CHAPTER 5
UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND THE MAJORITY WORLD Singanapalli Balaram, Professor, M.Des. (NID), Fellow (SIDI) National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India
5.1 INTRODUCTION Today, in many parts of the world, there are indications that universal design is going to stay. It may change its name but not the content. The presence of universal design, however, is not even. While in some countries it is very strongly pulsating, in some other countries it is hardly existing. In the economically sharply divided world of haves and have-nots, the situation in the world of have-nots often goes unnoticed. But the world cannot go forward with a major part of its body missing. It is too important to be left out. The attempt of this chapter is to discuss that part of the world of the have-nots to assess the situation of universal design and related issues. Its focus will be on India whose situation maybe considered as similar to other have-not countries. In the absence of reliable scientific data, the arguments have been necessarily based on personal experience and indirect information. 5.2 BACKGROUND At the outset, it ought to be recognized that the problems, perceptions, and, therefore, the possible solutions of the have world are different from those of the have-not world. The reasons are many: The influence of thousands of years’ traditions, the colonial or other forms of dominance by foreign powers, economic insufficiency, pressures of the commercial world, and overpopulation are some of them. Design is an activity that is based on socioeconomic criteria and that will, therefore, naturally follow suit in being different in these countries. It is too simplistic to treat design as an isolated aesthetic activity existing outside the mainstream forces of economics, culture, and society. Design in the economically developing world is beyond an activity that is concerned with formal qualities and superficial aspects aimed at boosting sales. It is a serious activity that is concerned with playing a key role in economic and social development of the people. Moreover, centuries-old traditions are bound to have a profound influence on people’s behavior and patterns of choice, which go beyond physical rationale. It is in this context that universal design needs to be viewed differently from the way it is viewed in the Western countries.
5.3 TERMINOLOGY Ways of saying are ways of seeing. As one says, so one sees. Saying influences, positively or negatively, people’s attitudes toward a subject. Hence, before one proceeds further, it is necessary to clarify the importance of terms used in this chapter, as terms are crucial in forming or removing an intellectual or emotional bias. There are four words that are used most frequently, which need to be released from an associative bias. The first term among these is third world, which refers to the relatively poorer countries in the world. But, in fact, the generalized usage of third and first discriminates the two, projecting the former as deficient in more ways than one. A better way of looking at this reality follows: If one considers the number of people belonging to a country as important as the money possessed by that country, one would see that the majority of the world’s population lives in the so-called third world. Therefore, the author feels that it is appropriate to use the term majority world in place of third world and to refer to the few rich countries of the world as the minority world. Second, the term development, used in the context of developing countries, is very general and loaded with negative connotations such as something inferior in every way. Originally, this term was coined to mean industrial development in some parts of the world. To avoid this negative bias, therefore, it is appropriate to use a precise word and replace development with industrialization. In this chapter, the developed and developing countries will be called, appropriately, industrialized and industrializing countries. Third, advanced countries discriminates, implying unfairly that the other countries are backward and shows them in poor light. Hence, the term advanced countries will not be used in this chapter. Finally, one must recognize the importance of culture in human life more than the wealth and technical prowess. Many countries of the world are either rich in cultural diversity or rich with centuries of cultural traditions that continue to influence the people’s present lives. Few countries are blessed with both. Such countries will be referred to positively as tradition-bound countries in this chapter. For all other purposes of general reference, it is perhaps better to distinguish between various regions with geographical location, such as Eastern, Western, European, Occidental, Oriental, Asian, and so on. In this chapter, the term nonaverage people is occasionally substituted to cover generally all categories of people—elderly, disabled, anomalous, and so on.
5.4 DEFINING UNIVERSAL DESIGN IN THE MAJORITY-WORLD CONTEXT Universal design argues for the importance of wholesomeness and the importance of making, through design, the so-called weak component in the society as strong as every other part. In the industrialized and relatively wealthy countries, this weakness is merely physical or sensory. It is concerned with people’s diminished abilities, either temporary or permanent, such as impairment, retardation, advanced age, pregnancy, and so on. In the nonindustrialized majority-world countries, the weakness is beyond physical disabilities. The weakness is essentially social construct, which severely inhibits the equal participation of certain sections of society in public and private life. The economic, social, and cultural realities of nonindustrialized countries affect universal design in three ways: 1. The prevalence of oppressing realities such as poverty, population pressures, illiteracy, and lack of infrastructures calls for universal design solutions vastly different from those elsewhere. 2. These realities also make implementation of universal design extremely difficult. 