Investigating Personal Environmental Conditions for a Wheelchair User to Identify Disability-Related Inequity by Building Design and Maintenance
Publication: Computing in Civil Engineering 2023
ABSTRACT
The disability-related inequity has been identified in the built environment, causing discomfort in their essential routines. Current legislation focuses on building design and construction but not on the actual experiences of those with disabilities, like wheelchair users. These occupants encounter significant issues such as seat discomfort and unhealthy air quality due to their lower breathing zone. Although there are some research efforts on wheelchair user monitoring, there is limited information on the personal environmental conditions of wheelchair users, especially regarding their navigation in buildings. In this paper, we used WheelCom, an open source based toolkit to identify breathing and seat discomfort of a wheelchair user to assess actual perception and experience. We recruited a wheelchair user and installed WheelCom on the participant’s wheelchair to follow the typical trajectory. Our outcomes would motivate architects, engineers, planners, and policymakers to rethink the accessibility and inclusion of buildings from the perspective of wheelchair users.
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Information
Published In
Computing in Civil Engineering 2023
Pages: 371 - 379
History
Published online: Jan 25, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Air pollution
- Air quality
- Architectural engineering
- Building design
- Building management
- Buildings
- Business management
- Construction engineering
- Construction management
- Design (by type)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Environmental engineering
- Geomatics
- Government
- Legislation
- Maintenance and operation
- Navigation (geomatic)
- Organizations
- Pollution
- Practice and Profession
- Structural engineering
- Structures (by type)
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