilitates an accurate and comparable evaluation of potential barriers and adaptations already in place. Thus, it
functions both as a multifunctional framework for evaluating the accessibility of all buildings, which provides
an overview of and displays potential barriers to building
owners and maintenance staff, and as a guide to building
accessibility for the functionally impaired. Also presented
is the method’s implementation in the online system for
inventorying building accessibility, which makes it possible to monitor building accessibility for the needs of
the functionally impaired and provides an overview of
the barriers detected for the building owners and maintenance staf.
Key Words
accessibility inventorying method, functionally impaired, accessibility monitoring system, indoor accessibility, online app