Accessibility Considered

Many interviewees spoke about their accessibility criteria for a place to be accessible. There are many steps to check if a place is accessible or not, starting before visiting. For “P4”, a prior wheelchair and other mobility aids user, calling ahead would be the first step to ensure that a place is accessible or not. Speaking to restaurant owners, or checking venues online, is necessary to see if they meet the necessary accessibility criteria to enter and experience those sites. In “P4’s” ideal world, a perfectly accessible restaurant would include things like automatic, light and large doors, no steps, a variety of heights for tables and seats, and be a spacious place. It would require an accessible toilet with rails, a functioning alarm cord, an outwards opening door, and a sink, dryer, mirror, and soap at a visible and reachable height for wheelchair users. In terms of payment, a pin or cash machine at reach for wheelchair users, with a long cord or detachable machine. Aside from this, ramps and elevators when necessary, and even an escape mattress for multi-story buildings. These are general accessible criteria that they look for, to make sure that every place they visit is accessible for

themselves, but these accessible features and criteria can be looked for and used by other people with disabilities.

When applying this to cultural venues, and more specifically museums and their

consideration of accessibility criteria, “P4” gave the example of the Rijksmuseum, and how they have been putting a tremendous effort to be more inclusive and accessible, per municipal initiatives. Rijksmuseum has basic criteria described by “P4”: accessible toilets, good

entrances, elevators, and ramps, among other things. The Rijksmuseum also offers special maps for wheelchair and mobility aid users to show the best route around the museum

without obstacles, and include the accessible toilets, which shows that they go “above and beyond,” as P4 explained. But what makes Rijksmuseum stand out in comparison to other venues, is that they have a person dedicated to ensuring the accessibility and inclusion of the museum, and, as P4, mentioned “you can tell.”

“The great thing about the Rijksmuseum is they actually have somebody for it. And you can tell. [...] They have somebody who's devoted to doing that. And it's not just for wheelchair users, that person, her job is for people with autism, for people who are deaf, blind, anything. And you can really tell that they put a lot of energy into it because it shows. [...] I know that they've asked people to give feedback, but it also really shows because it's done really well.”

There have been many clear accessibility efforts by the municipality, volunteers, workers, and venues, to be more inclusive and accessible for everyone, including people with disabilities. “P1”, a senior municipality worker in the culture department explained the delicate balance between wanting to make an accessible building and preserving its authenticity because of the UNESCO designation. All city public buildings have to be accessible in Amsterdam, but when there are requests to modify other buildings within the protected UNESCO Area, “P1’s” job, alongside their colleagues, is to assess how they can approach these requests. Can they do it? Can they fix it from the inside, or should they work from the outside? How are they going to do it? The goal is to create accessibility, so they make an effort to work out the best possible accessible solution for each request, which also gives the least visual impact on the building. Like this, there are both efforts to maintain the authenticity of said buildings, but also to include people with disabilities. As “P1” says,

“there is always a possibility”.

When asked about the municipality's efforts to ensure accessibility, “P6”, a municipality architect and worker, explained that accessibility is just a general requirement and policy, so they and other architects follow the policy. It is a requirement to make all public buildings and spaces accessible, and there are multiple handbooks for municipal architects to follow, to ensure the overall accessibility of all places. These handbooks give them instructions on how to make a junction and a slope, but also how to make everything accessible. On top of this,

“P6” always makes sure to check his designs with accessibility pressure groups, to ensure that all their plans are good enough before starting construction. While having set rules and set handbooks from the municipality makes creating accessible spaces easier, there is no one size for all accessibility measures, and different impairments require different accessibility implementations. Because of this, there are always efforts to cater to every different disability in the city as much as possible.

Outside of municipal efforts, there are also other accessibility efforts within Amsterdam.

