News archive
June 2011: SURFACE work presented at specialist event on stairways
SURFACE team members, Professor Marcus Ormerod and Hamish MacLennan, have presented a poster at the International Conference on Stairway Usability and Safety (ICSUS). Held in Toronto, Canada, the two-day event was a specialist addition to the FICCDAT Festival of Conferences, at which Rita Newton presented work from the Inclusive Design for Getting Outdoors research project (see below). It sought to advance the understanding of current research on stairways and identify priorities for the future; tackling the steady increase in the last 30 years of injuries associated with stairway slips, trips and falls. The SURFACE poster presented on a key aspect of recent research into tactile paving, undertaken in both the UK and Australia: Are External Steps Tactile Ground Surface Indicators an Effective Hazard Warning?
Find out more information about ICSUS.
June 2011: SURFACE research showcased at major international conference
SURFACE team member, Rita Newton, has presented two papers and two posters at the Festival of International Conferences on Caregiving, Disability, Aging and Technology (FICCDAT 2011). Jointly organized by March of Dimes and the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, the event comprised six concurrent conferences at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, Canada. Speaking at both the Growing Older With A Disability congress and the International Conference on Best Practices in Universal Design, Rita showcased findings from the first phase of Inclusive Design for Getting Outdoors, as well as emerging findings from current work on tactile paving. She also presented the first poster on Go Far; a new project on outdoor falls in older people, which is being led by SURFACE and funded by the Lifelong Health and Wellbeing programme (see below).
For further information visit the FICCDAT website.
April 2011: SURFACE leads successful consortium bid to research falls, ageing and resilience
A multi-disciplinary team of researchers led by SURFACE Director, Professor Marcus Ormerod, has been awarded a Medical Research Council (MRC) Strategic Grant to undertake a pilot study on the outdoor environment and older people’s resilience to falls. The study, named Going Outdoors: Falls, Ageing & Resilience (Go Far), will be a year-long project linking into Lifelong Health and Wellbeing (LLHW): a major cross-council initiative supporting research into healthy ageing and wellbeing in later life. SURFACE is one of seven research centres collaborating on the study, which also involves OPENspace, a current partner on the Inclusive Design for Getting Outdoors (I'DGO) research project. Our particular contribution will be related to the development of a pilot protocol for using a combination of engineering tools in the ‘real world’ to assess the surface condition and properties of different built environment materials, as well as the knowledge exchange and management aspects of the project.
For further information about Go Far, please visit our Research page.
March 2011: Rita Newton addresses transportation professionals at major industry event
SURFACE team member, Rita Newton, has presented at Traffex: the UK's largest industry event for the traffic management, parking and urban design communities. Speaking on the second morning of the three-day event in the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, Rita addressed delegates on the Design of Streets with Older People in Mind, drawing on her involvement in the Inclusive Design for Getting Outdoors (I'DGO) research project. The seminar built on earlier presentations to the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation and Department for Transport; both of which sponsored the Traffex seminar series and maintain a keen interest in SURFACE's work. In total, the event attracted over 9,000 visitors to the NEC, including delegates from the public and private sectors.
For further information visit the Traffex website.
March 2011: Marcus Ormerod attends invited Westminster symposium on ageing in urban areas
SURFACE Director, Professor Marcus Ormerod, has taken part in an invited Anglo-Japanese symposium to enhance knowledge exchange and networking between international researchers and urbanists. Marcus was one of around 60 delegates attending the two-day event in Westminster, London, to address the challenges of growing older in urban environments. Jointly organised by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science and the International Longevity Centre (Tokyo/London), the symposium touched on issues relevant to current SURFACE research project, Inclusive Design for Getting Outdoors (I'DGO). Joining Marcus were I'DGO colleagues Dr Lynne Mitchell and Professor Elizabeth Burton; the latter presenting to the group on the social and design issues involved in developing sustainable communities.
Find out more about the symposium on ageing in urban areas.
February 2011: SURFACE talks street design with older London pedestrians
Rita Newton has taken part in the first event of the 2011 Kilburn Debates programme; a series of interactive discussions between researchers, planners and older pedestrians in northwest London. Entitled 'Caught Short on the Stressful Streets?', the event was jointly organised by the British Society of Gerontology, the Kilburn Older Voices Exchange (KOVE) and the Kingsgate Resource Centre, members of which made up the audience of around 60 delegates. Linking through to KOVE’s campaigning work on public toilets, community seating, safe, accessible pavements and road crossings, Rita’s presentation focused on findings from both phases of Inclusive Design for Getting Outdoors, including the current SURFACE research on tactile paving and its implications for older people. Delegates also had the opportunity to hear from Jo-Anne Bichard of the Helen Hamlyn Research Centre (Royal College of Art, London), as well as Local Authority planners from the London Borough of Camden.
February 2011: SURFACE graduate published in latest issue of international journal
An article by Accessibility and Inclusive Design alumnus, Joe Kipling, has been published in the latest issue of the “International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment” (Volume 2; Issue 1). Joe, who is a senior consultant at Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions, based the article on research conducted for her MSc dissertation, with which she graduated from SURFACE in 2008. The article is entitled “Access to Emergency Rest Centres: lessons to be learnt from the 2007 floods” and is centred on three case studies in the Yorkshire and Humber region of Northern England. It explores the barriers to accessing emergency shelters experienced by people with disabilities and makes recommendations on planning for more inclusive evacuation, aimed at both local authority emergency planning teams and voluntary organisations.
February 2011: SURFACE meets with I'DGO international review panel in Edinburgh
Members of the international review panel for the Inclusive Design for Getting Outdoors project have come together in Edinburgh to review the research findings. Respected worldwide for expertise in their fields, the group included falls experts James A Ashton-Miller (USA; biomechanics) and Dawn Skelton (UK; healthcare), together with Brian R Little (Canada/UK; psychology), Rob Methorst (The Netherlands; pedestrian needs) and Gloria Gutman (Canada; gerontology). As well as discussing the findings from I'DGO TOO – including those relating to the tactile paving study by SURFACE - the group considered the promotion and usage of the evidence; reflecting on its impact on policy makers, practitioners and older people themselves. A free public seminar chaired by Rita Newton on the third day of the visit included a ‘meet the experts’ round-table discussion for around 50 delegates, including a number of students from the Accessibility and Inclusive Design course.
Get more information on the free public seminar, including a programme and speakers’ biographies.
January 2011: Rita Newton addresses CIHT delegates on Manual for Streets 2
At the request of the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT), the international voice for transportation professionals, Rita Newton has spoken at the Yorkshire and Humberside Branch launch of Manual for Streets 2: Wider Application of the Principles. These new guidelines take the principles set out in the original Manual for Streets (published in 2007 for residential streets) and demonstrate how they can be applied to broader urban and rural contexts. Speaking at the Bar Convent in York on 28th January, Rita presented to around 50 delegates on ‘The Design of Streets with Older People in Mind’ during a session which finished with a vibrant and engaging round of Questions and Answers. The event followed a similar launch in Bolton in November 2010 and four national seminars earlier in the year, all highlighting the work of Inclusive Design for Getting Outdoors.
Learn more about Manual for Streets 2.
