Universal design processes in urban development

Universal design processes in urban development
As an implementation of the CRPD (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities), Universal design has in recent years entered in Swedish policy as a guiding principle for change toward a more inclusive society.
This dissertation project comprises four articles and investigates how Universal design is understood and practiced in Sweden.

The project started in 2019 in collaboration with the Swedish Disability Rights Federation and the project Rätt från början (Right from the beginning), educating on Universal design methods in Sweden.
The overarching aim is to contribute knowledge about the understanding and practice of Universal design in Sweden, elucidating ongoing discussions and arguments concerning concepts and working methods at a local level.

This knowledge may promote social change for equality and inclusion, e.g., regarding persons with disabilities, though Universal design is mainly seen an intersectional concept encompassing the whole human diversity. It can be helpful in designing policies of inclusive design processes and in strengthening the implementation of the CRPD. Hopefully, it will help the disability rights movement to develop its collaborative capacity concerning design processes.
Specifically, the project is about analyzing the ideas and experiences brought forward by interviews, workshops, and observations.

Research questions deal with approaches to the participation of disabled people in local urban development and the role Universal design plays as a concept and an inspiration in such processes, e.g., related to the concept of accessibility.
Issues that have come up are e.g., categorization, procurement policy, compliance and innovative approaches, mutual learning, and contextualization.