title: A case for inclusive design: Analyzing the needs of those who frequent Taiwan's urban parks.
abstract: Taiwan's declining birthrate has resulted in an aging population, and the needs addressed by public facilities are changing along with the shifting population structure. Visitors to urban parks filled out 869 questionnaires on the topic of inclusive design. Structural equation modeling revealed that park patrons could be categorized as those with special needs, and the general public. The biggest difference between these two groups manifests in their disparate needs concerning outdoor primary service facilities, followed by facilities related to accessibility, automation and the functions performed in open areas. Difficulty with autonomous access was identified as the leading cause of exclusion. Based on the autonomous access principle, three inclusive needs levels were identified: safety (high priority), accessibility (moderately-high), and regular maintenance (average). Inclusive design in public parks aims to equalize usage by all sectors of society.
authors.affiliation: Department of Interaction Design, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: kochiuwu@mail.ntut.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Ko-Chiu
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Architecture, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Lih-Yau
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D001107:Architectural Accessibility; D002947:Cities; D004779:Environment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008283:Maintenance; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D000068316:Parks, Recreational / Q000639:trends*; D011157:Population Dynamics / Q000639:trends*; D012449:Safety; D013624:Taiwan; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Aging society; Inclusive design; Park planning