3. Since success breeds success and vice versa, the very weaknesses mentioned earlier will create more problems of the disability, old age, and the like, due to malnutrition, inadequate prenatal and postnatal care, inadequate sanitation and hygiene, ignorance of child medication, unsafe and accident-prone situations due to bad road conditions, and poor industrial environments. Universal design, therefore, needs to be viewed from this angle differently from the perspective of the industrialized countries. Universal design for majority-world countries can then be defined as a concept that extends not only beyond issues of accessibility of the built environment, but that also covers the social, cultural, and economic issues, which are major influences in uniting normal or average people and people with different physical, mental, or psychological abilities. If one accepts universal design as an “approach that values and celebrates human diversity,” majority-world countries such as India and China have overwhelming and perhaps unmanageable cases. For instance, India’s cultural, religious, linguistic, and ethnic diversities are almost impossible to comprehend. 5.5 DEMOGRAPHIC SITUATION: FIGURES SPEAK According to the United Nations’ estimates, the world elderly population constituted 14.8 percent of the total world population in 1985. While the elderly population in industrialized countries is expected to increase by 77 percent over 1985 figures, the comparative percentage increase in majority-world countries is approximately 207. China and India will then be the most populous countries, accounting for 48 percent of the world’s elderly population (UN report, 1998). The aging scenario
in India is alarming with 70 million elderly people above the age of 60 years at present. This current figure is projected to reach 177 million by the year 2025. In the case of disability, India already has one-third of the world’s disabled population and one-half of the world’s blind population, and these figures are increasing. While an accurate census is difficult due to huge and illiterate village populations, an approximate 63 million people in India suffer from impairment in physical or mental form. From 1985 to 2000, the population aged 60 and above and 70 and above was expected to increase by 93 percent and 10.8 percent, respectively, while the total population increased only by 40 percent during the same period. By the year 2025, it is estimated that one out of every seven elderly persons in the world would be from India. In terms of gender distinction, it must be noted that the female ratio in the elderly population is increasing. Similar trends could be observed in other Asian countries such as China, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. 5.6 TRADITIONS OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN It is important to note that the concept of universal design is not new, especially in some tradition-rich countries. Universal design is a term coined by the late Ronald Mace 15 years ago. But it is an ancient concept that has been extant in cultures such as those in India for ages. For instance, India has the marvellous tradition of wearing unstitched, uncut garments, which continues even today in the new millennium and is certain to continue in the future. These garments have reached perfection in design and have become timeless classics. Since space does not permit a detailed discussion, let us just look at two examples. Figure 5.1 shows a dhoti, the lower-body garment worn by men; Fig. 5.2 shows a saree, which covers the upper and lower portions of the body as well as the head, and is worn by women.
FIGURE 5.1 Example of universal design in the Indian tradition—the dhoti, a lower garment worn by men.
Both of these garments are extremely elegant, highly functional, and can be worn in infinite ways to suit the occasion, whether it is work on the farm, a religious ceremony, or a social function such as marriage. There are codes of wearing. Judged by the way it is worn, the same cloth creates a strong identity as to the wearer’s caste, community, social status, and even marital status. Besides, these garments are also highly symbolic. While being worn, they can be put to other functions, such as carrying a child, carrying objects, and so on. When they are not being worn, these garments can be put to other uses, such as a baby swing, packing material, and the like. The same cloth can be worn by everybody, irrespective of the age, physical dimension, or temporary or permanent disability. They are extremely adaptable solutions and excellent examples of universal design in practice.
5.7 MYTHOLOGICAL INFLUENCE In tradition-bound countries such as India, culture plays a powerful role. In most Eastern countries, people who are elderly, even if they have impairments, are traditionally respected. In the joint family system, they command authority and continue to make major decisions as the wise seniors of the family.
FIGURE 5.2 Example of universal design in the Indian tradition—the saree, an upper and lower garment worn by women.
The Indian mind is considered to be preoccupied with the mythical domain, and even in the twenty-first century, Indian mythologies keep influencing people with certain societal and familial attitudes. The great Indian epic, Mahabhaarata, has it that Dhritarashtra, a totally blind and very old king, ruled India (then called Bhaarat) as well as the royal family until the end of the Kurukshetra War as mentioned in the epic. He had a family of 100 sons who were married and all lived as part of the joint family structure. There is also a very strong ethical code in every Indian mind toward the elders and those with disabilities in the family. The son or the daughter has the unavoidable duty to look after those who are old and disabled, particularly if they are the parents. In the other great Indian epic, Ramayana, there is a crucial episode of Shravana, a youth who carried his old and severely disabled parents on his shoulder and took them on a pilgrimage. King Dasharatha accidently killed Shravana, and the orphaned disabled parents cursed the king. The whole story of Ramayana is the realization of this curse. The Shravana story is repeated to young children even today as the role model of a good dutiful son. In fact, it is more than that: It is a warning to the ruling class!
