First European standard on accessibility of the built environment approved
The European standardisation bodies CEN and CENELEC have approved the first European standard on accessibility in the built environment, “led by the ONCE Foundation and the Spanish Association for Standardisation, UNE”, according to these institutions.
Standard EN 17210 Accessibility and usability of the built environment. Functional requirements, establishes the requirements that built environments, including urban spaces, must meet in order to be considered accessible. “In this way, this standard will promote accessibility and equal opportunities in this area, facilitating the social integration of people with disabilities”.
“This long-awaited standard”, which will be published at the beginning of 2021 and will be available in Spanish in the first quarter of the year, responds to a mandate from the European Commission (EC) and has been drawn up with the participation and consensus of leading European and Spanish organizations, representatives of all the parties involved: Administration, national standardisation bodies, users, consumers, associations of people with disabilities and companies.
Spain is an international benchmark in the development of standards that favour accessibility. For example, the ISO 21902 international standard on accessible tourism is led by the ONCE Foundation, the World Tourism Organization (OMT, the abbreviation in Spanish) and UNE. “It is the first global standard in this field and is expected to be published soon”.
SOURCE: INFOCONSTRUCCIÓN
https://www.infoconstruccion.es/noticias/20201118/norma-europea-accesibilidad#.X7TjGGhKiUk
