Accessibility of Public Buildings in Khulna, Bangladesh, for Wheelchair Users
Purpose: Physical accessibility is one of the fundamental rights of wheelchair users in order to ensure their integration into society. After Bangladesh ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on November 30, 2007, there has been a paradigm shift in the government’s approach to ensure the welfare and rights of persons with disabilities through legislative and policy actions. This study assesses how accommodative the public buildings are for wheelchair users in Khulna, Bangladesh.
Method: All the public buildings in Khulna city - including government offices, public schools, colleges and universities, hospitals, libraries, post offices and court buildings - were visited to assess the presence and suitability of facilities for wheelchair users, such as accessible parking, ramps, elevators, doors, and essential interior facilities like water closets and drinking-water fountains. Bangladesh has no specific accessibility guidelines document, but accessibility requirements have been included in the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) 2008. The study made its assessment using an abridged form of the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) and BNBC 2008.
Results: Only 6.7% (5) of the 75 public buildings were found suitable for wheelchair users. There is scope for modifications to be made in 28% (21) of the buildings which are currently unsuitable for wheelchair users.
Conclusion: The study revealed that public buildings are, in general, not very accommodative of wheelchair users. There is a need for modifications in infrastructure to ensure inclusive development of these individuals.
Keywords
Authors
How to Cite
Download Citation
License
Copyright © 2019 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License By-NC-ND 4.0 that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access ).
Similar Articles
- Zohaib Aftab, Ahmad Zohaib Zaidi, Faraz Shafi, User Satisfaction with Conventional Lower-Limb Orthotic Devices: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Pakistan , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 3 (2020): Autumn
- Takashi Saito, Angelberth Bai, Nobuko Matsui, Kazuhiro Izawa, Shuichiro Watanabe, Alfred Malagisa, Characteristics of Outpatients receiving Physical Therapy Services at a Provincial Hospital in Papua New Guinea: A Descriptive Case Study , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 3 (2020): Autumn
- Tahir Dahiru, Zubairu Iliyasu, Aliyu T Mande, Anna T van 't Noordende, Muktar H Aliyu, Emotions, Relationships and Behaviour: a Qualitative Study on Experiences of Stigma among Persons Affected by Leprosy in Northern Nigeria , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 33 No. 4 (2022): Winter
- Ritu Ghosh, Vennila Palanivelu, Emma Tebbutt, Sunil Deepak, Training of Mid-Level Rehabilitation Workers for Community-Based Rehabilitation Programmes , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 4 (2020): Winter
- Bjorn Ekman, Johan Borg, A.H.M. Noman Khan, Nazmul Bari, Moin Tanbir, Maria Emmelin, Disability, Sociodemographics, and Discrimination: A Descriptive Analysis of Household Survey Data from Bangladesh , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 3 (2020): Autumn
- Fleur Heleen Boot, Ritu Ghosh, John Gerard Dinsmore, Malcolm MacLachLan, Views and Experiences of People with Intellectual Disabilities to Improve Access to Assistive Technology: Perspectives from India , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 4 (2020): Winter
- Sènadé Inès Noukpo, Oyéné Kossi, Lisa Tedesco Triccas, Thierry Adoukonou, Peter Feys, Content and Effectiveness of Community-Based Rehabilitation on Quality of Life in People Post Stroke: a Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 33 No. 2: (Summer) - 2022
- Lakshmi Krishnan, Kiran Iyer, Parangimalai Diwakar Madan Madan Kumar, Barriers in Dental Care Delivery for Children with Special Needs in Chennai, India: A Mixed Method Research , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 29 No. 4 (2018): Winter 2018
- Maxwell Peprah Opoku, Beatrice Atim Alupo, Naomi Gyamfi, Lois Odame, Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah, Eric Lawer Torgbenu, Eric Badu, The Family and Disability in Ghana: Highlighting Gaps in Achieving Social Inclusion , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 28 No. 4 (2017): Winter 2017
- Marvellous Mangwiro, Nelson Zengeni, Kumbirai Mirimi, Gwerena Chamunorwa, Compliance of Zimbabwean Hotels in the Provision of Innovative Facilities for Guests with Disabilities , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 29 No. 3 (2018): Autumn 2018
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.