aboUt thIs gUIde

Two major trends are changing the world in terms of population: urbanization and aging. The population living in cities is growing worldwide, while the process of global aging is the result of decreasing fertility and mortality rates. Regardless of increasing access to higher quality healthcare globally, the number of people with disabilities is expected to grow due to the prevalence of disabilities among older people.

Vietnam (96,208.984 persons in 2019) is no different and follows patterns similar to those in other countries, as follows: • In the last 30 years Vietnam’s urban population increased by 14.3 percentage points from 20.1 percent in 1989 to 34.4 percent in 2019 (33,122,548 persons), nearly six times the population growth of rural areas over the same period1 . • Vietnam is projected to become an ’aged society’ by 20352 (where an aged society is defined as one where those aged 65 or over is higher than 14 percent). Specifically, by 2050 almost one-third of the country’s total population will be aged 60 and above, with almost 6 percent being over 80. • Between 7 percent and 15.3 percent of the population (depending on the source consulted), that is, up to 8 million people, have some form of disability in Vietnam today. Under this context, accessibility to the built infrastructure is essential in Vietnamese cities to avoid social and economic exclusion of people with functional limitations, regardless of age. The right to participate fully in society through inclusion in education and work can only be realized if persons with disabilities (PWD) are able to reach and use the places where those activities take place (schools, offices, work environments). Accessibility is also essential in order to avoid exclusion from other social and recreational activities: from transport (stations, airports, harbors) to leisure (concert halls, hotels, restaurants) and cultural facilities (libraries, museums, theatres, cultural centers, etc.).

Globally, there is an increasing understanding of the transformation required within urban environments, buildings, and transport systems to address these needs. However, intense efforts are still needed to realize this transformation. Most people in society not only consider disability to be something foreign or irrelevant to their lives, but often disregard qualities of good design and usability in the built environment around them. Therefore, accessibility tends to be considered as a way to alleviate barriers— predominantly for wheelchair users—through additional features or adaptations after the predominant needs of a building or urban infrastructure have been designed into the structure. This is partly because PWDs are still a marginalized minority, and partly because there is a lack of understanding as to the link between accessible urban environments and quality in design and services for all its users. Change and reform is therefore required on many fronts.

These guidelines aim to support this effort of transformation, by building awareness and understanding among professionals of internationally accepted technical design criteria for Universal Accessibility. This will, in parallel, benefit World Bank–financed infrastructure developments in the built environment and the transportation sector in Vietnam, such as the Vietnam Scaling-up Urban Upgrading Project (SUUP). These guidelines have been prepared to offer technical, stateof-the-art design guidelines applicable to the current setup, norms, and gaps identified in the areas of disability support and accessibility in Vietnam.

1 2019 Population and Housing Census 2 http://vietnamnews.vn/society/523739/viet-nam-to-meet-needs-of-aging-populationhtml#44WGLDcprJHt2Gtq.99