Recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued the "General Code for Accessibility of Buildings and Municipal Works" (hereinafter referred to as the "Code"), which was officially implemented. With the main purpose of ensuring the safety, convenience and systematization of barrier-free facilities construction, the Code has made systematic provisions on barrier-free access, service, information exchange facilities construction, acceptance and maintenance of barrier-free facilities construction.
What is the current situation of barrier-free environment construction in China? What improvements have been made to the Code compared with before? What improvement will it bring to the travel and life of the disabled? A few days ago, the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development interpreted these issues.
The construction of barrier-free environment has achieved positive results.
After graduating from Germany in 2004, Tang Zhanxin, the head of Beijing Hope Home for the Spinal Cord Injured and the director of Beijing New Life Service Center for the Aged and the Disabled, was paralyzed by a spinal cord injury caused by a car accident the day before returning to China, so he has to rely on a wheelchair to live.
"After four years of self-isolation, I gradually realized self-care through hard work and began to try to go out and return to society." Tang Zhanxin said that due to the lack of barrier-free facilities in the living environment, there are always high steps and dense stone piers in the way.
The barrier-free environment in Beijing has undergone tremendous changes since the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The steps have become ramps, and the subway has also appeared lifting platforms. Especially after the promulgation of the National Barrier-free Environment Regulations in 2012, the barrier-free facilities construction of public service institutions in China has also made great strides forward.
Xing Haifeng, a first-class inspector of the Urban Construction Department of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, said that barrier-free environment is an important guarantee for all members of society, such as the disabled and the elderly, to travel and integrate into social life. In recent years, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, together with the China Disabled Persons’ Federation and other departments, has actively promoted the construction of barrier-free environment and achieved positive results.
"During the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan period, the China Disabled Persons’ Federation carried out barrier-free transformation for 650,000 poor families with severe disabilities, helping the disabled to get rid of poverty and improve their quality of life." Zhang Dongwang, deputy director of the Rights Protection Department of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation, said that the China Disabled Persons’ Federation also actively promoted the barrier-free construction and renovation of comprehensive service facilities for the disabled in the Disabled Persons’ Federation system, and provided convenience for the disabled to obtain rehabilitation, employment guidance and other services.
Technical indicators are set against the international advanced level.
Grace Wai Wong, deputy director of the Department of Standards and Quotas of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, said that the Code has made many innovations and upgrades, paying more attention to people-oriented and paying attention to the personal feelings and needs of people with disabilities.
Jiao Jian, deputy chief architect of Beijing Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd., the editor-in-chief of the Code, pointed out that the service target of the Code is mainly the needs of the elderly and the disabled, taking into account all kinds of people. The construction of livable and humanistic cities with outstanding target level is in line with the international developed countries in terms of content structure and facilities composition, and the technical indicators are basically consistent with the international advanced level.
"Specifically, the Code classifies barrier-free facilities for the first time, and the classification method is basically the same as that of developed countries. It is divided into barrier-free access facilities, service facilities (including sanitary facilities) and information exchange facilities, and the design is stipulated separately." Jiao Jian said that the specific measures have also improved the comfort and safety of facilities in accordance with international advanced standards.
For example, in terms of wheelchair ramps, the slope requirement is raised from 1: 8 to 1: 12 to avoid potential safety hazards when users are physically exhausted; Increase the clear width of traffic from 1.00 meters to 1.20 meters to ensure that all kinds of wheelchairs can pass normally; In terms of space size, the barrier-free toilet seat will be increased from 1.80 m× 1.00 m to 1.80 m× 1.50 m, providing space for the wheelchair to adjust its angle and turn after entering.
"As the top-level full-text mandatory national engineering specification, the Code is an important part of the technical and regulatory system and has mandatory binding force. If it violates the mandatory engineering specifications, it will be dealt with seriously according to law. " Grace Wai Wong said that next, relevant departments will coordinate the standards for barrier-free facilities construction, accelerate the internationalization of standards, and give maximum consideration to users’ experiences and needs.
It’s about public welfare, more about fairness
In barrier-free related fields, at present, there are specifications at the same level as the Code, such as specifications for urban road traffic engineering projects, specifications for residential projects, specifications for city appearance and environmental sanitation engineering projects, etc., which together constitute facilities requirements related to hospitals, schools, shopping malls, hotels and other public buildings, various residential buildings and their related urban environment, transportation and public services.
In this regard, Zhang Dongwang said that these norms have jointly promoted the construction of barrier-free environment and improved the standardization, humanization and convenience of urban and rural barrier-free environment construction. Next, China Disabled Persons’ Federation will cooperate with relevant departments and industries to speed up the construction of barrier-free environment with complete facilities, perfect functions, smooth information and comfortable experience, so as to better facilitate the production, life, work and study of all members of society, including the disabled.
"With more and more opportunities to participate in the barrier-free environment supervision experience in recent years, I found that many times there is no standard, but the implementers choose not to implement it or the implementation is not up to standard." Tang Zhanxin said that taking the ramp as an example, even the height difference of 1 cm between the slope and the ground will cause the small wheel of the wheelchair to get stuck, and even if the armrest next to the toilet is a few centimeters far or a few centimeters high, it will make disabled friends unable to use it.
With the implementation of this mandatory code, Tang Zhanxin believes that the situation of "stairs are outside the barrier-free toilet" and "stairs are between the barrier-free parking space and the elevator room" will be solved, and the situation that the barrier-free facilities are occupied and the later maintenance is not in place will be less and less.
"Some people think that accessibility is a public welfare undertaking, but it is even more fair for us disabled people, which enables us to participate in social activities on an equal footing." Tang Zhanxin expressed the hope that through the joint efforts of all, friends with disabilities can go anywhere they want to go, and travel, listen and see together in this beautiful society. (Reporter Qian Qian)