5.8 SOCIOCULTURAL PROMINENCE Although the joint family system is on the decline due to urbanization, it is still largely present in the villages, which constitute 80 percent of India. In Indian cities, there are homes for the aged and for the disabled, but these are occupied primarily either by the orphaned or the poor of society. A majority of the population would consider it an extremely unsocial act to send their disabled or elderly relative to institutional care. Society would consider it an affront to their status to do so. As a chain effect, the quality of institutional care has also remained very poor. It is traditional in India and other Asian countries that the elders are neither discriminated against, nor are they separated from others in the various processes of living. On the other hand, they are given a place of pride and respect. In the religious rituals, the blessings of the elders are sought before commencing the ritual and after its completion. There are traditional festivals in India that encourage full participation of people with diverse abilities and ages. For instance, at Garba, a community festival dance in Gujarat, people of all ages—from a 3-year-old child to an 80-year-old person— irrespective of gender and age, dance before the Goddess. The dance is in circular form, which is infinite and nondis-criminating. This dance can be truly called a universal dance. Another festival called Sankranti, a kite-flying festival, is also universal, where families celebrate by jointly flying colorful kites. People of all ages, genders, and abilities participate, dividing the tasks as they like and are capable of. The elderly and the disabled relatives take on the easier task of holding the reel of thread while
the relatively tougher task of flying the kite and running after the kite is done by the energetic youth and children. Thus, everyone feels important and contributes according to his or her own specific, individual ability. Similarly, in the villages, the old or disabled people take on the lighter yet important tasks of watching the drying grain or taking care of the toddlers. Elderly people are considered invaluable in swinging the infant or telling stories and lores to young children as they could spare enough time, which the parents cannot. Such social customs are extremely important as they make the people who are elderly or disabled and the others mutually dependent. Furthermore, such participation gives the people who are elderly and/or disabled a heightened purpose of living. In India, when a person crosses the age of 60, it is celebrated with an important traditional ceremony called shashti purti (literally meaning the completion of 60). It is an indication of cultural importance given to the elderly in Indian society. There is also a very important microlevel, traditional self-governing system in villages that continues even today. This is called the Panchayati system. It is a local governance where it becomes the prerogative of the elders of the community to participate and lead the lifestyle of the people. In Chinese thought, the family is the fundamental social unit and not the individual. The family is hierarchically organized, where elders are placed high. Within such a close-knit family system, individuals have a duty toward each other, whether they are elderly, average, non-average, or socially disadvantaged. 5.9 MAJOR CONCERNS The contemporary situation in India is startling, and India can be taken as an example of a highly populated, tradition-bound country in the process of industrialization whose situation could be seen as similar in many other majority-world countries. Following are some of its concerns. Problems of Integration
More important than access to and interaction with the built environment, what the people who are elderly and people who are disabled confront is the segregation from the rest. True, in countries like India, the joint family system exists. But this is threatened by urbanization and attitudes of the younger generation, which are becoming influenced by the industrialization and lifestyles of the industrialized countries. More important than discrimination is the lack of purpose and participation in the family, which can lead to great psychological trauma and barriers for most people. Problems of Communication
Even in the new millennium, India can still be called a country with an oral tradition since nearly two-thirds of its total population is illiterate. Therefore, written communication and print media have very little effect on the majority of the people.
This itself is a barrier to cross. Visual communication is obviously the answer, but, like everything else, visual communication requires visual literacy on the part of the people with whom it is communicating. This cannot be expected to happen easily in such a vast society. People prefer to ask directions at a nearby shop even if there is a good map and signage. It is also a more interactive method! A country with a tradition such as this can be addressed in only one way. The designers have to learn the language of the masses to be able to communicate with the signs they understand and the methods they accept. If the designers use oral communication instead of visual communication, perhaps then, it could evolve to be a universal design that caters to both the literate as well as the illiterate people. One fact that proves this argument is the high rate of success of songs and music in popular Indian films. This factor is so important that no popular Indian film can be found without songs. Problems of Living
The wheelchair is accepted universally as an aid to mobilize people with lowerlimb impairment. In countries like India, the wheelchair is unusable. This is because in rural areas of India, which hold the majority of the population, people cannot use wheelchairs due to uneven terrain. More important, the villagers do not sit on a chair at home. They either squat on the ground or sit on a raised wooden plank. Rural women cook, store, and do all the household work at ground level. They need a different kind of mobility device that operates at ground level. One of the innovations that has been tried is to take the traditional Indian wooden seat (called a patla in the local language, Gujarati), and put wheels, brakes, and other necessary conveniences to it. This could be a universal design because impaired, as well as unimpaired, women could use the patla as they have done in the past. Problems of Function
Most of the artificial feet in the world are not actually feet but boots that are partially covered by the trousers. This gadget is unusable by 80 percent of the Indian people who are farmers. The farmers do not wear trousers; instead, they wear a dhoti, which is lifted up for convenience of work in the fields, exposing the leg until above the knee. Besides this, the farmers often have to work in mud with their bare feet, they have to climb trees with their bare feet, and they have to perform many actions with their bare feet. As a solution to this, and to avoid discrimination, an Indian doctor, P. K. Sethi, developed a foot, popularly known as the Jaipur foot, that looks very much like the real foot in terms of colors and shades. At the same time, it is flexible enough to allow the user to climb a tree or to work in mud and water. Problems of Production
While the country is on its way to industrialization, the vast community of craftspeople in villages remain without work. The village artisans and craftspeople, who suddenly found themselves unwanted by society, need to be made useful to society and to participate meaningfully in community activities as equals. This could be done if
these artisans’ skills were used in producing devices for the people who are disabled and elderly and for those people whose needs they could comprehend better. Such products could be of common use for average people, as well as the special-needs people. The advantage of village artisans producing universal design products is that these common products can be maintained on a sustainable basis without depending on the city-based workshops. Problems of Acceptance
In tradition-bound countries like India, people do not readily accept new devices. There are strong hindrances to acceptance based on the semantic notions associated with the new product. There are strong taboos with certain forms and colors. Social distinctions get added to such taboos, reinforcing them further. For instance, antipollution masks introduced by a corporation were rejected by the people because they resembled a pig face and the pig is a cultural taboo. The pig is considered extremely low by both of the dominant religions of India—Hinduism and Islam. This issue can be addressed by making the designers and craftspeople aware of culture-specific semiotics and semantics so that the design is not rejected outright, and at least it provokes the user to think about its viability. The product must also cater to a cross section of people across religious affinities. In a country like India where, more often than not, religion dominates the people’s minds, a design like the preceding one not only alienates the design profession there but also has lasting effects. First, it reaffirms the belief that “old is gold and new is trash.” Second, it might prevent any further acceptance of any redesigned product in the future. Problems of Marketing
More often than not, market forces cater to the urban haves rather than the rural havenots. They are quite insensitive to the fact that although the urban populace may be cosmopolitan enough to take religio-cultural slurr in its stride, the rural populace may not be so giving. Hence, any marketing venture has to be not only appealing but also acceptable. This is possible only after conducting extensive market research to find out and determine what is acceptable to the majority of the population.
