Abstract

The Nordic Perspective on Accessibility 43 The Nordic Perspective on Accessibility: Building a Society for All Lennie Scott-Webber FFORDING access to areas and services in cities has become a major concern in urban areas throughout the industrialized world. The Nordic countries, Sweden, Fin- land, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland, are, perhaps, the most advanced in offering this accessibility. This is so because these countries have developed comprehensive policies which guide decisions about acces- sibility and are the result of ideological perspectives, technological developments, and extensive experience. Understanding the "Nordic Perspective" of accessibility can help policy makers, designers, and consumers in other countries design buildings and policies using successful Nordic models. Those models are undergirded by an ideological perspective, by a wealth of experience in providing access to the built environment for people with disabilities, and by the research and development of supportive technology. Given the demographics of an aging world, the Nordic model of integrating accessibility requirements into the urban setting will be useful even in countries that do not share their welfare- state ideology. The Nordic Perspective A society's ideology influences its attitudes and expectations about Schmidt welfare states, and markets. I n one study of the social and