Goodbye Barriers! A Guide to Design More Accessible Spaces

Having infrastructure accessible to all is one of the great challenges found in developing countries. There are numerous subnational, national and international standards put in place and, although they must be complied with by designers and builders, they are not necessarily sufficient to achieve universal accessibility, let alone understand their importance. Goodbye Barriers! is a guide that presents solutions to the design and construction of buildings and public spaces. These solutions not only comply with standards, but also they incorporate the point of view of people with disabilities, as users of infrastructure, on equal terms with people who do not have a disability. This tool, elaborated with a simple language, describes how some of the elements of our daily environment (i.e. the path from our house to the university), can cease to be a barrier and become more inclusive spaces. The guide includes the compilation of national and international technical standards applicable in countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, the United States, Europe and Asia. The document was prepared by Fundación Once, in coordination with the Social Infrastructure Unit of the Inter-American Development Bank.