Inclusive Environments | Interview with Mei-Yee Man Oram of Arup
Mei-Yee Man Oram is an Associate Director at Arup| Access and Inclusive Environments | Access and Inclusive Environments Operational & Skills Leader. She has an MA (Cantab), is an NRAC (Consultant), ISEMOA (Auditor), CPABE, APMP, IOSH, WELL Community, Homes and Health Equity advisor and an NLA Wellbeing expert panel, member
Built By Us has a mission to grow diversity and inclusion in the built environment sector. We speak up for those who are underrepresented and ‘othered’ by creating accessible mentoring programmes, working to change industry culture and growing diverse leadership. Over the coming weeks, we are running the #BuiltForAllByAll campaign. The campaign aims to:
address misconceptions about disabled individuals
challenge our sector to play a greater part in creating inclusive environments
share areas of good practice via interviews with practitioners and users on what makes an inclusive environment.
Our first interview of the series is with Mei-Yee Man Oram an Associate Director at Arup| Access and Inclusive Environments | Access and Inclusive Environments Operational & Skills Leader.
1. What is your career background?
The company that I work for is Arup. It's a multidisciplinary engineering company and the team that I run within is the access and inclusive environment team. Our team focuses on inclusive design, thinking about how we can design the spaces so that it maximises opportunity and participation for as many people as possible, recognizing the fact that our communities are made up of diverse people with different identities. We do lots of work across the globe, working with our clients and with designers to integrate inclusive design as part of their projects.
Our team has been running for about 25 years and I've been with the company 16 years. The remit of our team focused specifically on disability and accessibility in the early days, but it has evolved since to include other marginalised groups that need to be part of the conversation, thinking about inclusive design in a much more holistic way, and thinking about good design that is good for everyone.
2. Can you describe what an inclusive environment looks like?
An inclusive environment needs to be flexible and adaptable. We have people with different needs. We have people who might have conflicting needs as well. And so, in order for something to be suitable and to be able to address those different needs, we must be able to give people options. We know for example, that the global population is ageing and so we need to build in flexibility and adaptability, to be able to respond to this future trend.
3. Why does an inclusive environment matter?
It's about giving people choice and options, in addition to giving people the opportunity to participate in a way that makes them feel comfortable and that's suitable for their requirements.
This means that you are opening up opportunities for other things as well, whether it's social interactions and friendships, whether it's employment opportunities.
And by doing so you are creating a more equitable playing field for people. Giving people a choice and giving people an option to use spaces and to participate creates social value. That's really important.
4. What are the effects of a non-inclusive environment on users?
If we don't provide inclusive spaces, people may not feel that they're able to participate. Which could mean that people are disadvantaged when it comes to healthcare provision, education, employment and other opportunities. It might mean that people don't have access and don't have visibility in certain things that are happening in the community, and that might mean that they don't have a say in what happens within that community. For example, there are lots of outreach programmes for school children to encourage those from different ethnic minority backgrounds and from different socioeconomic backgrounds to take up science and technology subjects and to enter into professions like engineering and architecture. At the moment there isn't that diversity in our industry.
“If everyone who is making decisions about the design of a new building is from the same background, and there's no diversity there, then we're not going to be making the right decision to reflect our communities.”
However, if the space itself (the workplaces, the schools, the community spaces) are not inclusive, then these initiatives will remain untapped by these demographics.
5. How can designers keep users at the centre of their designs?
I think that's a great question. It's really important, and I think there are two key items. The first one is about making sure that there is diversity and representation within the design team itself. If everyone who is making decisions about the design of a new building is from the same background, and there's no diversity there, then we're not going to be making the right decision to reflect our communities. If that diversity doesn't exist within the team, then through recognition/acknowledgement of this, we can at least try to mitigate through other measures, which may include consultation and engagement with the community itself.
This engagement and learning from lived experience is important, as guidance documents and Building Regulations may not address everything, or be based on up to date data. There are lots of different things that should be considered outside of what the documents record. The only way that we can do that is by speaking to people and remembering that we are designing for people.
6. Can you recommend any projects which are inclusive built environment projects for people wanting to understand the topic better?
We worked on the Metrolinx network in Toronto, which looked at maximising inclusion within the transport network to improve opportunities for more people. More information can be found here:
Metrolinx Finch West Light Rail Transit - Arup
“If all of those entrances are accessible, then it's inclusive because it means that there are no restrictions, we're not dictating how people should be using the space or which entrance someone has to use because of their personal circumstances.”
7. Recently at COP26, Israel’s energy minister, Karine Elharrar, could not attend the conference. It is natural to expect that a world event on this scale will be inclusive for all. It was shocking to learn that Elharrar could not reach the conference grounds because the only options to get there from the gathering area where to walk or board a shuttle that was not wheelchair-friendly. How can we ensure that situations do not happen?
That such a big event, that obviously had lots of planning, lots of people involved, and the fact that something so simple was so wrong, is appalling. There are a couple of terms that we use within the team. The first one is accessible and the other one is inclusive. The difference between those two terms for us is that access is ticking a box, e.g. saying that we've got an accessible entrance out of the number of entrances that are available. The inclusion part is considering that if all of those entrances are accessible, then there are no restrictions; we are not dictating how people should be using the space or which entrance someone has to use because of their personal circumstances. And we are not relying on human assistance, or vulnerable to human error in the management or operations (e.g., if there's traffic and the closest entrance, is not the one that was specified as accessible). If we're able to design that out, then we minimise that risk.
In order for that situation not to happen again, people need to think about it from the inclusivity lens rather than the accessibility lens, because we shouldn't be dictating how people use spaces, we shouldn't be restricting which entrances people can and can't use.
There's also the experience as well. How does it feel? What does it look like? And is it equal? If there's a back entrance where all the refuse bins come in and out, or where the loading bay is, then you're not being given the same experience as someone else who's going through the main entrance where the materials might be different, or the level of welcome that you are given is different. It's important to consider, not just what's physically provided, but also what that experience feels like.
“There's also the experience. How does it feel? What does it look like? Is it equal? If there's a back entrance where all the refuse bins come in and out, or where the loading bay is, then you're not being given the same experience…”
8. Where can we get more information on inclusive environments?
There are lots of organisations that offer training about inclusive design. Lots of documentation that's available from government bodies as well and from local authorities about what they are doing to provide things that are more accessible, more inclusive. Here are a few examples: