Creating a public realm for all through co-cultivation
Antoneta Horbury,
director of policy and technical affairs, CIHT
Co-cultivation — the process of meaningful engagement and representation from the very outset of a project — results in a shared understanding of the issues faced from both the user and the designer perspective and is key to making spaces and services more accessible for all, says Antoneta Horbury, CIHT’s director of policy and technical affairs.
CIHT’S recently published report, Creating a Public Realm for All helps transport professionals identify challenges and provides prompts to think about when designing public spaces, so they work for everyone.
Public spaces can present a number of everyday challenges for users, especially disabled people (with physical, sensory, cognitive, or intellectual impairments or differences, which may not be readily apparent), people with temporary conditions such as pregnancy or sports injuries, older people, people travelling with young children, or those carrying luggage.
Putting user experience first and thinking about the different ways in which the space is used can help shine a light on these issues. Making spaces and services more accessible benefits everyone and results in greater economic benefits realised from greater use.
The report is aimed at local authorities but its messaging should be applied across the entire transportation sector
Whilst the report is primarily aimed at local authorities, its messaging should be applied across the entire transportation sector.
The people best placed to know whether a space or service is actually accessible are the people for whom it currently presents a barrier. As such, it is vital that design and improvement teams engage with as many representative groups and potential users as possible from the outset of any project working to change spaces and services.
Co-cultivation, defined as meaningful engagement and representation from the very outset of a project, sustained throughout the construction, operation, monitoring and evaluation phases, can serve as a useful principle to make this a reality.
Unlike traditional forms of consultation which take place only near the end of a project, once the most important decisions have been agreed, co-cultivation helps to bring about a shared sense of the issues facing both the designers and the users.
Unlike traditional forms of consultation, co-cultivation helps to bring about a shared sense of the issues facing both the designers and the users
This promotes a sense of collaboration, which proves more productive than foisting unsuitable solutions onto stakeholders at the end of the project or implementing more accessible designs retrospectively (often at a high economic and social cost). Creating a diverse design team through co-cultivation helps to make designs more inclusive.
The report outlines how funding can be best used to make this happen, with disability equality awareness training essential for everyone involved in changing spaces and services.
The report also addresses practical considerations to think about when planning the most effective ways to engage stakeholders and potential users. For example, existing data does not capture the potential use of the space or service by people who are currently excluded.
Instead, it’s important to think about the best ways to generate new data, from surveys to direct interviews. It is best practice to employ several different methods of engagement, to capture as many different views as possible. It’s also important to think about the different times, places and formats used for engagement to reduce the chance of excluding anyone.
The report does not propose to have all the answers but instead raises some questions to think about as a starting point to designing more inclusive spaces and services. Accessibility is an ongoing effort: there is always more work to do to ensure that everyone can participate fully in society and thrive as a result.