Built environment

What this priority area is about

The built environment includes federally regulated spaces designed and constructed for people to live, work, travel, and get together. This includes buildings, parks, washrooms, and other physical spaces.

Under the Accessible Canada Act, this priority area is about ensuring these spaces are accessible. This means designing and maintaining spaces that are barrier-free, inclusive, safe, and usable by all.

Why it matters

Accessible built environments allow people to participate fully in daily life by moving through spaces safely, independently, and with dignity. 

Including accessibility from the start ensures persons with disabilities can fully use and enjoy spaces. This makes living and working spaces more inclusive and welcoming to everyone. 

Key work in this area

Explore our databases to find expert-developed resources to help you design, build, or maintain spaces with inclusion in mind. These databases connect you with standards, technical guides and evidence-based research to guide your work.

 

Standards and technical guides: Practical documents to help you apply accessibility from day one

Research projects: Insights and evidence to support innovation in this area

Displaying 16 - 30 of 49
Title Status Recipient Start year Completed year
Accessible Indoor Air in the Built Environment Underway Environmental Health Association of Québec 2023 Not applicable
Benchmarking Spatial Access for Community-Level Accessibility Standards Underway Dalhousie University 2023 Not applicable
Brain Injury and Accessibility of the Electoral Process in Canada Underway Brain Injury Canada 2023 Not applicable
Co-creating Housing Accessibility Priorities for People with Disabilities Completed Sunnybrook Research Institute 2023 2024
Developing Principles, Guidance, and Good Practices for Community-Based Emancipatory Research on Accessibility Standards Underway Council of Canadians with Disabilities 2023 Not applicable
Enabling Independence: Assessing Activities of Daily Living to Inform Safety Standards for Built Environments Underway Carleton University 2023 Not applicable
Enhancing Social Cohesion by Creating Accessible Festivals and Events Underway Independent Living Canada 2023 Not applicable
Go Barrier-Free: A Study of Gaps and Best Practices in Information and Communication Technology Accessibility Solutions Underway New Brunswick Community College 2023 Not applicable
Invisible Disabilities in the Workplace: Barriers to Inclusion Underway Inclusive Workplace and Supply Council of Canada 2023 Not applicable
Quiet waves: Firsthand Experiences of Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing Individuals Reports of Barriers in Communication in the Built Environment Completed Canadian Association of the Deaf 2023 2024
A Neurodivergent Lens: Recommended Practices for Neuro-Inclusivity Completed Carleton University 2022 2024
Defining the Built Environment Considering People with Disabilities: Building a Canadian-Focused Database of Anthropometric Space Requirements Underway University Health Network 2022 Not applicable
Developing Recommendations for the Standardization of Wayfinding Technologies Completed University Health Network 2022 2023
Ensuring Accessibility for Persons with Hidden Mobility Disabilities Completed Hidden Mobility Disabilities Alliance Limited 2022 2024
Informing Standards for Acoustics and the Built Environment Completed Carleton University 2022 2023