Public buildings and city facilities in Dubai will transform to be more disabled-friendly by 2020, making the emirate more accessible for everybody.
Dubai’s Executive Council laid out a new emirate-wide, disabled-friendly code that applies to transport facilities, hospitals and clinics, schools, colleges, mosques, hotels, utourist attractions, and leisure facilities such as art galleries and shopping malls.
Older buildings and the construction of new Dubai public spaces must be retro-fitted to fulfill the requirements of the code.
The project ‘Accessible Environments for People with Disability based on Universal Design’, is in line with the ‘My Community – A City for Everyone’ initiative of the city that aims to make spaces more accessible to older people and people with or without disabilities.
“It actually makes life easier for everybody, including mothers with children, if you are pulling a luggage with wheels behind you, if you are a bit older and a bit slow. Universal accessibility makes accessibility easy for everyone, including people with disabilities,” Gulf News quoted Dr. Salem Ali Al Shaifei, director of policies and programmes for rights of people with disabilities at the council, as saying.
With the project, Dr. Al Shaifei believes that the emirate will see a noticeable improvement by 2020.
“The ultimate goal is that people can go up to you and say, thank you, our lives are better,” he added.
Credit: Gulf News
Photo Credit: Emirates 24/7
