Aplinkos pritaikymas. Problemos esme

Abstract

Social indifference of the built environment as well as public unconsciousness were major reasons that led to complete social isolation of people with physical disabilities. According to official statistics 6,62 percent of residents of Lithuania suffer from various physical disabilities. In recent year disability for the first time was determined for a number of people which is 30 percent more than five years ago. In an eight years (independence) period the number of employed persons with disabilities decreased thrice. Law on Social integration of the Disabled of Lithuania along with Governmental Program of Medical, Professional and Social Integration of the Disabled and Building Standards RSN-154-93 comprise the basic necessary legal basis for accessibility programs. The concept of accessible environment, developed by the author during scientific research at the department of Urban Design of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University is based on simultaneous comparative analysis of residential and labour environment, service and mobility system. The chosen urban unit is sub- divided to smaller structural parts (e.g. administrative, territorial regions) and analysed in few different aspects: 1. Part of the disabled in total number of population. 2. Density of territorially mobile places of employment 3. Level of social infrastructure 4. Transportation and mobility possibilities. Complex evaluation of these criteria enables to form a complete evaluation map of a chosen city area (or its part) in aspect of the disabled needs. In social-medical aspect mobility of the disabled is classified to three main groups: bed-fixed (immobile), wheel-chair mobile and walking aids users. In analysis of residential system four different types of dwellings are distinguished: 1. Houses with accessible apartments 2. Houses with service facilities (offering additional social services for the disabled residents) 3. Residential complexes (offering service, labour, health, household aids) 4. Rehabilitation centres (as temporary transitional residences). These types of dwellings differ in level of urban mobility and functionai autonomy. The latter means that more additional services dwelling has in itself, more autonomy (less context-dependence) it has. Urban mobility is expressed by ability of dwellings for location in different urban areas. So houses with accessible flats (1), providing almost no service) should best appear in areas with high service and labour potentials (centre, old city), but residential complexes(3) and houses with service (2) (with high service possibilities inside) need special plots to develop all their functions, so could be best located i n out-of-centre areas. Exact numbers of the disabled population and size of types of dwellings enable us to offer a full program to develop residential perspectives for the disabled in a chosen urban unit. Service and employment potential has to be especially developed in areas of low service and rare employment, so integrated urban structures are created instead of strict mono-functional zones.