GUEST BLOG: Recognising diversity as a strength allows communities to thrive
Amy Francis-Smith is a RIBA Part II Architectural Designer and passionate advocate for inclusive design, with her research and work focused on providing decent accommodation for the disabled. Campaigning for legislative change, she gives talks to educate students and professionals of their social responsibility, sits on Habinteg's advisory board, helped run a pilot course for visually impaired students at The Bartlett and is the incoming Vice-President of the Birmingham Architectural Association.
In the UK, housing continues to be one of the hottest issues; affected at every angle from a growing, ageing population, improved healthcare resources, governmental cuts and financial pressures, the demand well outweighs the current provision.
In the 1970s, it was believed that the social housing supply had reached a sufficient level to no longer require further investment in physical stock, so many of the government financed schemes were stopped. The Right to Buy scheme, where council tenants could buy their homes at a reduced rate than market value became very popular, with over 1.5 million homes bought. This allowed individuals to have security and a greater stake in the markets, a financial asset that could then be passed on to their families; however, profits were not reinvested back into replacing those properties.
The funds once set aside for building new houses, were transferred to the newly formed Housing Benefit scheme in the 1990s. Rather than address the shortages head on, the money went to fund individuals who were unable to get a council home, and/or meet the growing costs of private rents.
Decades of underfunding and short-sighted policies have led to the depletion of a once buoyant council housing stock, as a consequence, we are now almost totally reliant upon private developers to build the Nation’s homes, with Local Authorities’ affordable/social agendas at the mercy of viability schemes. With the dramatic increase in homelessness, the heavy reliance on housing benefits and rental insecurity, austerity has amplified poverty with many seeing a country on its knees.
However, within the housing market itself there is a largely silent battle; the need for accessible disabled housing is at an even greater crisis point.
There are 13.9 million disabled people in the UK, meaning that 1 in 5 are part of the largest minority group in the country. 1.8 million people are in need of accessible housing and yet only 7% of homes in England have even the most basic accessible features, such as a level threshold, wider doorways and a downstairs toilet.
Of the roughly 27.2 million homes in UK, studies indicate 16% would need major structural alteration to become fully accessible and in 28% of homes, the alteration would not be feasible at all.
Due to the lack of provisions, 100,000’s of people every year are faced with the choice of moving home or spending thousands adapting their property to gain some dignity and freedom. Not doing so risks them becoming trapped in their own home; losing independence and autonomy over their own lives.
A home is one of the most personal and emotive forms of architecture, as everyone has their own lived opinion. A house is a shelter for the basic needs of sleeping, eating and washing, a refuge from threats; whereas a home is a sanctuary, an embodiment of domestic and emotional needs, for safety, comfort and stability. A place to live not reside, to thrive not just survive, a feeling universally sought; and yet many are not granted that right.
Disabled people often rely on social housing to provide them with a safe and accessible space to live. Many tend to be in the lower percentiles of earnings due to a lack of wider societal inclusion, poor physical infrastructure in the built environment, difficulties finding employment or chronic health conditions. 35% of disabled women (and 30% of disabled men) are paid below the National Living Wage, yet have 25% higher monthly outgoings on average.
Disabled women or those with chronic health conditions are forced to suffer sometimes up to 10 years longer to receive a diagnosis, due to women’s pain and concerns not being taken seriously. Disabled mothers are continuously discriminated against both in the healthcare system and by social services and carers too are financially disadvantaged, a role which typically falls to women to provide.
Not only are disabled people much more likely to experience domestic abuse, but disabled women are significantly more likely to be trapped in an abusive relationship than disabled men. The abuse is often more severe and enduring, with 1 in 10 disabled women having experienced this in 2012-2013; and yet have nowhere to go as very few women’s refuge shelters can accommodate those with increased access needs.
Economic, societal, gendered and geographic disparity affect the quality of housing, with sporadic council provision, many are forced to rely on charitable foundations that aim to address the government’s shortcomings. This shortfall creates desperation, with tenants accepting substandard housing; grateful for just a few accessible features.