5.10 POLITICS OF INCLUSION L. K. Weisman had pleaded for the politics of inclusion and wholeness in place of patronizing politics of tolerance and competing interest. While agreeing to Weisman’s (2000) argument, one would wonder about how to define wholeness and inclusion in the context of tradition-bound, culturally complex, and vastly diverse countries like India. If universal design wishes to eliminate discrimination in India, then it stands to consider other socially governed inhuman forms of discrimination as well. The people of the dalit community, for example, are untouchables even today. The caste system is prevalent throughout Indian society, though more apparent in villages. Access is denied for certain communities of people to several important places such as worship, festivals, public functions, and even common water sources. Regardless of their physical impairment, these groups of people are excluded. Caste-
based exclusion is only one of the many forms of social attitudes existing in India. The community of eunuchs (hijdas in local language) is avoided by the society as much as it avoids leprosy-cured people. People who are black-skinned or fat or short, or even anomalous, face similar problems of exclusion.
5.11 AREAS OF DESIGN INTERVENTION A very important role can be played by the designers in the majority-world countries, as they have the advantage of not committing the same mistakes that the industrialized countries have committed. On the contrary, by seizing the opportunity the majorityworld designers can be role models for others to correct the mistakes. The following areas could be considered for major thrust for designers in these countries: 1. Societal attitudes 2. Educating for the future 3. Positive thinking by the user groups 4. Networking 5. Increasing usability range Societal Attitude
Umberto Eco, in his Serendipities: Language and Lunacy (1999), says: The members of a culture A cannot recognise the members of the culture B as normal human beings (and vice versa) and define them as “barbarians,� that is, etymologically stuttering and non-speaking beings and therefore non-human or sub-human beings. This observation is applicable to other differences in human beings, too. It is applicable not only among the people who are literate and those who are not, but also among white-skinned and black-skinned, among urban and rural, among people who are living in plains and those living in hills; among rich and poor—The list is endless. This barbarian attitude forms the basis of opposition to universal design. The advantaged group, deep down, would not like the other disadvantaged group to join them and be treated equally. This is perhaps the biggest obstacle for the proponents and designers of universal design to address immediately. As long as this is not addressed, the other efforts will not have their full effect. Therefore, the first major task facing the designers is to promote public opinion toward a positive universal attitude. Such awareness communication should cover the whole range of issues, from the language and terms of addressing the people who are nonaverage, to the social behavior in the company of the people who are non-average. In societies where illiteracy is dominant, oral, visual, and other forms of nonverbal communication can be employed effectively. The approach must be wholistic and not limited merely to people with physical and/or mental impairments.
Educating for the Future
Change in societal attitude will not happen overnight. It is a slow process and requires a long time for the new concepts to be accepted. The establishment has already set notions and definite views about several aspects of life and do not accept change readily, no matter how persuasive the communication is. It is thus advisable to start inculcating the right attitude toward people who are aged, disabled, disadvantaged, and so forth, from a very young age to the child as part of his or her regular education in schools, colleges, and universities. Children are the future society. It is less difficult and more effective to mold a young mind, and a better generation will soon make up the world. In majority-world countries where most children do not go to school, nonformal methods and nonformal educational devices (e.g., toys, games, and dolls) could be specially designed and employed. Positive Thinking by the User Groups
Communication is interpersonal, and it works both ways. When there is a change in the attitude of one group that is at the receiving end, a corresponding change in the attitude is necessary for the other group that is at the originating end. While the average public needs to change their attitude toward the people who are nonaverage (e.g., the impaired, aged, leprosy cured, less abled, temporarily disabled, etc.), others also need to change their own attitude about the others and about themselves. A poor and low image of oneself by the nonaverage person would make him or her suspect even a genuine concern and care. Such doubts will hamper her or his joining society as an equal member and not being pitied or treated specially. To be treated equally and avail equal opportunities, the fear of acceptance has to be dispelled by the individual. Equal opportunities should not be mistaken for same opportunities. A visually impaired person cannot compete with an able-bodied person in a typing job, and a hearing-impaired person cannot compete with an able-bodied person in a telephone operator job. The visually imparied, however, can compete equally with able-bodied people in a telephone operator job, and the hearing-impaired person can compete equally with able-bodied people in the typing job. Nonaverage people should be seen as people with different capabilities rather than people with lesser capabilities. In a documentary film entitled Listening to Shadows (Sarkar, 1999), Ranchodbhai Soni, an Indian teacher who is visually impaired, talks with undaunted confidence that he does not regret being congenitally blind. He asks the society to put away its pity because he has no desire for sight. “What you have never known you cannot miss,” he says and quoting Alexander Pope concludes “Whatever is, is right.” Such positive attitudes in the nonaverage people are essential to be promoted through good design. Networking
In many majority-world countries, efforts are being made by concerned people from all walks of life and professions toward the welfare of people who are elderly and such. Such groups and individuals include designers, journalists, doctors, teachers,
voluntary organizations, governmental and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), social workers, religious organizations, and parents and relatives of the nonaverage people. Many of them are doing excellent work with a high rate of success. The missing aspect is that these efforts remain in isolated pockets, and they are thus weak in spread and collective strength. This problem is particularly acute in countries with dense population and inadequate communications. If the individuals and organizations network and develop links, they can pool their resources, benefit by sharing each others’ experiences, complement each others’ efforts, and generate solidarity as well as the symbiotic effect. We all know that the symbiotic effect will be much more than the sum of the individual efforts. The new information technology can play a major role in enabling such networking, in giving access to information, and in doing so with speed. In nonindustrialized countries, where most of the population lives in rural areas, this may work only in urban areas. For rural needs, a different strategy of networking could be worked out. Oral networking, radio networking, and postal networking could be thought of, which could be used by village people. Increasing Usability Range
There are many ways in which universally designed products and environments can bring equality among the average and the nonaverage people. Since universal design should be viewed as more than access, this chapter avoids the term barrierfree access. Some of the general principles involved in universal design are necessary to reiterate. Segregation in any form means discrimination. This, in turn, means nonequality and nondemoc-racy. Therefore, for the good of universal design, it is essential to minimize the specialized products for special groups. Instead of designing separately for different groups, add value to products that are meant for average people so that they can also take care of other groups of people, such as those who are aged, disabled, or somehow separated and have special needs. Adding value in usual products by adding universal features would increase the product’s usability range. This feature could be a virtue in the product for the consumer. By sharing interests, a closeness also develops between the average and nonaverage groups, which is the basis for a healthy society.
