dc.description.abstract | Universal design is a multifaceted subject, of which there have been a varying degree of focus
on in the Norwegian society. This Master thesis is exploring how Kristiansand municipality
works towards the goal of becoming a universally designed municipality which is accessible
to all inhabitants. For a long time, there have been broad support in the Norwegian society for
universal design and accessibility, but many of the laws securing these rights in the legislation
are new in the last two decades. Therefore, it is also relevant to study documents and research
from these decades, along with the new legislation and actions plans from the government.
By doing a qualitative content analysis of documents from Kristiansand Municipality, this
thesis is lying the foundation for understanding the planning process for universal design, and
analyzing the qualitative interviews with the planners from to municipality and the specialinterest organizations who are responsible for the user participation of disabled people in the
planning process. With these two methods this research will try to enlighten the planning
process, user participation and the challenges with planning for universal design.
The research concludes with the fact that the council for the disabled in the municipality have
played a central part in making Kristiansand into a good example of accessibility in Norway.
But it also shows that the council for the disabled have been undergoing a radical change in
how it functions from 2019 when new legislation changed their mandate. But it is currently
too early to predict how this will affect universal design and user participation in the
municipality. Another finding in the research is that the planning for universal design is facing
the exact same main challenges today that it did almost twenty years ago, which is getting
participation from relevant parties in as early in the planning process as possible, to be able to
make a real change, and that there should be systems in place to ensure this happens. | |