A comparative study on achieving universally designed schools. Two case studies at Aswan city, Egypt

Recently, the trend toward inclusiveness and inclusion of people with special needs in urban spaces and facilities, especially public schools has appeared. Where social inclusion aims to achieve an inclusive society that respects human diversity and supports the principles of equality, allowing all groups to participate in the community. This research aims to achieve universally designed schools, in addition to improving the educational environment inside public schools, and consequently, the ease of use of educational spaces for everyone through the application of a universal design approach. The study relied on the descriptive-analytical approach and applied approach through describing and analyzing the buildings of the case study (Ali Mubarak primary school and Naguib Mahfouz French language school). A checklist was prepared including four main categories which are: horizontal and vertical communication elements, educational elements, service-based elements, and recreational elements. The results, using the Likert scale, showed that Ali Mubarak primary school got 50% in terms of compliance with universality, while the Naguib Mahfouz School got 49.4%. The study concluded some recommendations that will contribute to achieving universal schools that accommodate all users.