Improving low-income Housing in the Ladphrao Canal Communities by Universal Design Approach

Abstract

This research aims to survey, collect and analyse data about the problems of living condition of the elderly and disabled people who live in the Baan Mankong community along Ladphrao canal and propose solutions for housing design development and prepare a prototype for improving housing to be convenient and meet the universal design guidelines and conclude and prepare information for dissemination to the community for future use. The study selects a group sample by using purposive sampling from 16 households. The number of people who encountered from housing facility, particularly, elderly and disabled people as 41 cases. The research found that the first group is muscle weakness with the need to use assistive devices, another group is who have disabilities or bedridden patients who are unable to move or walk on their own. Also, they need to use wheelchairs to move. Furthermore, a result shows that 2 residential areas that need major improvement, the first is a bathroom need a piece of equipment such as handrail to support when using the bathroom and replace the floor to non-slip surface together with replace a plastic curtain instead of bathroom door due to can easily to move inside. Moreover, another area that has a problem is the entrance of the house. It was found that the not width enough for a wheelchair to enter (the dimension only 80centimeters) and also the step floor between inside and outside quite different (the height between 30-50 centimeters) that difficult for elderly and disabled people to enter or exit. Not only the step entrance and size of the door entry, but also need to add a ramp for them to enter and use a handrail to support them during the move into the house as well. The cost for renovating depend on the condition of the problem, such as installing handrails in the bathroom area is between 2,000 – 4,500 baht and For the construction of a ramp, it is between 3,500 - 12,000 baht, depending on the area and material conditions. The design of housing for low-income communities in the future should stipulate the design conditions to be comprehensive and flexible to support the use of the elderly and the disabled effectively under a limited budget. In addition, encouraging community participation in learning the universal design process, Including the development of community technicians will support problems solving and improve suitable housing for all in the future.