Disability Access to the Built Environment: On-Line Evaluation and Information Dissemination

Identifying and removing architectural barriers to access for people with disabilities follows community recognition that people with disabilities share the same rights as others. In terms of access to buildings and facilities, it is a question of degree. Examination of the steepness of a gradient, the available circulation space at a doorway, the type, fixation and position of a handrail, the amount of colour contrast and lack of other sensory cues determine degree of compliance. Absence of critical features discriminates against certain users and influences the likelihood of litigation. This chapter presents a methodology for computer-assisted access evaluation, which encapsulates facility features for accessibility auditing, describes a data model representation which capturing relevant information and demonstrates mapping of access audit analysis onto sets of queries via a Web-accessible information system. Thus the Web-accessible information system provides on-line accessibility information, generated from the accessibility database.