eprintid: 10195641
rev_number: 15
eprint_status: archive
userid: 699
dir: disk0/10/19/56/41
datestamp: 2024-09-27 11:16:07
lastmod: 2024-09-27 11:16:07
status_changed: 2024-09-27 11:16:07
type: thesis
metadata_visibility: show
sword_depositor: 699
creators_name: Pagendam, Isobel Sophia
title: Standardising the vertical city: exploring the politics of lift accessibility standards
ispublished: unpub
divisions: UCL
divisions: B03
divisions: C03
divisions: F26
note: Copyright © The Author 2024.  Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).  Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms.  Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request.
abstract: Through close attention to the lift engineer and the standards that they use, this thesis addresses a highly limited focus on the space of the lift in urban studies – despite the central role they have played in the growth of modern cities such as London. Interrogating the significance of standards to the design, installation, and maintenance of lifts, the research focuses on BS EN 81-70, the European lift accessibility standard, established to provide the minimum requirements that a lift should meet to be accessed autonomously by all. The thesis uses a combination of qualitative methods, including interviews with lift professionals, archival research, as well as supplementary participant observation through field visits in London. It argues, firstly, that there needs to be greater emphasis on lift standards in the design and maintenance of the built environment and their relationship with efforts at creating more inclusive experiences. Secondly, through its close focus on standards, it highlights the complexities, histories, and otherwise non-standardness of lift standards and regulation, recognising the importance of engaging with their wider contradictions and grey zones. While this thesis will make important contributions to empirical studies of the lift, it will also contribute to an emerging body of work on urban standards, foregrounding what a study of standards can more widely reveal about the politics of the built environment.
date: 2024-08-28
date_type: published
oa_status: green
full_text_type: other
thesis_class: doctoral_open
thesis_award: Ph.D
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 2303778
lyricists_name: Pagendam, Isobel
lyricists_id: IPAGE65
actors_name: Pagendam, Isobel
actors_id: IPAGE65
actors_role: owner
full_text_status: public
pages: 285
institution: UCL (University College London)
department: Geography
thesis_type: Doctoral
citation:        Pagendam, Isobel Sophia;      (2024)    Standardising the vertical city: exploring the politics of lift accessibility standards.                   Doctoral thesis  (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).     Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10195641/7/Edited%20Version%20-%20Standardising%20the%20vertical%20city-exploring%20the%20politics%20of%20lift%20accessibility%20standards.pdf