Social Sustainability

Universal Design

Designing products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without adaptation — accessibility as the starting point.

Established · Editorial draft

Definition

Universal design is the design of products, environments, programmes and services to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialised design (Ron Mace's definition; codified in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 2). Its seven principles — equitable use, flexibility, simplicity, perceptible information, tolerance for error, low physical effort, and appropriate size and space — translate accessibility from retrofit into design brief.

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