ABSTRACT
This chapter contemplates the evolution of minimum requirements for accessibility and usability in the built environment in Sweden and its relationship with the new disability policy introduced in 2017. With the development of Swedish functionalist architecture, minimum requirements were developed as complementary to a broader study conducted in the 1930s, on the fit between users and different spaces in the home, financed by a national disability organisation. Part of the welfare goals of the state, the requirements were soon integrated into the Swedish building act and implemented through a housing loan system. Following the development of the national disability policy, the requirements evolved into the concept of accessibility which regulated architectural design for housing and public buildings. With the reform to the building act, however, these requirements went from being detailed and mandatory to becoming a mandatory functional requirement which is open to interpretation. The Swedish building market has criticised the requirement as a cost-generating factor and part of the reason for the ongoing housing shortage crisis. Receptive to these claims, Swedish governments during 2014–2021 have allowed changes to the building act and appurtenant legislations which place the responsibility for realising accessibility and usability requirements into the hands of the building market. At the same time, the national disability policy has introduced universal design as the new objective for removing obstacles to the inclusion of people with disabilities.
