Enrique Rovira-Beleta Cuyás is an accessibility consultant and has taught the compulsory Accessibility module at UIC Barcelona School of Architecture since 2005. As a specialist in the field, the architect and lecturer took part in July in the first Inclusive Mobility Congress in Europe, held in Barcelona, together with other specialists from Ukraine, Switzerland and France, where he argued that “the architecture of the twenty-first century is the architecture of older people”.

Rovira-Beleta believes that, within the next decade, it will become increasingly common to see people using wheelchairs. “The population is ageing and there will be more people with severe physical limitations who need wheelchairs. That reality will shape architecture over the coming years.”

In his view, all architects will need to take account of the implications of this reality in their projects. “1.20 m long by 0.70 m wide. Those are the standard dimensions of a wheelchair,” says the lecturer. “Public spaces, public transport and private properties should all aim to adapt to the realities of the future.”

According to the expert, the key accessibility challenges include training at all levels; providing information and support for those who need assistance, including grants; introducing penalties for non-compliance with accessibility regulations; and making quality-control checks in buildings mandatory.

Barcelona, a global benchmark for accessibility

“Barcelona is a global benchmark for accessibility implementation. In the 1980s, we looked to the Nordic countries; today they look to us,” says Rovira-Beleta, who praises municipal initiatives promoted by the City Council, such as the Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities. “On every street corner you will find a dropped kerb. Metro stations have lifts with suitable dimensions, buses have access ramps and the tram network has widened its doors. Now we face a new challenge: spaces reserved for wheelchair users are occupied by e-scooters, which is once again a lack of public awareness and education.”

For Rovira-Beleta, educating young people from an early age is essential to building a more inclusive society: “I have seen that, after just a week of workshops, children understand these realities and then bring that understanding home. They no longer see us as sick people, and they understand that we are perfectly capable of working.”

From "invalids” to “people with functional diversity”

Reflecting on how attitudes towards disability have evolved, the Doctor of Architecture, who has used a wheelchair for 44 years after a virus affected his spinal cord during military service, reflects on the terminology that was once commonplace. “In the 80s we were called ‘invalids’. Later we were called ‘disabled’. I am not disabled; I am an architect and a university lecturer. I have a physical disability, although nowadays people also talk about ‘functional diversity’.”

Enrique Rovira-Beleta was responsible for the removal of architectural barriers during the Barcelona 1992 Olympic and Paralympic Games and has also worked with the Accessibility Council of the Government of Catalonia. “The Olympic Games showed the world that the Olympic Village could be converted into the Paralympic Village. A great deal of progress has been made over the past 30 years, but adapting private property remains the major unfinished task.”

According to Rovira-Beleta, accessibility barriers become more apparent once you move away from a city such as Barcelona. “Implementing measures related to inclusive urban planning and mobility is a municipal responsibility and, because it is seen as addressing the needs of a minority, smaller towns do not invest in it,” he explains. “Even now, during the summer, I cannot go to a hotel on holiday. Either the bathrooms are not adapted or access is provided via a slide rather than a ramp, with a gradient that makes it inaccessible.”

Enrique Rovira-Beleta has taught the Accessibility module at UIC Barcelona School of Architecture since 2005. “It is one of the few universities that includes accessibility as a compulsory subject. Every school of architecture should include a mandatory minimum level of training in accessibility,” he concludes.