Enrique Rovira-Beleta, Accessibility lecturer for the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture, assured that the next decade “will be the decade of older people,” which “will require transformation of the cities.”

On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which was celebrated on 3 December, Rovira-Beleta explained that until now “it was believed that accessibility was for people with some kind of disability, but the population is aging and there are more and more older people.” For this reason, according to the architect, it will be necessary to “build more accessible homes and neighbourhoods” and “the wheelchair will be the new standard.” Beyond removing physical barriers, he insisted on the need to take into account sensory disabilities when designing or transforming cities.

However, he regretted the “lack of accessibility specialists to supervise works and projects” so that cities are more accessible. In this line, he noted that “there isn’t enough training,” after reminding that UIC Barcelona is the only university that “has accessibility as a compulsory subject in the bachelor’s degree in Architecture.” In addition to calling for more training in colleges and universities, the architect also called for “a true accessibility quality seal for all establishments that comply with the regulations.”

Rovira-Beleta stressed that Spain “is one of the countries with the best regulations” in this area, since “many EU countries still do not have regulations,” but, even so, “the specifics are missing.”

Inclusive tourism, a business

Rovira-Beleta, also director of the UIC Barcelona postgraduate degree in Accessibility and Design referred to the rise of tourism among people over age 65 and regrets that many cities are not prepared for this age group. “Inclusive tourism is a business. A more accessible city will be more attractive from a tourist point of view; but currently, hotels, transportation and shops are not prepared,” he added.

In his opinion, spaces should be modified with “reasonable accommodation” so that accessibility measures “go unnoticed, benefit everyone and, contrary to what many believe, do not incur a higher economic cost.”

The architect pointed out that, despite still having a way to go, Barcelona is to date one of the most accessible cities in the world, along with Berlin, which “is the competition.” Rovira-Beleta, who was responsible for Accessibility during the 1992 Olympic and Paralympic Games, explained that Bilbao and Valencia “have also changed a lot in this regard.” He concluded, “Now the challenge for older people comes and cities must be accessible to everyone.”