5.12 UNIVERSAL DESIGN: STRATEGIES OF APPLICATION Victor Papanek called Design for the Real World (1972) a kind of design that is more meaningful. Universal design follows the same ideology. It should be viewed as a value and not as design style or a design fashion. Being so, its applications differ from the conventional applications of design. A quick look at some of the applications follows.
Addition: Extension of Use
Many existing products and systems can be extended with simple additions in design without much change in the overall product. Yet, such small change can include and greatly benefit people with special needs. Currency notes need not have Braille markings but raised or cut distinctions to help people who are visually impaired, as well as illiterate people. Medicine bottles can have similarly designed labels and large-print dosage instructions to aid people who are elderly and people with poor vision. Besides large print, dosage instructions could be visual for people who are illiterate. Road signage, in addition to language, could have auditory and threedimensional signs. Bathrooms and toilets can have grab bars and textured floors. All alarms should be multisensory—auditory, visual, and olfactory. Hindsight: Adaption of Existing Places and Products
Existing buildings, spaces, and products cannot be completely changed, but they could be made universal by a small renovation or adaption, taking into consideration the strong unchangeable cultural habits prevailing in a given country, especially in tradition-bound countries. Sometimes, it could be the introduction of an intermediate product. A project by a design student in India is a good example of this. In India, the toilet is done by people in a squatting position. It is a cultural practice that is as strong as eating with one’s hand without cutlery. But this causes serious problems for people who are aged, for those suffering from arthritis, and for those using crutches, and so on, as they cannot squat. A new toilet stool has been designed that could be pushed on top of the Indian squatting-type toilet. The new adaption is simple, foldable, and light enough to be lifted and hung on the wall to save space, an important criterion in highly populated countries. This is discussed in detail in the latter part of this chapter as a case study. Similar renovations are possible by providing tiny wheels to the low, ground-level seats (patias in Hindi) used by rural women in India who perform most functions at ground level. Foresight: Prediction of Future Needs and Situations
If hindsight is necessary for buildings and products already in production, the welldesigned products to be produced in the future should have foresight and future needs well considered in their conception. The products, systems, communications, and buildings should be designed so as to grow with the user, and to take into account the projected pressures of population, economy, and social change. Products must have modular provisions, and the like, which may become very useful aids when needed. In India, people build small houses initially, but keep provisions to expand them later when their needs grow and when they can afford it with their savings. This is universal design in attitude. It needs only to be turned toward old age, disability, and so on, and the related needs of inclusion. A trend is already emerging in India where people in urban localities make provisions for an elevator while building the apartment houses. In rural and semiurban localities, many people make provisions for a second entry, which will avoid the staircase and allow easy access for people who have difficulty walking, as well as for people using carriages and other personal wheeled items.
