The Access Chain: an inclusive design tool
Think Links
Access is a chain of events that begins with the decision to visit
and ends with the visitor’s safe return home. Many access
improvements that have little impact on visitor numbers, do so because
they have been made in a piecemeal way with no regard to this chain
of events. For instance, a new accessible visitor centre may fail
to improve visitor numbers if there is no accessible car parking
nearby, and it has not been promoted in the right way to the right
people. No improvement should ever be made in isolation. Think links.
Inclusive design relies on thinking about all aspects of accessibility.
The Access Chain has been developed by the Sensory Trust to simplify
the process of joining up access work. By thinking of access as
a chain of events, it becomes apparent that failing to provide for
every link in the visitor experience can mean that the visit may
end with the visitor feeling frustrated, or, more likely, the visit
may not happen at all.
The Access Chain describes access as it is experienced from a visitor’s
perspective. It is not a model for the order in which improvements
should be undertaken. For instance, there may be little to gain
from improving public transport links to a site that is completely
inaccessible. Typically, improvements to each link in the chain
will be made concurrently. For instance, transport improvements
can be negotiated and planned while site improvements are underway.
This is particularly true of pre-visit information, which can be
used to keep visitors up to date with improvements to the site and
to transport as they happen.
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For a more concise summary, download our Access
Chain summary (pdf 378k). Also available as Access
Chain text only version.
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