Kisumu has had a massive growth of informal settlements forming a belt around the urban core. These settlements house more than half of the city’s population. Because of the unplanned nature of these areas there has been very poor road infrastructure development, with narrow, unpaved roads constituting the road infrastructure. This situation has limited the opportunities for regular urban transport minibuses providing transport for the majority of the urban poor who live in these settlements. The coping mechanism and the development of alternative coping strategies are explored and assessed to see how effective they are in providing public transport for this majority of unserviced urban population.
Consideration of the normate template by designers usually leads to the production of living spaces that fail to meet most of the spatial requirements of would-be users. This phenomenon arises due to the fact that the normate template keeps a walking and fleshy body at the centre of thinking about design. As a result, the template fails to consider additional space requirements for bodies that use technologies to navigate space. In order to sustain itself, the normate template relies upon the impression that normates are normal, average, and majority bodies. When built-up spaces block out potential users, then the viewpoint which is reinforced is that certain spaces are meant only for those who are “privileged” to use these spaces independently. The presence of accessible spaces on the other hand confirms that designers hold that built environments should serve all potential users regardless of physical stature. Universal Design thereby provides a platform for making the weakest person in society strong through design. Embracement of a Universal Design perspective therefore becomes a stepping stone in the provision of public spaces that are accessible to all- regardless of physical stature. This study, therefore, evaluated the incorporation of Universal Design parameters in the design process of public spaces in Kisumu City. The study established that Universal Design requirements are usually executed only on new constructions. There is a need, therefore for major renovations to take place in buildings open to the public that are not necessarily classified as “new” constructions.
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