Bridging the Gap Between People
There is a need for products that act as a bridge between different people and their needs, whether that difference be cultural or physical. In India, the colonial times saw a number of such products, which have built bridges between the Indian and European cultures. The Anglo-Indian toilet is one of the well-known examples. This toilet accommodates the Indian squatting position as well as the European chairlevel seating. It allows not only people from different cultures but different physical needs to be able to use the same toilet with no need for special provision. A project by a student at the National Institute of Design bridges another gap. It is a hand printer that can be used both by a person who is visually impaired and by one who is not. It is a Braille-cum-English printer that allows written communication between people with different abilities. Development of more such products would eliminate product discrimination. Another good universal concept is the design of embossed and scented greeting cards, which would bring joy to both nonaverage people and average people. The Right for Beauty
A thing of beauty is a joy forever. This is an old proverb. In the present context, it needs modification. A thing of beauty is a right for everybody. The reality, however, is different. Most of the socially conscious products or designs for the real world reveal the stepchild treatment in comparison with the commercial products. Even the award-winning products in the special-needs category, while functioning well, look ugly. Such products send out signals of pity or compromise in form, color, and style. It is humiliating to use such products, as they indignity the person using them. It is crucial that designers wake up to this reality and prove professionally that all people, irrespective of abilities, age, and other differences, have equal right to aesthetics. There is no reason why a walking stick of the visually impaired should not be as elegant as the fancy walking stick of the rich man. Going by the evidence of international awards, some of the world’s most elegant designs and some of world’s most beautiful ladies are from the majority-world countries. The world designers would do well to recognize aesthetics as an integral part of function—one without the other is still a bad design. 5.13 GOVERNMENTAL POLICIES The governments in the majority-world countries are preoccupied with the basic issues facing people, such as poverty alleviation, literacy, better infrastructure, roads, drinking water, sanitation, and so on. Most of these efforts concern average people, and there is hardly any time and resources left for the needs of the people who are elderly, disabled, and other people who are not average and who are presently a voiceless minority in comparison. Besides, people prefer family care to state care. There are further problems that hinder the process of the few welfare measures taken by these governments. Due to the economic backwardness, corrup-tive practices are rampant; whatever state allocations
are made for the social welfare programs do not reach the deserving people. The parliaments in the majority-world countries, however, make policies and laws in the interest of the people who are disabled or elderly. The government of India was party to the convention held by the economic and social commission for Asia and the Pacific held in 1992 at Beijing. As a consequence, it passed an act by the parliament in 1995 called the Persons with Disabilities (equal opportunities, protection of rights, and full participation) Act. It also passed a national policy on older persons in 1989. Similar efforts are afoot by the respective governments in other countries as well. The government of the Philippines enacted the accessibility law in 1983 for the purpose of enhancing the mobility of persons with disabilities. This was followed up in 1992 by the Magna Carta for the Disabled Persons, which was passed by the House and Senate and signed by the president. These laws implement rules and regulations, especially for the public services. The Philippines also established the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP). The government of India has realized the key importance of meaningful occupation, as well as income generation for people with disabilities. Therefore, in 1995, it established an organization called the National Centre for the Promotion of Employment for the Disabled People (NCPEDP). The main regulation in India is the mandatory reservation of at least 3 percent of the total jobs in any company. The government, however, realizes its limitations and depends on the NGO sector as an important instrument for implementing the endeavors of the state and for catering to the needs of society. The most important gap in many majority-world countries is the nonexistence of data related to people with disabilities, people who are aged, and other people who need help. Although there are many institutes and voluntary organizations working for the cause in different ways, there is neither coordination nor connection between these groups. Thus, most of these efforts are duplicated or diluted. With the exception of very few, the mainstream architects and designers in these countries are not practicing universal design. As a result, most of the people with special needs are left to take care of their problems in their own way. It is important to notice that there are hardly any efforts to bring together the requirements of average and nonaverage people. The governments in majority-world countries are presently preoccupied with political instabilities and essential needs of people such as food, shelter, employment, education, health, and so on. But the growing number of people who are aged, disabled, and otherwise disadvantaged is not only a great consumer force, but also a great vote force, and democratic governments have to be mindful of this democratic power.
5.14 SERVICE ORIENTATION For obvious self-interest, the commercial world today is not in favor of people buying fewer products. More products constantly promote growing discrimination, not only among the abled and disabled, old and young, but also among men and women, children and adults, and so forth. The more they discriminate, the more different products they can produce and sell. Not only are there different products for people of one kind or another, but there are also products for yesterday and products for today, products for the morning and products for the evening. Many times, designers are unwilling partners in this overproliferation of products that promote discrimination rather than universality. In the nonindustrialized countries such as India, the population is larger, which means that human services will be more economical than the products that offer similar services. Human services provide much needed employment to people. Houses are still built because they can be serviced inexpensively by hand, rather than produced as an industrial product. The laundry-person’s services are cheaper than the cost of a washing machine combined with the cost of running it. The nonindustrialized countries can exploit this human wealth, which is ideal for universal design. Human beings can cater both to the average and nonaverage people equally well. The expenses of equipment that reads a book for people who are visually impaired can be easily replaced by the human being who costs less. The person, moreover, not only reads but also assists the impaired persons in other ways, too. 5.15 ECONOMICS OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN All over the world, special products and services for people with special needs are prohibitively expensive. Years ago, in his book Design for the Real World (1972), Victor Papanek gave the example of a transistor radio, which costs $10 in the United States, while a hearing aid using the same components costs an astronomical $110. The reason given often is the low production numbers. This reason will not be valid with the majority-world countries, such as India and China, where a vast population lives. An increasing percentage of this population is aged, disabled, and disadvantaged in many other ways. There is thus the existence of a huge market. Besides, in countries like India, some of the people who are disabled and aged have been employed in producing devices for the population that is disabled or aged. One would not see why this enormous workforce and intellectual capital cannot be employed to produce universal design products. In fact, like elsewhere in the world, in this part of the globe, too, there will be a shift in target markets in the future. There are already indications. The wheeled patla, mentioned earlier in this chapter, is commercially produced by the local Blind People’s Association (BPA) in Ahmedabad. As Roger Coleman says in his Designing for Our Future Selves: Meeting the Needs of the Older Consumer Through Universal and Age-Friendly Design Strategies (1999):
Unless the products and services on offer work well for and appeal across a wider range of age and capability—unless they are “universal” and “inclusive” in conception design and promotion, they will not fully capture the market that already exists and are unlikely to stimulate future growth in the market place. In tradition-bound countries, this argument will find additional support since the people who are aged not only have accrued earnings but also have the authority and influence in family buying. This is people’s tradition.
