A Performance Evaluation Tool for Inclusiveness in University Campus Outdoor Spaces

Abstract

Education and right to access are among central issues of a democratic public life as well as higher education. Inclusion of students with disabilities (SWDs) in university campuses necessitates a holistic campus design beyond compliance, calling for a wide-ranging and systematic design with guiding inclusive design parameters. This is a significant prerequisite in Turkey since SWDs experience spatial exclusions in university campus spaces due to piecemeal and case-based design applications. Its achievement depends on co-experienced and thereby co-explored way of understanding collective voices of all users. This study is aiming at exploring design parameters for inclusive university campus outdoor spaces together with the shared spatial experiences addressing needs, desires, and preferences of SWDs in an equal way. To achieve it, firstly, a field study was conducted to comprehend spatial experiences of 'real' users in Middle East Technical University (METU); secondly, the field research is evaluated within the context of Kevin Lynch's (1981) normative theory to discover, analyze, and contextualize inclusive design parameters of outdoor campus spaces. Campus Accessibility Evaluation Index (CAEI) is created with the help of empirically grounded design parameters to test the developed normative framework within the study. This study claims that proposed performance evaluation tool can fill in a gap between technical and theoretical sources through the holistic guidance of inclusive architectural practices in university campuses for all.