Perception of diversity in urban culture: examining interior architecture students’ views on campus accessibility

Understanding diversity-related needs and developing the capacity to create inclusive designs are among the goals of Interior Architecture education. This study investigates how Interior Architecture students perceive accessibility in buildings, open areas and premises on and off campus in their daily lives and how interior design education affects their perceptions of accessibility. A 5-point Likert-type scale survey was administered to Interior Architecture students, both those who had taken and those who had not taken an accessibility and universal design course. Factor analysis and t-test were used to evaluate the survey results. It was observed that the students’ perceptions of accessibility were largely guided by the spatial requirements of people with physical disabilities and visual impairments. Moreover, there was no difference in accessibility perception based on whether the students had or had not taken an accessibility course. From the results of the study, it can be recommended that design, interior architecture and architecture curricula should include universal design content with empathetic practices that focus on diversity in urban culture.