Public Chamber of the Russian Federation 04.12.2020

Moderator of the discussion, member of the Commission of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation on housing and communal services, construction and roads, Chairman of the Regional Public Fund for wheelchair users "Society without Barriers" Galina Gorbatykh noted, that this event is dedicated to the memory of a former member of the RF OP Igor Shpektor, who initiated the resolution of accessibility problems in the housing and utilities sector. During the round table, she presented the results of the analysis of housing and social infrastructure, who managed to visit with a check during numerous trips with Igor Shpektor.

“The universal design is approved by international documents and is designed to ensure accessibility for all categories of people without exception.. Today, issues of new construction will be discussed, which with 2016 the year should be conducted according to the new criteria for accessibility for disabled people, however, in the regions it is implemented differently, the principles of universality are often not observed ", Said Galina Gorbatykh.

The social activist is convinced, what is important to change attitudes in society, to exclude discrimination against people on the basis of disability and create conditions for the development of talents, citizens' activity, involving them in cultural, sports and social life. Besides, according to a member of the OP RF, it is necessary to develop tourist accessibility, because people with different nosologies actively travel within the country, come to Russia from abroad.

“The problem is, that designers do not understand the essence of universal design and, creating ostensibly universal objects, do not provide access to some of the premises. There is a separation based on health. Example - a stadium in Nizhny Novgorod, built for the FIFA World Cup in 2018 year, where there is access for disabled people to the stands, but coaching and negotiation rooms are not adapted for competitors with disabilities. Another example is when a residential building is being built at ground level, which matches the universal design, but inside there are drops and thresholds ", - she said.

Galina Gorbatykh complained, that there is still a discrepancy in building codes, objects with varying degrees of accessibility are created in subjects.

“It is important not to adapt after construction, and building is initially available to everyone, not excluding assistive technologies, but only in private ", - the expert is sure.

Deputy Chairman of the Commission of the OP RF on Social Policy, labor relations, cooperation with trade unions and support for veterans Ekaterina Kurbangaleeva recalled in her speech, that the state program "Accessible Environment" has been extended until 2025 year and it is provided for the allocation of about 60 billion rubles.

"We know, that in recent years cultural objects, sports and leisure activities have become more accessible, but in medicine this is not, especially buildings of medical and social expertise (ITU) still not equipped with accessible environment. It is necessary to organize the automation process in the ITU institutions, including electronic interaction and exchange of documents with all healthcare organizations. In Russia, more 12 million people with disabilities and 700 thousands of people use wheelchairs. People with disabilities live even in Moscow, who cannot leave their apartments due to the lack of an accessible environment in their homes. It is important to create a universal design in new homes and an accessible environment in newly built homes.. Because there are orders to provide housing for disabled children, but there is no physical housing in the regions, in which these people can be settled ", - said Kurbangaleeva.

During the discussion, experts also noted the problems of personnel training. So, in architecture universities insufficiently implemented training programs, able to create versatile designs and hardware savvy, which must be installed to form a truly accessible environment.

Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation - Chairman of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for the development of civil society and human rights Valery Fadeev supported the need to form a universal design instead of adaptation.

The head of the HRC said, that I am ready to support this initiative with the resources of the department.

Deputy Director of the Department of Urban Development and Architecture of the Ministry of Construction of Russia Olga Dashkova thinks, that a huge number of rules and restrictive measures by the regulator will not solve the problem of reasonable adaptation and universal accessibility, until the thinking of people at the regional and municipal levels changes.

Deputy Head of the Department of Civil Objects - Head of the Department of Civil Objects of the Department of Civil Objects of the Federal Autonomous Institution "Glavgosexpertiza of Russia" Dmitry Abdullaev noted, that most objects, located in the city center in the regions, are objects of cultural heritage and are protected, therefore it is very difficult to create an accessible environment there.

In conclusion, Deputy Chairman of the Commission of the OP RF for Housing and Utilities, construction and roads Galina Dzyuba добавила, that it is necessary to foster a culture of attitude towards universal design and actively involve business in creating inclusiveness and an accessible barrier-free environment.

All the proposals and the results of the expert assessment will be included in the final resolution on the event and will be sent to the authorities and interested departments. Discussion of the topic of universal design and an accessible environment will continue at the next round tables, devoted to this issue.