The short answer
Co-designing public space with disabled people means treating them as decision-makers rather than consulted voices. Ground the work in CRPD Article 4(3), partner with organisations of persons with disabilities, make every step of the process accessible, pay participants fairly, and use hands-on methods such as walking audits, mapping and prototypes. Run co-design iteratively across all design stages and report back what changed because of people’s input.
Key takeaways
- Real co-design begins before any sketch: disabled people help define the problem, shape the process and influence outcomes, not merely react to proposals.
- Build the group through organisations of persons with disabilities and cover diversity across mobility, sensory, cognitive and hidden disabilities.
- Accessibility is a budgeted process, not a venue extra: interpretation, captioning, alternative formats, personal assistants and transport all need planning and money.
- Use tools that let people act on the actual site—walking audits, co-design games, collaborative mapping and temporary prototypes—rather than talk about abstract plans.
- Plan for iteration and feedback: co-design must recur across stages and you must show participants how their input changed the design.
What co-design really requires
Article 4(3) of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities obliges governments to closely consult with and actively involve disabled people, through their representative organisations, in developing policies, legislation and other decisions that affect them. The guiding motto of the disability rights movement, “Nothing about us without us,” translates into a practical test: did disabled people help set the question and the agenda, or only answer yours?
The most common failure is to substitute co-design with consultation on a finished concept. Genuine co-design rests on partnership, trust and shared power: people are involved from the start, they define the problem, shape the process and influence the final decisions. When a public space is presented to disabled residents only for comment, the result is usually retrofitted access — a ramp or a sign added to a design that was never inclusive.
Before planning any workshop, decide which decisions are genuinely open to participants and which are constrained by codes, budgets or heritage rules. An honest statement of those limits prevents frustration and keeps the dialogue productive.
- Define the problem together rather than presenting a ready agenda.
- Build partnership and shared power, not a one-off event.
- Offer multiple ways to take part: in person, online, by walk-through, in writing.
- Build accessibility into the process from the very start.
- Drive co-design toward visible outcomes that people can verify.
Recruiting and forming the group
Start recruitment through organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) and trusted community networks. They can reach people who would otherwise never hear about the project, including those with hidden or episodic conditions who are often absent from public consultation. Invest in long-term relationships with these organisations rather than transactional contacts for a single meeting.
Aim for a cross-disability perspective: wheelchair users, blind and partially sighted people, Deaf people, and people with intellectual, psychosocial or invisible disabilities encounter the same place differently. Also watch for intersectionality — an older disabled person, a disabled parent or someone with multiple conditions may face additional barriers.
Balance depth and breadth. A standing advisory panel of eight to twelve people gives continuity across project stages, while open workshops bring in fresh voices. Ideally the same people accompany the project from diagnosis to handover, so solutions are tested by those who proposed them.
- Co-organise with organisations of persons with disabilities and community groups.
- Recruit across mobility, sensory, cognitive and hidden disabilities and across districts.
- Create safe spaces for groups that are most often left out.
- State clearly that participation is paid and that the venue and formats are accessible.
- Plan a series of sessions rather than a single event.
Making the workshop itself accessible
Choose a step-free venue: level entry, accessible toilets, wide circulation routes and tables where a wheelchair can pull up alongside others. Publish the venue’s access details, parking and transport options in advance so each participant can decide how to get there and whether to bring support.
Plan communication on several channels at once. Deaf and hard-of-hearing participants need a sign language or speech-to-text interpreter; blind and low-vision participants benefit from electronic materials sent ahead, large print and audio; people with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities may need plain language, visual anchors and time to respond without pressure.
Control the pace explicitly. Colour cards let a participant signal “I didn’t follow,” “slower” or “clear” without interrupting. Invite quieter people to share, give everyone the chance to ask the speaker to stop or slow down, and make sure handouts and presentations are available both before and during the session, not only afterwards.
- Step-free entry, accessible toilets, wide aisles and adjustable tables.
- Sign language interpreter or real-time captioning for Deaf participants.
- Electronic, large-print and plain-language materials sent in advance.
- Space for a personal assistant or family member to sit alongside.
- Colour cards and built-in pauses to keep a comfortable pace for everyone.
Choosing methods that let people act, not just talk
The strongest results come from methods that put participants on or beside the real site. A walking audit along the proposed route stops at actual kerbs, crossings, seating and lighting, exposing barriers that never appear on a plan. European pilot projects such as StreetForum show how participatory walks, digital mapping, co-design games and on-street experiments let residents and authorities negotiate a shared understanding before money is spent.
Bring the site to the table too: large-format maps, physical models, tactile materials and consensus-building games let people compare options and trade off priorities. Collaborative digital maps can register barriers in situ, while temporary prototypes and pilot sections test a solution cheaply before capital works.
Every tool has limits. A complex digital interface can exclude people, so always offer alternatives such as voice recording, paper maps or a scribe who records answers for the participant. Prototypes must be physically safe and easy to interpret, and their evaluation should happen with the same group that proposed them.
- Walking audits that trace the real route of a future space.
- Large maps, physical models and tactile materials for table work.
- Games and scenarios that help people negotiate priorities and trade-offs.
- Digital collaborative mapping of barriers, as a complement, not the only route.
- Temporary prototypes and pilot sections tested before permanent works.
Budget: compensation and accessibility services
Participation in co-design is skilled work and should be paid. If you cannot match a participant’s honorarium to staff rates, aim at least for the minimum wage for the hours they give, in your region. Add transportation, parking and the costs of a personal assistant.
