Universal and inclusive design principles are also slowly making their way into building codes and architectural design standards. In Canada, the National Building Code and Canadian Standards Association (CSA) provides a baseline set of standards.  But beyond this, the country is a patchwork of provincial and municipal standards and codes. Ontario’s Building Code is being updated to the standards of the OADA, but most other provinces are yet to have legislated accessibility requirements beyond public buildings.  Section 3.8 of the Alberta Building Code has Barrier-Free Design provisions (nowhere near as rigorous or as universally applicable as Ontario.^[1]  Local municipalities in Alberta may mandate additional measures for municipally-owned spaces, such as Calgary’s Access Design Standards.^[2] Absent this, many developments rely on the Canadian Standard Association’s Accessible Design for the Built Environment.^[3]  There are also a number of guides produced by nonprofit groups, such as the Accessibility Signage Guidelines authored by Braille Literacy Canada.^[4]

California has its own accessibility standards, through the California Building Code, that are stricter than the federal ADA standards.  As an example of how this Code builds in universal principles it requires all public swimming pools to be fully accessible, something that in the past would have been restricted to special rehabilitation centres.^[5]  In the UK, much like Ontario’s OADA, the Equality Act and accompanying Building Regulations (passed in 2010) require accessibility in new and renovated buildings.

The Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification^TM (RHFAC) program works to help improve accessibility of the built environment in Canada.^[6] The Certification is a national voluntary rating system that measures and certifies the level of meaningful access of buildings and sites. The rating system, last updated in 2020, works with a team of trained certification professionals to help property owners and managers measure the accessibility of their sites and promote increased access through the adoption of Universal Design principles.^[7] The Foundation also partners with Athabasca University to provide building accessibility training.^[8]

SPOTLIGHT: The Parkdale Community Association Outdoor Rink