Civil engineers have many responsibilities to the public, among them designing safe, efficient, and reliable structures and infrastructure. But what is the responsibility of civil engineers towards ensuring that intended users can use these structures and infrastructure without encountering barriers? This research looks at the intersection of universal design (UD) and civil engineering to find if civil engineering students should learn about accessibility and UD during their undergraduate education and if civil engineering professionals should be held accountable when barriers are designed and constructed into the built environment. To answer these questions a survey was distributed to 222 building design professionals to gather their opinion and experience on the subject. Results show that civil engineers have limited knowledge of UD and accessibility requirements in the built environment and that they overwhelmingly believe that students should learn about these subjects during their civil engineering education. Furthermore, most participants agree that civil engineers do have a responsibility to ensure that the built environment is accessible to everyone. Based on the survey results, it is recommended to integrate a course about accessibility and UD in civil engineering curriculums. The curriculums of undergraduate civil engineering programs at Canadian universities were analyzed and it was found that no course discussing these subjects currently exists, but that there is space to implement them in a broader “social impacts of civil engineering” course. It is recommended that the CEAB recognizes accessibility and UD as useful and necessary subjects of education for civil engineering students. Finally, case studies of recent accessibility assessments of buildings are presented. It was found that while progress is being made in designing and constructing accessible structures, many are still not meeting all possible UD recommendations. The participation of professional civil engineers who have learned about accessibility and UD during their civil engineering education could improve the outcome of these projects. The findings of this thesis indicate that it is time to acknowledge civil engineers’ responsibility towards society and the need for a consistent approach to education about its social impacts, in particular about accessibility and universal design.

Despite global growth in the disability tourism market, tourism organisations have not realised the full potential of this market due to a lack of understanding of this market segment as well as the perception that PwDs do not travel. Most facilities remain inaccessible to people with both permanent and temporary impairments. Disability movements (like the American Association of People with Disabilities, Aspies for Freedom and Handicap International) have raised their voices but not loud enough to stir action. Workshops, seminars and conferences have been held but most were talk shows with no practical implications. To date, no research-based universal accessibility framework exists for national parks in South Africa and Zimbabwe and no practical standards have been formulated to ensure accessibility to all in these parks. This study aimed to design a universal accessibility framework for national parks in South Africa and Zimbabwe. To achieve this goal one of the study‟s objectives was a literature review on universal accessibility and tourism. This objective is achieved in Chapter 2. The second objective was to establish the extent to which national parks in South Africa and Zimbabwe are universally accessible. Interviews were conducted with park management in both countries to meet this objective. The study also sought to establish the accessibility expectations of people with disabilities; this was attained by administering a 10-page online questionnaire to people with disabilities from across the globe. Finally, the study aimed to formulate a set of recommendations and develop a framework for universal accessibility. Using SPSS, Exploratory Factor Analysis and ANOVAs were performed in order to analyse and interpret data. Descriptive statistics were also used. The Alpha values and mean inter-item correlations confirmed the reliability and internal consistency of the data. Eleven factors were identified from the factor analysis: transport; parking and entrance; the reception area; restrooms; bird watching and game drives; trails; information accessibility; interpretation; water-based activities; accommodation and dining as well as campsites. The results revealed that while people with disabilities want all areas to be accessible, specific facilities were singled out in line with particular disabilities. People with mobility impairments were more worried about transport and parking than people with other impairments. They were also concerned about the accessibility of bird watching and game viewing as well as accommodation and dining than were people with hearing and visual impairments. People with hearing impairments placed much high value on the accessibility of the reception area than those with mobility and visual impairments. Interesting to note was the fact that people with visual impairments did not regard accessible restrooms as very important. Most importantly, all people with disabilities were strongly against steps and staircases in all facilities since they are a serious barrier to accessibility regardless of type of disability. They also attach more value to how they are treated when they visit national parks. This was identified as more important than physical access. A universal accessibility framework was developed based on the literature and research findings. This framework will go a long way in assisting policy makers to address accessibility issues in national parks and the tourism sector in general. / PhD (Tourism Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Despite global growth in the disability tourism market, tourism organisations have not realised the full potential of this market due to a lack of understanding of this market segment as well as the perception that PwDs do not travel. Most facilities remain inaccessible to people with both permanent and temporary impairments. Disability movements (like the American Association of People with Disabilities, Aspies for Freedom and Handicap