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
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Research projects: Insights and evidence to support innovation in this area
| Title | Status | Recipient | Start year | Completed year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providing Accessible Recreation Outdoors: User-driven Research on Standards (PARCOURS) | Completed | University of British Columbia | 2020 | 2023 |
| Recommendations for Evacuating Individuals with Disabilities from the Built Environment | Completed | University Health Network | 2020 | 2021 |
| Revising Accessibility Standards for Canada’s National Parks | Completed | University Health Network | 2020 | 2024 |
| Sustainable Environment Needs to be Accessible: Understanding the Knowledge Base for Accessibility of Buildings and the Built Environment | Completed | McMaster University | 2020 | 2021 |