Title

Setting accessibility standards for social inclusion: some obstacles

Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication Date

2009

Subject Area

Location - UK, Transport planning - Accessibility planning

Abstract

One of the principal rationales for accessibility planning in the UK is the potential reduction of social exclusion. Although there are multiple causes of social exclusion, transport and accessibility limitations contribute to a greater or lesser extent. It is in the light of this understanding the transport authorities are asked to devise policies which will promote inclusion. However, although the literature on social exclusion/inclusion is now quite substantial, and there are a number of Government documents available explaining the connections and their consequences, transport authorities are given little, if any, guidance by Central Government about the levels of accessibility to which they should and could reasonably be expected to aspire. This paper is based around research initially undertaken as part of an EPSRC-funded project – AUNT-SUE (Accessibility and User Needs in Transport for Sustainable Urban Environments) which aims “to develop and test sustainable policies and practice that will deliver effective socially inclusive design and operation in transport and the associated public realm from macro down to micro level.” As part of this project, accessibility benchmarks and standards appropriate to various socially-excluded groups have been, and are being, developed and tested using both existing data and field research. The paper discusses the progress of this work and the difficulties of arriving at solutions which can both adequately reflect the needs of the affected groups, as groups rather than individuals, and which can also be successfully modelled.