Authors’ Comment
Take a closer look at the country we live in. So close that, beyond projections, biases, and stereotypes, you can see people as they truly are, in all their diversity. Elderly people who are becoming increasingly invisible on city streets, mothers, individuals from various social categories, people with disabilities, those from the LGBTQ+ community, or of Roma ethnicity. Although they are told daily to find their voice in the community and are invited to participate, the way we design public spaces often reveals that society has not truly reserved a place for them at the table of debates about the quality of the built environment.
Exclusion, though unwritten, is present in the way we construct the world around us. Without an inclusive approach in architecture and design, we limit the participation and contribution of such a wide and diverse spectrum of people.
The first inclusive design guide in Romania was born from the stories of the least visible, the “uninvited,” the “unpredictable,” or the “different from the norm,” for whom the built environment can become, daily, a series of closed doors or an obstacle-filled race. In 2022, AMAIS organized Empathy Retreat, a unique and inclusive socializing context, an intersectional project that brought together 32 people from different social and professional categories, to create a collage of essays written by the participants and combine these perspectives with Iris Popescu’s professional experience.
The book is structured into six chapters, offering a gradual transition from understanding current issues to theoretical concepts about inclusive design and the practical steps needed for applying it in professional fields. The theory is supplemented with examples of projects that demonstrate the benefits of an inclusive approach in the development of various spaces and products.
The guide provides a solid theoretical foundation for inclusive design, presenting methods, processes, and examples of good practices. It analyzes the current context in Romania and proposes a paradigm shift in design, based on a deeper understanding of human diversity. It is not just a list of accessibility solutions but a collective manifesto intended to remind architects, urban planners, engineers, builders, and other professionals involved of their responsibility towards the community. It is an invitation to dialogue and a reaffirmation of the importance of long-term inclusive design for the development of an equitable society. For me, for you, and for the community as a whole. It is a call for change, empathy, and creativity.
Why? Because no matter in which category you think you fall into now, your needs and abilities will change over time. You can always become the “uninvited guest” in conversation on the development of the built environment. This subject includes you.