The Art of Accessibility: Designing a World That Welcomes All

On July 20, 2025, a compelling webinar titled "The Art of Accessibility: Designing a World That Welcomes All" was hosted over Google Meet, bringing together experts and advocates committed to inclusive urban design. The event featured a distinguished speaker: Ms. Kanchita Sarma, Co-founder and CEO of Placelytics. Moderated by Ms. Aarushi Gambhir, founder of Enable Education and Disability Inclusion Strategist, the conversation unfolded as a rich exploration of what it truly means to create accessible environments for all. 

Ms. Kanchita Sarma opened the session by sharing her journey as an urbanist passionate about reshaping the built environment through inclusive design. With academic credentials from Amity University and the University of Sydney, and over six years of professional experience across India and Australia, Ms. Sarma brings both expertise and personal conviction to her work. She is currently leading the development of EASE—India’s first accessibility rating system—through Placelytics, a social enterprise striving to translate inclusive intent into action.

To ground the audience in the concept of accessibility, Ms. Sarma began with a visual from her time in Sydney, showcasing the city’s iconic bridge connecting North and South Sydney. Initially constructed to address physical separation, the bridge was later enhanced to accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, and wheelchair users; turning a structural necessity into a symbol of connection and shared experience. This example underscored her central message: accessibility is not simply a technical requirement but an act of welcoming—a way to design spaces, systems, and experiences so that everyone can belong and participate fully.

She emphasized that meaningful accessibility must be rooted in universal design principles, which advocate for environments that are usable by people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. Drawing from the seven principles of universal design, Ms. Sarma elaborated on core ideas such as equitable use, flexibility, intuitive navigation, perceptible information, error tolerance, minimal physical effort, and spatial adaptability. Through relatable examples—like automatic sliding doors, height-adjustable desks, emergency signage, and ramps over stairs—she made the case for accessible infrastructure as both practical and transformative.

Challenging the myth that retrofitting is prohibitively expensive, she clarified that small, strategic interventions—like decluttering walkways, installing lever-style door handles, providing visual signage, and ensuring clear exit routes—can go a long way in enhancing access without major costs. Accessibility, she insisted, must be planned from the start, tailored to the users of each space, and supported through regular maintenance and community sensitization.

In the QnA discussion that followed, Ms. Sarma addressed some of the deeper challenges in the field. Awareness, she noted, remains one of the biggest barriers—many still perceive accessibility as a charitable favour rather than a rights-based imperative. This mindset, rooted in outdated notions of pity or benevolence, requires a value-driven shift toward equity and dignity.

When asked about non-negotiable spaces in school infrastructure, she identified three key features: tolerance for error to ensure safety, equitable entrances to signal inclusion, and flexibility in design to accommodate diverse needs. Referencing India's policy landscape, she highlighted the relevance of the UNCRPD, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (2016), and the Harmonised Guidelines of 2021 as key frameworks for enforcing accessible education. She also urged practitioners to consider a wide range of mobility aids—not just wheelchairs—when planning layouts, ensuring ample width and gradient options for those using crutches, canes, or manual supports.

The importance of stakeholder collaboration surfaced as a recurring theme. Recalling a community engagement project, Ms. Sarma described how a poorly lit park pathway sparked conflicting preferences between accessibility and neighbourhood quiet. Only through dialogues with children, parents, and individuals with lived experiences could meaningful, context-aware solutions emerge. Accessibility, she reiterated, cannot be dictated from the top down—it must be co-created.

To ensure sustainability and scalability, she stressed the necessity of routine maintenance and institutional budgeting. Without upkeep, even the most well-designed spaces lose their purpose. More critically, she flagged the urgent need for updated, consistent data on accessibility—a foundational step for any long-term planning or policy intervention.

The session closed with a reflective note from the moderator Ms. Aarushi Gambhir, reminding attendees that accessibility is not merely about ramps and door handles—it is about affirming the right to belong. As Ms. Sarma demonstrated throughout, inclusive design is not an afterthought; it is the architecture of empathy, connection, and justice.