Uninhibited is our plan to make Singapore a more welcoming environment for the physically disabled. Our website provides an avenue for people with disabilities (or those around them) to raise any concerns regarding the accessibility of our public facilities. With our platform, areas that have been neglected or overlooked in terms of amenities for the disabled can be made known to the relevant authorities (government, condominium management, etc.). We aim to be the bridge that allows the people and government to work hand-in-hand and transform Singapore into a more inclusive country.
What is the problem? It is often difficult to detect which areas are not disabled-friendly for 2 reasons. Firstly, the physically disabled form a small proportion of society; their needs are often overlooked because they lack the critical mass for visibility. Secondly, the physically disabled actively avoid areas that are not disabled-friendly in the first place. This further entrenches the problem as one that rarely draws any large-scale attention. Just because the disabled have alternatives, however, is not a good reason for us to stop improving the amenities. Our project fills in the gap.
Is there a close alternative to our project? Are there any venues for easy reporting that exist in the status quo? A search on Google yielded us no results. Interestingly, however, there are numerous articles that detail the locations which are disabled-friendly. This indirectly reinforces our sentiment that unfriendly areas are simply glossed over.
Let us start by introducing the 2 main aspects of our website: a request form to seek assistance in the building of amenities at specific locations and a live tracking map to allow users to view areas which are currently undergoing the transformation.
The request form has the following fields. Right at the top are the email and phone number segments which allow users to be contacted if any additional information is necessary. Additionally, these contact points also make it possible for the relevant authorities to update them when any construction work has been completed. Next, we have the amenity category for users to pick the type of amenity they require – a wheelchair ramp, tactile paving, etc. This is followed by the postal code section that helps users to pinpoint the exact location at which the amenity is needed. Users will also be prompted to take a photo of the area and upload it via the images segment. These pieces of information help to clarify the specific area in need of improvement, as well as quickly filter off any spam or troll requests. Lastly, a description box is also provided for the users to describe the problem they face as well as any specific solution they would like to see.
We have some considerations when designing the request form. Right off the bat, it is necessary for the relevant authorities to be crystal clear as to where exactly the amenity is required. A postal code, on its own, is insufficient because the area characterised by the postal code may be quite large. The photo and description box aim to alleviate the problem. Secondly, we want to collect as little personal data as possible. We understand that many of the physically disabled suffer from intense social stigma, and may not wish to divulge sensitive details such as their name. The reason why we have decided to draw the line at collecting contact information is because a point of contact may prove to be an important source of clarification. Our website’s second main section is the work in progress list. This list shows which areas are currently being worked on for those who want to be able to quickly identify if their area has any ongoing upgrades. This also allows users to view if the concern that they are about to raise has already been addressed, which helps to reduce any spam requests for those areas. Areas listed with ongoing work can also be clicked by the users which will bring them to an image of the site at which the construction is taking place to allow them to better identify these areas.
In order to determine the urgency and priority of which these transformation work are to be done, each submission would be assigned a point value of 1 point, tagged to the location of the request. This would mean that with each submission, the point value of the location will increase, which in turn signals an elevated urgency. This would aid the relevant authorities in identifying and prioritising the allocation of their resources for these upgrades, allowing the more urgent requests to be identified and dealt with more efficiently.
Regrettably, there are certain functionalities that we cannot provide for our users.
Firstly, this website, while being able to obtain feedback and requests from concerned citizens, does not guarantee that improvements will be carried out by the relevant authorities. This may be due to the lack of resources or various other concerns by these stakeholders. Furthermore, even with the right amount of resources, most of these upgrades will take some time before they are implemented. As such, citizens who have put up the requests may have to wait for a long period before being able to see any changes to their ways of life.
Secondly, with each submission garnering 1 point, relevant authorities may not be able to accurately identify which areas are most in need of upgrades should a citizen make multiple submissions with regards to the same issue. This will cause an issue for the authorities as their resources could have been spent elsewhere which may be in more urgent need of change. However, if we were to limit the submissions by the citizens, they might feel deterred from raising their concerns about the lack of amenities in certain areas, which will diminish the purpose of the website. As such, while we can encourage citizens to refrain from making multiple submissions regarding the same area, we are unable to actively prevent them from doing so due to the detrimental implications it brings about.
Thirdly, due to the lack of time and our general inexperience, we could not finish half of the website.
We will do better next time!
Yours truly, Year 0s
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