5.76 THE ROLE OF RELIGION For many people, it is human nature to believe in God, particularly in times of distress. Jean Paul Sartre rightly observed that if there is no God, there is a need to invent one. In old age and in disability, people tend to become more religious. Religion provides psychological solace. In the case of some religions, people are provided practical support, too, as a social service. Besides, religion is able to bring people together, regardless of their differences and abilities. The only exception to this rule is the caste system, which is observed by the Hindu religion. In tradition-bound countries, particularly like India, religion plays a greater role in the lives of people. As mentioned earlier, Indian mythology supports and promotes the importance of people who are aged or disabled. To the people who are aged or disabled, religious rituals and practices also provide occupations that are highly respectable by society and light enough to be performed easily. Religion, when consciously realized and positively applied, regardless of the faith one follows, could help greatly the cause of universality in majority-world countries. 5.77 CONSUMER FORUMS In India and other majority-world countries, the consumer movement is getting stronger, and consumer forums are increasingly playing a very constructive role in empowering people. In India, they have often made the manufacturers be more responsible. Even the governments and nonformal sectors offering services have been held responsible by these forums. On one hand, the consumer forums are fighting for the rights of the people as consumers of products and services; on the other hand, the forums are educating the people about their rights. Some of these forums have wellequipped testing laboratories and market research infrastructure. One such forum in India is the Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC) in Ahmedabad, which is well equipped, active, and runs a monthly magazine to spread consumer awareness to the public. So far, most of these forums have been concentrating on average people as consumers. It is time that the increasing nonaverage population’s needs should also be considered by these forums, and universal design should be a component in the evaluation of a product or services. The term product is used here in a very broad, generic way and includes spaces, landscapes, and buildings.
5.18 CASE STUDY Project. Toilet seat attachment Designer. Makarand Kulkarni, Ahmedabad One of the important problems being forced by people in India is using toilets. Indian toilets are located at ground level. Like all other work that is done at ground level, the Indian cultural practice is to excrete in a squatting position at ground level and to use water for cleaning that part of the body. The squatting position requires bending the knees totally (i.e., 360 degrees and pressing the calves and lower part of the thighs together tightly). For most people who are elderly, this tight bending is painful. It is likewise painful for people who suffer from arthritis and other joint problems. Moreover, people who use crutches and those who use wheelchairs find it impossible to use the ground-level toilets. The problem was taken up at National Institute of Design by a senior student as part of the system design course. An initial survey conducted by the team indicated the following issues: Most of the contemporary Indian homes prefer the use of Western toilets or the Western-cum-Indian toilets, as mentioned elsewhere in this chapter. But this is not easy for most of the people who are in the middle-class income group. A typical middle-class house is usually an apartment with an already-existing groundlevel Indian toilet situated in a narrow room, approximately 5.5 ft x 3 ft. The cost involved in adapting the existing toilet to fit a Western-type commode, along with plumbing and reconstruction, is very high and often not affordable. The other members in the family are used to the Indian toilet pot and want to continue using it. Even the Western toilet is not much help to people with special needs, as it also has no armrests and no grab bars to assist them. After a number of interactions with people with different needs, a brief was developed to design a device that could be adapted to the existing Indian groundlevel toilet while keeping the cultural habits of the people in mind as well. After various concept explorations in the form of drawings and models, an appropriate design solution was reached, and a life-size working model was made. The new device is a foldable toilet seat. Indian people do not like to keep the objects of toilets outside. It is not uncommon that, after touching the objects in the toilet, people wash their hands well. The foldable seat, therefore, could be stored in the toilet room itself. It is light enough to be lifted by people who are elderly as well as weak, and it can be hung on the wall so that the floor space is saved for moving better. The new device has armrests, which also function as grab bars to assist the user in getting up or sitting down and in balancing oneself. It occupies much less space in the folded, as well as in the open, position and can easily be accommodated even in the smallest of toilet rooms. (See Figs. 5.3 through 5.5.)
FIGURE 5.3 The new toilet seat placed on top of the coventional Indian toilet.
FIGURE 5.4 The new toilet seat in a tucked-away position so that others can use the conventional toilet.
FIGURE 5.5 The new toilet is light enough to hang on the door to save space and to enable easy cleaning of the floor.
Its body is made of polypropylene, which has good mechanical strength and is, at the same time, light enough to make the device portable. There are two variations in the commonest Indian toilet pots, and the new device can fit on any type existing in the house, requiring no modification. It can also fit on top of the Western-cum-Indian toilet as well. It is comfortable for different body sizes because of its geometrical form and adequate thigh clearance.
As the height of this toilet seat matches the height of a standard wheelchair, it facilitates easy transfer of a person from a wheelchair to this toilet seat. People in the Indian culture use a lot of water in the toilet, often by cleaning the whole floor. The new device takes this phenomenon into consideration. Not only can the new device be hung on the wall, but it is also rustproof. It uses standard parts, such as toilet covers, which makes the maintenance easier and possible, even in small towns and villages. Its cost has been brought down, so that a maximum number of people can afford the device. A prototype is presently being built that will be field-tested thoroughly, and the feedback will be incorporated into the design before it is given to a manufacturer.
