Developing the theoretical content in Universal Design

Abstract

Universal Design (UD) implies to plan and manufacture goods, buildings, outdoor spaces and facilities to be useable by all people to the fullest possible extent. UD has evolved from a focus on disabling barriers in the environments. As a strategy, UD has not yet clarified its relation to disability. The democratic potential for UD lies in recognizing all people as equal; this requires both theoretical and empirical studies. In this article, I focus on theoretical work related to UD, approaching UD as a value-laden concept and argue that there is a need to develop UD with a stronger focus on the dimensions related to the concept of human. A relational model for disability is proposed as a fruitful model for theoretically developing UD on a micro, meso and macro level. This model focuses on the inter-action in situations where disability emerges, and can therefore attend to the complexity inherent in disability and UD. © 2013 Copyright Nordic Network on Disability Research.