Abstract
When public spaces are designed we often miss these important stakeholders–people with disabilities, children, and the elderly. Their need for accessible and barrier-free spaces falls through the cracks of city planning. In 2011, ESAF a pan India NGO, with the help of the HealthBridge Foundation of Canada challenged the existing public space design principles of cities in Kerala and Nagpur to reduce the gaps between the abled and the disabled. Working on the strategies to build the capacity of policymakers, implementing agencies, and community to demand and design such spaces in their neighborhoods. What we started as a pilot program in Nagpur in 2011, over nine years, became a movement in over 8 cities of India. We work with policymakers and architects to implement accessible and barrier-free public spaces across Kerala and in the city of Nagpur, Maharashtra. With sensitization, design charrette, space auditing, and organizing campaigns like “Beach for All” brought the stakeholders to a common platform to understand the issues and the need. They acknowledged these efforts of ESAF in 2018 by UN-Habitat through its Global Public Space Program. One award was used to create an accessible beach ramp in the city of Cochin, Kerala and to design an Inclusive play space, first of its kind in the city of Calicut Kerala. Post these developments, the government and elected members have allocated budget for developing more public spaces with special reference to the need of the people with the disability. Many communities have come forward to ask for such designs. Our strategy of observing special days like World Disability Day, Children’s Day, Women’s Day in these public spaces, made the public spaces more popular and a routine for these sets of people to use for their physical and mental health. While working with the policymakers, we also focused on building the capacity of the vulnerable and marginalized communities’ sin. ESAF being a microfinance organization, e built the capacity of its Self-Help Group (SHG) members to reclaim public spaces by forming walking clubs. Being from economically backward communities, they were hesitant to use these public spaces. These walking clubs built the confidence to come together as a group and enjoy the space. Within a few months, they started having better health and understood the importance of being physically active. The more they realized the benefits, we added more members to the group. With the regular physical activities, many brought their noncommunicable diseases under control, or reduced the dose of medication or tapered under the supervision of health professionals. Apart from utilizing the space for their physical activities, they also reclaimed and ascertain their rights to have better public places. They started advocating for open gyms, installation of high mast lights, drinking water, and restroom facilities, regular maintenance of the public space, and the equipment. Thus these places have become safe spaces in the community, which was not the case earlier. The experience of ESAF has shown that sensitizing the policymakers and the community members can bring the right amount of infrastructure changes that can lead to physically and mentally active communities. The strategy also reduced the inequalities in the community where people from low-income strata who were never using the space have shared the space irrespective of their social status.
