Gobi Ranganathan, international para badminton player, leads NRP’s drive for more accessible and inclusive design
Designing the built environment for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging is a hot topic. It’s great to see so many panel discussions and articles focusing on accessible and inclusive design.
In practice, however, the people designing accessible environments often have no lived experience of disability. And – without that vital perspective – even the best intentioned accessibility audits can become tick box exercises.
At NRP, we are working to change that. Our aim is to put accessibility at the forefront of design, drawing on the expertise of our accessible and inclusive design lead, principal engineer Gobi Ranganathan.
Accessible design based on lived experience
Gobi offers a wealth of experience as a highway engineer, disability organisation worker, non-executive director of the Rail Ombudsman and a member of the Stansted Airport Consultative Committee.
And ‒ as an international para badminton player and keen QPR and England football supporter ‒ wheelchair user Gobi has experienced the best and worst of transport systems, public spaces and buildings worldwide.
How sports buildings can create barriers to inclusivity
Watching an elite wheelchair athlete in action, it’s easy to imagine they are invincible. In reality, however, para sportspeople and disabled sports fans regularly face almost insurmountable obstacles to their use of sports buildings.
Doors may be too narrow for wheelchair users carrying equipment. Some football stadiums lack accessible seating with unobstructed views in the away stands. Disabled toilet facilities can be poorly designed, and lifts are all too frequently out of order. In short, many venues are designed and operated without genuine consideration of the needs of disabled people.
The challenges posed by public transport systems for wheelchair users
For both public transport and private car users, however, the biggest challenge may be getting to the venue – and this, of course, is an everyday issue for disabled people travelling for work or leisure.
Many railway stations in the UK, for example, do not offer level access from platform to carriage. Wheelchair users may have to navigate long and complicated routes to access lifts – sometimes battling against the flow of rush hour pedestrian traffic. And some disabled parking spaces don’t have a dropped kerb to allow a wheelchair user to access the footway.
As Gobi says: “It’s just accepted that disabled people have to put up with stuff.”
Accessibility audits that embed inclusivity in the design of the built environment
This needs to change, and NRP’s mission is to create a culture where inclusivity is embedded in the design of the built environment from the outset.
Our accessibility audits for buildings, public spaces and transport infrastructure draw directly on Gobi’s lived experience. He can demonstrate the real life problems caused by too steep a camber, too narrow a footway or a hand dryer that’s positioned too high.
But identifying problems is only half of the equation. Bringing about meaningful change also involves finding workable alternatives. As an engineer, Gobi is above all a problem solver – able to suggest practical solutions within the constraints of the budget and site conditions.
People with disabilities should not be made to feel anxious about getting out and living their lives. Harnessing Gobi’s vision and NRP’s skill in the art of the possible, it’s our ambition to make the built environment truly accessible for everyone.