5.19 GENERAL LESSONS LEARNED FOR UNIVERSAL DESIGN In a summary fashion, the general lessons learned are as follows. They are discussed in detail elsewhere in this chapter. • Designers must promote public opinion toward a positive universal attitude. In illiteracy-dominant countries, this needs to be done through verbal and nonverbal methods of communication. • It is very important to make children sensitive to the issues of universal design through non-formal methods of teaching and nonformal aids such as toys and games. • Interpersonal communication between people who are nonaverage would not only bring solidarity but would promote a healthy, positive attitude in life. This needs encouragement through design. • A better networking between various groups working for the cause of nonaverage people is essential for synergetic advantage. This needs to be done through rural communication. • By consciously adding universal design features in any product, built environment, or communication, designers add value by increasing usability range. • Universal design is possible even in poor countries. • Universal design should not be looked upon as a magic formula that can give answers to all the ills of society. It has its limitations. 5.20 CONCLUSION The nonindustrialized, labor-intensive countries, which are usually referred to as developing countries, have a disadvantage in terms of lack of capital and infrastructures. At the same time, they could be better suited to implement universal design and even to export universal design products and services to other industrialized countries because of their human capital and flexibility to change. The
existence of a vast craft production sector and an enormous small-scale production sector makes it ideal for making universal designs with different choices for different cultures. It was mentioned in the beginning of this chapter that universal design for majority-world countries extends not only beyond issues of a built environment’s accessibility, but it also covers the social, cultural, and economic issues, which are major influences in uniting average people and people with different abilities. The question is what the prospects of change are for these social, cultural, and economic features. Can they survive under the impact of industrialization, new means of communication, and globalization? Based on past experience, one could conclude that in the tradition-rich countries where social and cultural features are deeply entrenched, major change will take a long time to come by. Take two examples from India. EXAMPLE 1 On the positive side, there is the existence of the joint family system.
It is still very strong in rural areas, of which 80 percent of India is composed. In most of the Indian films, which reflect the popular trend, the strongest familial bonds can be seen. The government of India encourages joint families by giving special tax provisions under the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) Act. Of course, there is increasing urbanization and breaking up of this system in urban areas. But it is comparatively slow. EXAMPLE 2 The other example, a negative one this time, is the caste system. In
spite of the great strides India made in terms of democratization, technological developments, and scientific progress, the caste system and the inequalities created by it still persist. There are child adoptions, sperm banks, test-tube babies, and increasing opportunities for different communities to come together due to modem communications. Yet, a look at the matrimonial columns in major Indian dailies are indisputable evidence of the caste system’s prevalence. This mind-set will continue for a long time and will add to the gulf that already exists between the rich and the poor, between the educated and the uneducated, and between the privileged and the marginalized. Accessibility is not a problem for the rich, the educated, nor the privileged. The abundance of labor available in India will take care of that part of the population. It is the vast majority of the rest of the population that faces the problem of accessibility acutely. Universal design in the majority world has to address these culture-specific needs and influence society in bridging the gulf in a sustainable manner. For the majority-world designers, it is a challenging situation where design must play an active social role. This condition is quite different from the other economically well-to-do part of the world. It is necessary for all concerned to recognize the contextual differences existing between different parts of the world and the fact that the design solutions also need to be different in order to work there. This chapter has attempted to articulate some of the differences prevailing in many forms in the highly populated and economically developing countries. Though a major part of the world’s population lives there, their voices are often unheard. In Indian culture there is a wise saying, “Vasudhaiva
Kutumbakam,” which translates to, “The world is one family.” It is indeed so, and it is imperative that the unheard voices must be heard and acted upon. When all products, buildings, and services are designed for all, keeping in mind all strata of human needs, it is universal design and it is better design. The interesting fact about India is that despite the fact that it is 80 percent villages and that two-thirds of its more than 1 billion people are illiterate and poor, it is one of the most scien-tifically progressive countries in the world, bustling with some of the most cutting-edge technologies anywhere on the globe. Craftspeople are using electronic marketing; citizens are using electronic voting; and some state ministries are using daily teleconferencing. Indian cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad have become information technology centers that match the best, and Indian software expertise is eagerly sought after by the rich countries such as America and Germany. The situation is no different in China. What does this indicate? This indicates that money, education, and urbanization may facilitate, but these are no match to human potential and human progress. What is achieved by India in the field of information technology can be achieved in the field of universal design in any majority-world countries. To say that universal design in these countries must be the kind that suits the people’s needs there—physical, social, cultural, and psychological—is not a contradiction of terms, indeed.
5.27 BIBLIOGRAPHY Balaram, S., “Barrier-Free Architecture,” Indian Architect and Builder, November 1999. Balaram, S., Design for Special Needs, Encyclopedia Brittanica, Asian ed.. New Delhi, India, 1999. Balaram, S., Thinking Design, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India, 1998. Coleman, R., Designing for Our Future Selves: Meeting the Needs of the Older Consumer Through Universal Age-Friendly Design Strategies, Helen Hamlyn Research Centre, London, UK, 1999. Eco, U., Serendipities: Language and Lunacy, Orion Books Ltd., London, UK, 1999. Kose, S. (ed)., Universal Design (conference papers). Building Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan, 1999. Papanek, V, Design for the Real World, Paladin, Frogmore, UK, 1972. Russel, P., The Brain Book, Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd., London, UK, 1982. Sarkar, K., Listening to Shadows, (film). National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India, 1999. Whiteley, N., Design for Society, Reaktion Books Ltd., London, UK, 1993.
5.22 RESOURCES Blind Peoples Association Vastrapur, Ahmedabad—380 016, India Contact: Bhushan Punani Telephone: 079-440082 National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People 25, Green Park Extension Yusuf Sarai, New Delhi—110 016, India Contact: Javed Abidi E-mail: ncped@nde.vsnl.net.in National Institute of Design Paldi, Ahmedabad—380 007, India Contact: S. Balaram Email: nid@vsnl.com