Winter: public enemy #1 for accessibility exploring new solutions

Abstract: Winter is expensive. For countries situated in the northern hemisphere, closer to the north pole, such as Canada, Russia and Scandinavia, winter requires the acquisition of special clothing, car tires, and sports equipment, snow removal or plowing from the streets, and is associated with t...

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Main Authors: Morales, Ernesto, Gamache, Stephanie, Edwards, Geoffrey
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Càtedra d'Accessibilitat (CATAC) 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2099/14802
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record_format openpolar
spelling ftupcatalunya:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2099/14802 2023-05-15T17:40:00+02:00 Winter: public enemy #1 for accessibility exploring new solutions Morales, Ernesto Gamache, Stephanie Edwards, Geoffrey 2014 23 http://hdl.handle.net/2099/14802 eng eng Càtedra d'Accessibilitat (CATAC) Open Access Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Urbanisme Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Arquitectura::Disseny Barrier-free design Disseny urbà Article 2014 ftupcatalunya 2019-09-29T08:59:39Z Abstract: Winter is expensive. For countries situated in the northern hemisphere, closer to the north pole, such as Canada, Russia and Scandinavia, winter requires the acquisition of special clothing, car tires, and sports equipment, snow removal or plowing from the streets, and is associated with the presence of ice patches, along with accidents and illnesses associated with cold weather. Fall-related injuries due to winter conditions have been estimated to cost the Canadian health care system $ 2.8 billion a year. However, the greatest cost snow entails every year is the social isolation of seniors as well as wheelchair and walker users. This results from the lack of accessibility, as it is difficult to circulate on snow-covered streets even for the able-bodied. Social isolation has been associated with other negative consequences such as depression and even suicide. This exploratory pilot study aimed at finding possible and feasible design solutions for improving the accessibility of sidewalks during winter conditions. For this project we used a Co-Design methodology. Stakeholders (City of Quebec representatives, designers, urban planners, occupational therapists, and adults with motor, visual and aural disabilities) were invited to participate in the design process. In order to meet the objectives, two main steps were carried out: 1. Conception of the design solutions (through Co-design sessions in a Focus-group format with seniors, designers and researchers); and 2. Validation of the design solutions (consultation with experts and stakeholders). The results are a wide variety of possible and feasible solutions, including the reorganisation of the snow-removal procedure and the development of heated curb cuts. This project was funded by the City of Quebec in partnership with the Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale (CIRRIS). Ultimately, the project sought to explore possible solutions to be implemented, if feasible, in the future by the municipal government. Peer Reviewed Article in Journal/Newspaper North Pole Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC): Theses and Dissertations Online (TDX) Canada North Pole
institution Open Polar
collection Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC): Theses and Dissertations Online (TDX)
op_collection_id ftupcatalunya
language English
topic Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Urbanisme
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Arquitectura::Disseny
Barrier-free design
Disseny urbà
spellingShingle Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Urbanisme
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Arquitectura::Disseny
Barrier-free design
Disseny urbà
Morales, Ernesto
Gamache, Stephanie
Edwards, Geoffrey
Winter: public enemy #1 for accessibility exploring new solutions
topic_facet Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Urbanisme
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Arquitectura::Disseny
Barrier-free design
Disseny urbà
description Abstract: Winter is expensive. For countries situated in the northern hemisphere, closer to the north pole, such as Canada, Russia and Scandinavia, winter requires the acquisition of special clothing, car tires, and sports equipment, snow removal or plowing from the streets, and is associated with the presence of ice patches, along with accidents and illnesses associated with cold weather. Fall-related injuries due to winter conditions have been estimated to cost the Canadian health care system $ 2.8 billion a year. However, the greatest cost snow entails every year is the social isolation of seniors as well as wheelchair and walker users. This results from the lack of accessibility, as it is difficult to circulate on snow-covered streets even for the able-bodied. Social isolation has been associated with other negative consequences such as depression and even suicide. This exploratory pilot study aimed at finding possible and feasible design solutions for improving the accessibility of sidewalks during winter conditions. For this project we used a Co-Design methodology. Stakeholders (City of Quebec representatives, designers, urban planners, occupational therapists, and adults with motor, visual and aural disabilities) were invited to participate in the design process. In order to meet the objectives, two main steps were carried out: 1. Conception of the design solutions (through Co-design sessions in a Focus-group format with seniors, designers and researchers); and 2. Validation of the design solutions (consultation with experts and stakeholders). The results are a wide variety of possible and feasible solutions, including the reorganisation of the snow-removal procedure and the development of heated curb cuts. This project was funded by the City of Quebec in partnership with the Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale (CIRRIS). Ultimately, the project sought to explore possible solutions to be implemented, if feasible, in the future by the municipal government. Peer Reviewed
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Morales, Ernesto
Gamache, Stephanie
Edwards, Geoffrey
author_facet Morales, Ernesto
Gamache, Stephanie
Edwards, Geoffrey
author_sort Morales, Ernesto
title Winter: public enemy #1 for accessibility exploring new solutions
title_short Winter: public enemy #1 for accessibility exploring new solutions
title_full Winter: public enemy #1 for accessibility exploring new solutions
title_fullStr Winter: public enemy #1 for accessibility exploring new solutions
title_full_unstemmed Winter: public enemy #1 for accessibility exploring new solutions
title_sort winter: public enemy #1 for accessibility exploring new solutions
publisher Càtedra d'Accessibilitat (CATAC)
publishDate 2014
url http://hdl.handle.net/2099/14802
geographic Canada
North Pole
geographic_facet Canada
North Pole
genre North Pole
genre_facet North Pole
op_rights Open Access
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