FEATURES OF THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT: SUITABILITY FOR ALL IN ACCORDANCE WITH UNIVERSAL DESIGN PRINCIPLES

Abstract

The laws governing the integration of persons with disabilities have influenced the principles of Universal Design, which are based on the equivalence of all persons and enable people with disabilities to be full-fledged participants in society. This article reviews the assumptions that led to the emergence of the Universal Design concept in the legal framework of the Republic of Lithuania and analyses the changes in the legal status of accessibility in Lithuania and the European Union (hereinafter – the EU). The regulation of Universal Design application principles has not yet been widely studied from a scientific point of view. Therefore, there is a need to analyse the EU and Lithuanian legislation regulating the accessibility of the built environment for persons with disabilities and to identify the reasons that may impede the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in Lithuania. The analysis of international EU and national legislation and other documents related to the accessibility of the environment for persons with disabilities broadly confirms one of the main findings of this work: that the legal framework governing accessibility requirements for built environments is inconsistent and that the different pieces of legislation do not correspond to one another. The terminology used in the legislation is contradictory. This is one of the main reasons hindering the implementation of CRPD Article 9: “Accessibility”. Higher priority must be given to a sustainable policy on the accessibility of built environments and the development of an appropriate legal framework along with the monitoring and control of accessibility.

Keywords

• universal design
• accessibility
• disabled people
• social policy