Physical Accessibility of People with Disability: Analysis of Public & Private Universities in Capital of Pakistan - Islamabad

Abstract

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) succinctly describe the special person’s rights thus it is impossible to attain sustainable development by secluding and segregating the citizens with disabilities by overlooking the prevalence of such minority group. This study aimed to assess the extent to which barrier-free infrastructures have been provided. For this, an observatory survey was conducted in 7 public and 3 private universities in Islamabad. A mean score analysis was done to measure the status of facilities for people having mobility issues. Findings showed that provision of facilities (e.g. slip-resistant access routes, absence of protruding objects and provision of accessible stairs, etc.) was made whereas some infrastructural elements were ignored that mainly included ramps and elevators majorly in private universities, designated parking lots, washrooms and signage in both public and private universities. The overall condition of accessibility in public universities (0.65) was slightly better as compared to private institutes (0.59). However, measures for the improvement and retrofitting of accessible infrastructure are imperative. Additionally, this research will provide insights into the standards of accessibility and also contribute to emphasize accessible infrastructure that must be assured in any educational institute by designers, planners, architects and engineers from designing to monitoring stages.