Lifting the Barriers: Accessible and Inclusive Urban Planning-A case of Trivandrum City

People with disabilities have the same basic right of access as any other citizen. An inclusive and accessible physical environment is a critical element in mainstreaming disabled people, particularly in developing countries such as India. A freely accessible environment without any physical barrier is the most important requirement of an inclusive society as it determines what differently abled people can be and do. With the increased emphasis on the rights of differently abled people in recent years, it is important to understand the barriers faced by them when accessing the public spaces and facilities. This paper uses focus group discussions and interviews to try to determine the disabling factors in the urban environment that prevent disabled people from participating and explores the role of urban planning in making an accessible and inclusive city. For this the Smart city mission Trivandrum was taken as a platform, as improving the quality of citizens' life is a major goal of India’s smart cities development.

How Architects and Designers are Building the Future!

The world today is evolving at a very rapid pace. The needs today won't be the needs of tomorrow. This shift of the needs and longing of humans to experience something beyond exceptional is not momentary. This shift is continuous and humans are pushing their limits to experience something which they haven't before. In order to quench that thirst, the products which satisfy their desires don't last long and that's why the products today are short lived and are not sustainable. This is very good for the economy in order to keep the cycle running espousing consumerism as well. This is giving a tough challenge to designers and architects of today to create something sustainable which can keep the people engaged for a long time. Thus, the designers and Architects are in the middle of this issue. Where they don't know whether they shall create something which is sustainable or something which is short lived and increases the desire of the consumer to look for what next.