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Maggie Davis and her husband Ken followed the Independent Living Movement, opening a housing scheme in the UK at Grove Road, Sutton-in-Ashfield in 1976. They, along with other members Paul Hunt and Vic Finkelstein, of the Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation (UPIAS), initiated the ideas that led to the development of the social model of disability.
In September 1972, Maggie and Ken established a cooperative to buy land, commission architects and design their own housing scheme, consisting of six flats three of which are wheelchair accessible. This was to be known as the Grove Road Housing Scheme. [1]
After four years, on 13 September 1976 they moved into Grove Road, which was designed specifically to enable them to have independence. In order to find accessible fixtures and fitting for their new home, Maggie and Ken had to source a kitchen sink from Sweden, which had enough room for a wheelchair under the sink, lowered work surfaces and ceiling hoists to enable access from the bed to chair to bathroom. [2]
Through working with the architects, they were able to ensure that the building and adaptations met their needs and enabled them to no longer be reliant on non-disabled people helping them. The idea behind the housing was to enable three homes for disabled and three homes for non-disabled residents in the building, with the non-disabled residents providing support and assistance to their disabled neighbours if required.
Information and research on the Grove Road Housing Scheme and Maggie and Ken Davis is now held at the Royal Institute of British Architects(RIBA) Archive, and the 'History of Place' [3] website, a project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Their story was showcased in 2018 at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London in their 'Without Walls: Disability and Innovation in Building Design' Exhibition. [4]
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics illegal, and later sexual orientation and gender identity. In addition, unlike the Civil Rights Act, the ADA also requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities, and imposes accessibility requirements on public accommodations.
Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" and "indirect access" meaning compatibility with a person's assistive technology.
The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities.
Universal design is the design of buildings, products or environments to make them accessible to people, regardless of age, disability or other factors. It addresses common barriers to participation by creating things that can be used by the maximum number of people possible. Curb cuts or sidewalk ramps, which are essential for people in wheelchairs but also used by all, are a common example of universal design.
A wheelchair ramp is an inclined plane installed in addition to or instead of stairs. Ramps permit wheelchair users, as well as people pushing strollers, carts, or other wheeled objects, to more easily access a building, or navigate between areas of different height. Ramps for accessibility may predate the wheelchair and are found in ancient Greece.
Inclusive design is a design process in which a product, service, or environment is designed to be usable for as many people as possible, particularly groups who are traditionally excluded from being able to use an interface or navigate an environment. Its focus is on fulfilling as many user needs as possible, not just as many users as possible. Historically, inclusive design has been linked to designing for people with physical disabilities, and accessibility is one of the key outcomes of inclusive design. However, rather than focusing on designing for disabilities, inclusive design is a methodology that considers many aspects of human diversity that could affect a person's ability to use a product, service, or environment, such as ability, language, culture, gender, and age. The Inclusive Design Research Center reframes disability as a mismatch between the needs of a user and the design of a product or system, emphasizing that disability can be experienced by any user. With this framing, it becomes clear that inclusive design is not limited to interfaces or technologies, but may also be applied to the design of policies and infrastructure.
A handcycle is a type of human-powered land vehicle powered by the arms rather than the legs, as on a bicycle. Most handcycles are tricycle in form, with two coasting rear wheels and one steerable powered front wheel. Despite usually having three wheels, they are also known as handbikes.
Marc Harrison, was an industrial designer and educator whose work aligned with the idea of universal design that makes products easier to use for people with disabilities as well as people without disabilities.
Visitability is the design approach for new housing such that anyone who uses a wheelchair or other mobility device should be able to visit. A social visit requires the ability to get into the house, to pass through interior doorways, and enter a bathroom to use the toilet. Visitability stresses specific accessibility features from a social reform perspective, and counters social isolation.
A disabled parking permit, also known as a disabled badge, disabled placard, handicapped permit, handicapped placard, handicapped tag, and "Blue Badge" in the European Union, is a permit that is displayed upon parking a vehicle. It gives the operator of a vehicle permission to special privileges regarding the parking of that vehicle. These privileges include parking in a space reserved for persons with disabilities, or, in some situations, permission to park in a time-limited space for a longer time, or to park at a meter without payment.
Accessible toilets are toilets that have been specially designed to better accommodate people with physical disabilities. Persons with reduced mobility find them useful, as do those with weak legs, as a higher toilet bowl makes it easier for them to stand up. Additional measures that can be taken to add accessibility to a toilet include providing more space, adding grab bars to ease transfer to and from the toilet seat, and providing extra room for a caregiver if necessary. Some countries have requirements concerning the accessibility of public toilets. Toilets in private homes can be modified (retrofitted) to increase accessibility.
Accessible tourism is the ongoing endeavor to ensure tourist destinations, products, and services are accessible to all people, regardless of their physical or intellectual limitations, disabilities or age. It encompasses publicly and privately owned and operated tourist locations. The goal of accessible tourism is to create inclusivity of all including those traveling with children, people with disabilities, as well as seniors. This allows those with access requirements to be able to function as an independent using products following the universal design principle, a variety of services, and different environments.
The Disabled Persons Railcard is a concessionary fare scheme in the United Kingdom giving eligible passengers with disabilities benefits on the National Rail network including a 1/3 discount on fares.
A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using 2 or more wheels, a footrest and armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age related health conditions.
The Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation (UPIAS) was an early disability rights organisation in the United Kingdom. It established the principles that led to the development of the social model of disability, wherein a sharp distinction is made between impairment and disability. From the organisation's policy statement: "What we are interested in, are ways of changing our conditions of life, and thus overcoming the disabilities which are imposed on top our physical impairments by the way this society is organised to exclude us."
Victor Berel Finkelstein was a disability rights activist and writer. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa and later living in Britain, Finkelstein is known as a pioneer of the social model of disability and a key figure in developing the understanding the oppression of disabled people.
Accessible housing refers to the construction or modification of housing to enable independent living for persons with disabilities. Accessibility is achieved through architectural design, but also by integrating accessibility features such as modified furniture, shelves and cupboards, or even electronic devices in the home.
An adapted automobile is an automobile adapted for ease of use by people with disabilities. Automobiles, whether cars or vans, can be adapted for a range of physical disabilities.
Singapore does not have a formal definition of disability. Singapore signed on to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2013 and coordinates the Enabling Masterplan with both government and non governmental organisations.
Paul Hunt was an early disability rights activist and leader of disabled people's campaigns in the UK against residential institutions and for independent living. He was born on 9 March 1937 in Angmering, Sussex, with an impairment and he died aged 42 years in London, on 12 July 1979. His work and political influence is now cited in academic and political writings.