Paju-si Holds Kickoff Meeting for 'Universal Design Project' Design Development

Improving Mobility Accessibility and Creating Barrier-Free Play Spaces in Childcare Centers for Children with Disabilities

Paju City held a kickoff meeting for the design development and design service of the "Paju City Universal Design Project" on the 25th at the City Large Tree Future Daycare Center.

On the 26th, Paju City in Gyeonggi Province announced that it held a kickoff meeting for the design development and design service of the ‘Paju City Universal Design Project’ at the City Large Tree Future Daycare Center on the 25th.

Universal design refers to designing spaces and environments that can be safely and conveniently used throughout daily life regardless of gender, age, nationality, or disability status.

Paju City is currently promoting a project to apply universal design to the ‘Large Tree Hope Daycare Center,’ a daycare center dedicated to children with disabilities, to improve user mobility convenience and create barrier-free play spaces.

At the kickoff meeting, 20 people attended, including the Director of Urban Development of Paju City, the Head of Urban Planning, the Head of Childcare and Children, the director and parents of the Large Tree Future Daycare Center (for non-disabled children), and the director and parents of the Large Tree Hope Daycare Center (for children with disabilities), sharing the project progress and future plans.

The Large Tree Hope Daycare Center, opened in September 2008 as a daycare center dedicated to children with disabilities, accommodates 23 staff members and 41 children in a cramped space of 399㎡. The outdoor children’s play facilities are composed of general play equipment, making it difficult for children with disabilities to use, thus requiring overall improvements to indoor and outdoor spaces.

Na Hojun, Director of Urban Development, said, "Among the approximately 82,000 registered children’s play facilities nationwide, only 31 are barrier-free play facilities," adding, "We will strive to secure the safety of daycare users through the improvement of physical barriers and to create barrier-free integrated play facilities accessible to everyone."