STRATEGIES FOR UNIVERSAL DESIGN SUCCESS

Abstract

Universal Design embodies the significance of sustainability and place management in the built environment. The research described in this Dissertation aims to evaluate the strategies taken to improve accessibility status in Singapore’s built environment and examines the receptivity towards universal design by the users. Literature reviews collected set the foundation to understand the background of universal design. Raw statistics on the Accessibility Rating System were analyzed to give a breakdown of the overall accessibility status in Singapore’s built environment. Retail and transport developments were identified to examine the successful accessibility strategies adopted. Interviews with relevant managements and on-site observations were conducted. 30 survey questionnaires were collected from retail consumers and transport commuters each and inferential analyses were conducted separately. Pearson Correlations analysis was carried out to study the relationships between the usage patterns and outlooks of universal design. One sample t-test and independent samples t test were undertaken to establish the receptivity towards universal design and examine the different in usage patterns and outlooks among the two groups of samples respectively. The subjectivity of the perception and usage towards UD along with the fairly low number of respondent contributed to the limitations of this study. Finally, recommendations were suggested to the public and private sectors to better adopt strategies of UD.