“P5,” a local leader for a disabilities organisation, spoke about their lanyard project. Having this distinct lanyard, allows for people with hidden disabilities to get some help without needing to disclose their disability, which can oftentimes not be an “obvious” disability. This lanyard is supposed to enhance accessibility in a different way than adding ramps or

elevators; it doesn’t ask for special treatment but helps people understand that the lanyard-wearers might need more time for activities or a little more support. When asked about the ease of distribution and implementation of this lanyard, “P5,” explained that since the concept is so simple, the costs are not too high, and since there are no requirements like rebuilding sites or weeks-long training for their staff, the lanyards have been able to be easily introduced in multiple sites and countries, including The Netherlands. An easily recognisable

symbol, this lanyard has been able to aid people with disabilities all over Amsterdam in museums, restaurants, grocery stores, and public transport, amongst other places. “P5”

described their hard work in introducing the lanyard all over the country, and within Amsterdam. They have worked with the Royal Horeca Organization, theaters, and now are working with cinemas. The lanyards are in use in the Rijksmuseum, Artis Zoo, Anne Frank House, Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk Museum, and Schiphol Airport. With them, a different kind of accessibility is offered, and the efforts can be seen all within the city. As “P5”

mentioned, “there is a lot to do, but there is something going on in a positive way.”

However, not all the considerations of accessibility have been successful. While there were attempts to be accessible, sometimes they just failed due to limitations, lack of information, or misguided setups. Failed accessibility and limitations can be seen in many attempts throughout the city, where the intention was there, but it just did not meet the necessary accessibility requirements that were needed by people with disabilities. While these are two separate categories, looking at them together allows us to understand how some attempts at accessibility fail because of certain limitations, be it physical, by personal choice, policies, or something else.

What failed accessibility means, is those attempts at being inclusive and accessible, but that did not work. “P4,” described a couple of moments where they found this. “P4” visited a hotel to give feedback on its accessible rooms, and then they found an example of failed accessibility. On paper, this hotel had an accessible shower with a shower seat and bathroom, but while visiting, “P4,” found that the shower and shampoo stands were mounted on a wall, which were unreachable from wheelchair height. The soap and shampoo were at different locations from the shower, which was mounted, and the shower seat was not close to the

shampoo, shower, and soap. In other words, if you were someone using the shower seat, you would not be able to reach either the shower or the shampoo. Yet, if you called the hotel and asked them if they had a shower seat and an accessible bathroom, they would say yes, because technically, they do have a shower seat. Also explained by “P4,” not all museums have successfully become accessible. While there are usual limitations on UNESCO and protected buildings, newer buildings are required to be accessible, as mentioned by “P6”

earlier. Despite this, an example of a limitation and failure of accessibility, which was mentioned multiple times throughout “P4’s” interview, are downstairs toilets. Anne Frank House is a cultural venue where this can be observed. Although the original structure is protected and remains unchanged, the Anne Frank House was renovated recently, in 2018 (Anne Frank House, 2019). Despite municipal requirements of accessibility, the toilets were located in the basement, down a flight of stairs, which makes them inaccessible for a

wheelchair user that would like to go to the toilets independently. You can enter them, but you need staff to help you, which can feel degrading at times, “P4” said. “Completely

unacceptable” in a recently renovated building. Similar experiences have happened to “P4” as well, many in restaurants and bars. While going out with friends in Amsterdam, “P4’s”

friends wanted to visit a restaurant, but the same problem was there: the bathrooms were in the basement, down a flight of stairs. This experience is best described by “P4” themselves:

“And then I remember thinking, oh, I guess I won't be going to the toilet, then. Which is really annoying, something as simple as not having the choice of going to a toilet.

Can you imagine if no restaurants had toilets? Everybody would be annoyed!”

“P1,” who was also temporarily in a wheelchair, but also used crutches, also experienced failed accessibility. They recalled their experience in public transport while using crutches in

Amsterdam. In public transport, there weren’t any designated staff to help people with mobility aids or take care of them throughout the rides, since they can get a little wobbly. For

“P1,” it was not always very easy while using transport. “P1” also mentions the limitations of walking around the UNESCO canals. While the municipality has been able to expand

walking paths around the city, the walking paths around the canals in the center are very narrow, and the structures in this area have barely changed. While people who have no disabilities might be able to walk around the canal rings without any issues, for someone who struggles with mobility, navigating these streets can be very difficult.