Choose payment methods carefully. Gift certificates for specific shops suit few people, and cash or cheques can affect social assistance payments for some participants. Ask what works for each person and avoid demanding excessive personal data just to issue an honorarium.
Accessibility services are usually the largest cost line. A full-day event needs at least two sign language interpreters so they can rest, likely an audio describer, captioning for group work and possibly childcare. Announce which services can be booked in advance so people have time to request them, and budget for refreshments and meals that respect dietary needs.
- Honoraria for participants, ideally at least regional minimum wage.
- Reimbursement of transport, parking and personal-assistant costs.
- At least two sign language interpreters for a full day.
- Audio description, captioning and adapted materials on request.
- Food that respects dietary restrictions; childcare where needed.
- Multiple ways to capture ideas: voice, keyboard, paper, switches.
After the workshop: iteration, evaluation and feedback
A single workshop does not make a place accessible. Co-design should recur across every stage — from pre-design analysis and concept through detailed design, handover and operation. At each iteration return to the same participants, show them the changes and ask them to verify that the barriers have actually been removed.
Publish a transparent record: what participants proposed, what was adopted, what was not and why. Open decision-making is the main source of trust and the reason people come back. Without feedback, even a well-run process reads as a box-ticking exercise.
Build in post-occupancy evaluation once the space is open: test walks, monitoring with disability organisations and adjustments based on real use. Accessibility is a living property of the environment, not a one-time sign-off.
- Report outcomes to participants: what was adopted, what was not, and why.
- Repeat sessions at concept, detailed-design and handover stages.
- Verify solutions with test walks by the same people who proposed them.
- Monitor the open site and adjust it based on real use.
- Keep the group’s contacts for future projects and refinements.
Put it into practice
Pre-workshop accessibility and participation checklist
Run through this list before you announce the event, marking an owner and a deadline for each item. The goal is to build access into the plan rather than bolt it on at the last minute.
- Define the real scope of decisions open to participants and the constraints.
- Secure a partnership agreement with organisations of persons with disabilities.
- Assemble a diverse group, including rare and hidden disability experiences.
- Book a step-free venue with accessible toilets, parking and circulation.
- Publish access details and how to request services two to three weeks ahead.
- Reserve sign language interpreters and audio description for the full duration.
- Prepare electronic, large-print and plain-language materials in advance.
- Allocate honoraria, transport reimbursement and personal-assistant costs.
- Assemble practical tools: maps, models, audit route and recording options.
- Provide several ways to capture ideas and keep a comfortable pace.
- Schedule follow-up sessions and a clear report-back mechanism.
- Define how accessibility will be monitored after the space is delivered.
Questions people ask
How do I recruit participants if we have no existing contacts with disabled people?
Start with organisations of persons with disabilities and community-led networks in your area. Rather than asking them only to forward an invitation, invite them to co-organise: they can help frame the agenda and reach people who would otherwise never hear about the project. Recognise that reaching less-connected individuals takes time, so invest in ongoing relationships rather than one-off contacts, and combine an advisory group with open workshops for broader reach.
Do I need to pay disabled people to take part in co-design?
Yes. Participation is skilled work and an honorarium signals that lived experience is expertise, which also builds trust. If you cannot match staff rates, pay at least the minimum wage for the hours involved in your region. Reimburse transport, parking and personal-assistant costs. Ask participants which payment method suits them: cash or cheques can affect social assistance benefits, and gift certificates for particular shops suit few people.
What is needed if a participant requires a sign language interpreter for a one-day workshop?
Book at least two interpreters for a full day so they can work in shifts and rest. If you plan small-group activities, you may need one interpreter per group. Tell participants in advance that the service can be requested and confirm the preferred language and format with Deaf participants. For hybrid or online parts, provide real-time captioning as well.
Why is a public survey not the same as co-design?
In a survey or a consultation on a finished concept, people react to a prepared proposal and do not shape the problem statement, the questions asked or the final decisions. In co-design, participants help define the problem, shape the process and influence outcomes as partners. Practically, co-design builds accessibility into the core of a solution, whereas consultation tends to add it afterwards as a ramp or a sign.
Should the workshop take place indoors or out on the site?
Combine both. A walking audit on the real route reveals barriers that never appear on a plan and lets people experience the place. Use an accessible indoor venue with large maps, models and materials to compare options and build consensus. If an accessible indoor space is unavailable, adapt the meeting rather than skip it — otherwise part of the group will be excluded from the process.
How do I support participants who rely on a personal assistant or family member?
State in advance that assistants and family members are welcome and budget for their transport, meals and time — compensating a personal assistant is recommended practice. Plan for people with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities by allowing an assistant to explain complex terms in plain language, and for anyone with fluctuating health offer flexible timing, built-in breaks and a remote option to join.
Sources and further reading
Sources were checked when this page was generated. Confirm changing dates, rules and prices with the original publisher.
- Community Meetings (Accessible Event Guidance)CBM International (Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction)
- Co-design cost considerationsInclusive Design Research Centre, OCAD University
- Effective Co-design with People with Disability (COSP19 side event)People with Disability Australia
- The StreetForum Guide – A practitioner’s toolbox for inclusive street transformationSpacescape / StreetForum consortium
- UNCRPD and the Participation of Disabled People in Decision MakingCentre for Excellence in Universal Design (Ireland)
- Сотрудники РООИ «Перспектива» приняли участие в финале конкурса «Город в деталях»РООИ «Перспектива»
- Методы универсального проектирования на примере проекта инклюзивного дома культуры в г. АлматыКиберЛенинка / Казахская головная архитектурно-строительная академия