International) have raised their voices but not loud enough to stir action. Workshops, seminars and conferences have been held but most were talk shows with no practical implications. To date, no research-based universal accessibility framework exists for national parks in South Africa and Zimbabwe and no practical standards have been formulated to ensure accessibility to all in these parks. This study aimed to design a universal accessibility framework for national parks in South Africa and Zimbabwe. To achieve this goal one of the study‟s objectives was a literature review on universal accessibility and tourism. This objective is achieved in Chapter 2. The second objective was to establish the extent to which national parks in South Africa and Zimbabwe are universally accessible. Interviews were conducted with park management in both countries to meet this objective. The study also sought to establish the accessibility expectations of people with disabilities; this was attained by administering a 10-page online questionnaire to people with disabilities from across the globe. Finally, the study aimed to formulate a set of recommendations and develop a framework for universal accessibility. Using SPSS, Exploratory Factor Analysis and ANOVAs were performed in order to analyse and interpret data. Descriptive statistics were also used. The Alpha values and mean inter-item correlations confirmed the reliability and internal consistency of the data. Eleven factors were identified from the factor analysis: transport; parking and entrance; the reception area; restrooms; bird watching and game drives; trails; information accessibility; interpretation; water-based activities; accommodation and dining as well as campsites. The results revealed that while people with disabilities want all areas to be accessible, specific facilities were singled out in line with particular disabilities. People with mobility impairments were more worried about transport and parking than people with other impairments. They were also concerned about the accessibility of bird watching and game viewing as well as accommodation and dining than were people with hearing and visual impairments. People with hearing impairments placed much high value on the accessibility of the reception area than those with mobility and visual impairments. Interesting to note was the fact that people with visual impairments did not regard accessible restrooms as very important. Most importantly, all people with disabilities were strongly against steps and staircases in all facilities since they are a serious barrier to accessibility regardless of type of disability. They also attach more value to how they are treated when they visit national parks. This was identified as more important than physical access. A universal accessibility framework was developed based on the literature and research findings. This framework will go a long way in assisting policy makers to address accessibility issues in national parks and the tourism sector in general. / PhD (Tourism Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

La Constitución Política del Perú establece que toda persona tiene el derecho a la igualdad ante ley, lo que corresponde que todos tienen las facultades de acceder a los servicios de salud, educación, recreación entre otros. Sin embargo, las edificaciones para estos servicios que no cuenten con el diseño de accesibilidad universal, se convierten en barreras arquitectónicas, es decir impedimentos, trabas u obstáculos físicos que limitan o impiden la libertad de movimiento de personas con movilidad reducida, entre ellas las personas con discapacidad con limitación de la locomoción y destreza, y las personas adultas mayores, quienes no pueden ejercer plenamente su derecho al desplazamiento en condiciones de seguridad en los establecimientos que brindan servicios si estas no cumplen con las condiciones mínimas del diseño de accesibilidad universal. La Norma Técnica A120 “Accesibilidad Universal en Edificaciones” del Reglamento Nacional de Edificaciones, aprobada con Resolución Ministerial N° 072-2019-VIVIENDA; el cual establece las condiciones y especificaciones técnicas mínimas de diseño para las edificaciones, a fin de que sean accesibles para todas las personas, independientemente de sus características funcionales o capacidades, garantizando el derecho a la accesibilidad bajo el principio del diseño universal. La aplicación de la norma es obligatoria para todas las edificaciones donde se presten servicios de atención al público, sean de propiedad pública o privada. En ese contexto, el presente proyecto de tesis tiene como objetivo proponer un sistema que permita realizar la evaluación de accesibilidad universal en edificaciones públicas y privadas basado en la Norma Técnica A120 usando realidad aumentada. / The Political Constitution of Peru establishes that everyone has the right to equality before the law, which means that everyone has the power to access health services, education, recreation, among others. However, buildings for these services that do not have the universal accessibility design are found in architectural barriers, that is, impediments, obstacles or physical obstacles that limit or impede the freedom of movement of people with reduced mobility, including people with disabilities with limited mobility and dexterity, and the elderly, who cannot fully exercise their right to move safely in the establishments that provide services if they do not meet the minimum conditions of the universal accessibility design. The Technical Standard A120 "Universal Accessibility in Buildings" of the National Building Regulations, approved by Ministerial Resolution No. 072-2019-VIVIENDA; which establishes the minimum technical design conditions and specifications for buildings, so that they are accessible to all people, regardless of their functional characteristics or capabilities, guaranteeing the right to accessibility under the principle of universal design. The application of the standard is mandatory for all buildings where public service services are provided, whether they are public or private property. In this context, the present thesis project aims to propose a system that allows the evaluation of universal accessibility in public and private buildings based on Technical Standard A120 using augmented reality. / Tesis