Councils are now failing their tenants by leaving people waiting on average 25 months before being relocated. If allocation rates continue at the current rate it would take 6 years to house the demand, not factoring in further applications; many people will live and die before they are able to enjoy their basic human rights.
Private housing is one of the last areas of the Built Environment that remains largely untouched by accessibility regulations, with developers under no obligation to adhere. Some legislation, such as Lifetime Homes; now absorbed into the Category 2. Accessible and Adaptable Dwellings and Category 3. Wheelchair Adaptable/Accessible Dwellings provision in Part M, start to address the issue. However, the optional uptake on this has been disproportionate across the country, tending to only be enforceable in social/affordable developments, with the percentage of delivered properties at the mercy of individual councils and feasibility negotiations.
Disabled Facilities grants are available to adapt a property however these are means tested, so many families are left to raise the money to cover their own adaptions, or are forced to sell their family home hoping to find somewhere else to suit their access needs.
Private renters tend to be the most detrimentally affected due to the unwillingness of landlords to install adaptions or undergo structural work in their property, having to make do due to little choice of alternatives on the market. Quite often homes that were partially converted for elderly family members are sold on. Instead of acknowledging the value of a rarefied asset and promoting the accessible features to buyers, the often-ugly mobility aids and make-shift home adaptations are deemed so aesthetically unpleasant that they are stripped out, wasting both money and future potential.
The design of a domestic space impacts on our behaviour; self-esteem is intrinsically linked with the ability to participate in activities with greater mobility, independence and confidence. Without a basic level of dignity, disabled people are statistically more vulnerable and prone to the exposure of detrimental accommodation as many are housebound and at risk of depression and loneliness. Living in an inaccessible home means one is 4 times more likely to be unemployed, with everyday tasks becoming mammoth challenges.
Providing more accessible homes could alleviate the strain on the NHS by £3 billion per year. Equally, even small adaptations could increase the length of time before needing a social care facility; allowing people to stay living at home with their loved ones.
The benefits would also be felt across the wider society, with taxpayer-funded health and social care budgets alleviated of the added pressures from ‘bed blocking’ in the NHS, as well as avoiding institutionalising disabled people in care home facilities.
It is often optimistically assumed that accessibility will not become an issue for us, yet we are all susceptible and it can come at any time, be it temporary such as a broken leg or pregnancy, old age or a catastrophic injury; the human condition is inherently fragile. We all have either experienced or know of someone who has had trouble moving around their home, which is especially hard when their once ideal home now works against them.
It would be wise not only to empathise with another’s situation but to pre-empt our own declining health in later years. Studies have found that 8 out of 10 disabled people were not born with a disability, but acquire one throughout their lifetime.
Our culture is shifting to a socially responsible and inclusive atmosphere for many minority subgroups, but the fabric of the Built Environment struggles to upgrade at the same pace.
There is huge potential for improvement, both in new builds and renovation work, to increase health, happiness and quality of life. With a few basic adjustments to the design process, the housing stock could be elevated to improve the lives of millions of people, not only for the disabled, but for their family, friends and care workers.
The professions responsible for forming an inclusively designed world are gradually becoming more populated by women and as they move into positions of power, there is great potential for new spaces sympathetic to the needs of all. Yet there is still a drastic underrepresentation of disabled designers in the industry, who’s unique perspective and lived experience can inform our Built Environment in game-changing directions.
Creating a more inclusive, considerate, dignified and accessible world will benefit everyone; flexibility and independence allows every intersection of society to feel comfortable and confident in finding their own voice unaided in the world. Moving away from the disabled ghettos to integrated developments and recognising diversity as a strength allows households, communities and nations to thrive.
Amy Francis-Smith
RIBA Part II
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Amy’s research paper:
‘Psychogeography of the Home – A Disabled Perspective: A Contextualised Analysis of the UK Accessible Housing Market’
https://issuu.com/amyfrancis-smith/docs/psychogeography_of_the_home_-_amy_f