Why should one absolutely consider the aspect of accessibility when planning a house or conversion? A project group led by inclusion officer Angela Prommersperger from the demography team of the district office investigated this question. The group designed the flyer “Build right away for life – impulses for barrier-free building”. In addition to the inclusion officer, Christine Niederreiter, honorary officer for the disabled in the Ebersberg district, Anja Sethi-Rinkes, an honorary architect for the district office, Ottilie Eberl, Green district councilor and city councilor in Grafing, and Susanne Perfler-Heipl, team leader in the building department of the Ebersberg district office, all contributed their expertise one.
“When you build or remodel, you are often busy with many things: you are professionally active, you are starting a family or you already have a family, many things have to be dealt with. It is something very nice to create a permanent place in life. That comes to you the thought of age or disabilities tends not to come to mind,” says Prommersperger. “Accessibility – this topic is more relevant for others”, many seem to think. But accessibility also creates comfort. At the same time, it represents a wise investment in the future, as it does not have to be expensively retrofitted later. “The fact is that only four percent of all disabilities are congenital. Is there really a good reason to build obstacles in your home?” asks the inclusion officer. What speaks against, for example, accessing the front door without a threshold or choosing flexible floor plans for changing life situations?
Interested parties can find more information on this topic on the Internet at https://demografie.lra-ebe.de/fachbereich/inklusion. A lot of information is summarized under the menu item “Barrier-free building”. There you will also find contact details for advice and brochures that show specific requirements and implementation options. The flyer is available in the district office and in all town halls. Anyone who would like to contact the inclusion officer directly can do so by telephone on (08092) 82 35 38 or by email to [email protected].