Universally usable buildings : an approach to measuring compliance with New Zealand's legislation on access provision for people with disabilities

Abstract

This thesis surveys compliance with New Zealand's access requirements, under section 25 of the Disabled Persons Community Welfare (DPCW)Act 1975 and NZS 4121(:1985), at the time the Building Act was passed in December 1991. The thesis is based on the principle of universal, barrier free design within a context of universal rights of physical access to and use of the built environment. A brief history of building controls for access by people with disabilities is given and the relationship between building usability and rights of physical access is considered. A checklist based on the legislative requirements and on NZS 4121:1985 is applied to a sample of 44 buildings, with a comprehensive range of size and use, from two larger New Zealand cities. Reasons are speculated upon for the levels of compliance found and conclusions are drawn about access controls under the Building Act 1991 (which incorporates section 25 of the DPCW Act 1975). The need for building industry education on access requirements for people with disabilities is also discussed.