“We are constantly learning to overcome obstacles and find solutions. It’s impossible, and we certainly don’t want to fall into the trap.” OUR Nikos Fitros, wheelchair basketball player Panathinaikos AmbAsums up his attitude towards the hostile structured environment he has to deal with on a daily basis.

In his last ten years in a wheelchair, his options are limited, as he rarely finds ramps and large elevators in malls, apartment buildings, and public areas. building. To break down these barriers in 2012 the legal framework was created in order to availability disabled people to be provided freely. Since then, the obligation of buildings to comply with accessibility regulations has been continually delayed. However, people’s lives do not receive a reprieve.

“I’m calling the store to see if it’s available”

A typical example is the daily life of a 36-year-old athlete. His team’s training is daily and intense. There are moments after which he decides to return home to relax. Other times, he prefers to go out with friends for a cup of coffee. However, the process he is forced to follow is not simple.

“Every time before I go out, I call the store to see if it’s available. I wonder if he has rampbecause the entrance can have many steps, if any. space so that the wheelchair can move and especially if there is an accessible toilet. I’m not looking for a disabled toilet, it’s a luxury. Basically, to serve me, it needs to be spacious enough for a wheelchair to get in and out. At least these conditions should be provided. If I can’t find any of those three, then we’ll change plans and look for another store.”

The same plan follows when he wants to attend a concert or other events that require a long presence. He tries to contact the organization or even the artists themselves.to make sure there is at least one toilet available. “Those who do not have access are forced to create it. I remember the porters at the concert venue in Piraeus carrying me to the balcony. There are, of course, times when I missed concerts because there were no seats available I didn’t want to risk it either.”

His athletic commitments and his participation in team missions multiplied his unpleasant experiences. “The hotels we’ve been to – most of them new and refurbished – have only one room for the disabled. The rest of the rooms barely fit two wheelchairs. To move we have to play in threes. Especially at night, if you wake up to go to the toilet, you have to move the second wheelchair, take it out so that you can walk along the corridor and go to the toilet, where, of course, you need to climb in and go out in the reverse order. It is unacceptable that there is a step in the toilet, you won’t fit in the restaurant toiletor fit in and not have in the whole hotel – except for the room – a toilet for the disabled.”

Legal framework

The accessible seats sought by a disabled athlete are not a luxury, but a legal obligation. In accordance with applicable town planning legislation and instructions of the Ministry of the Environment, the design of buildings and common areas is required to provide accessibility for people with disabilities and people with disabilities, such as the elderly and the elderly, infants and young children, pregnant women, those who carry weights, etc. which in the countries of the European Union are 50% of the population.

Article 26 of Law 4067/2012 “Regulations for new construction – NOK” lists all the necessary interventions that must be carried out in every public and private building to ensure full accessibility. As civil engineer Thodoris Marinis explains, the interventions now apply to all buildings..

“Wait new buildings, which were erected with a building permit dated 04/09/2012, we are obliged to design for everyone, that is, to adapt the buildings so that they are accessible everywhere. This is in view of the fact that they have a study of accessibility, ”the civil engineer tells K.

In particular, with regard to new buildings, horizontal and vertical, autonomous and safe access is required for the disabled and the disabled, their maintenance in all external and internal premises of buildings and the provision of accessible sanitary facilities in the amount of 5% of the general sanitary facilities for common use. In fact, in buildings used as living quarters, conditions must be provided for the easy conversion of living quarters into living quarters for future users with disabilities or people with disabilities.

Regarding existing buildings, those that were erected with a building permit before 04/09/2012 and are intended for public places, such as, for example. areas of museums, concerts, sporting events, temples, theaters, cinemas, catering, entertainment, education, healthcare, as well as parking lots, as well as gas stations, necessary settings must be made follow the rules of accessibility.

Overtime in a row

The law passed in 2012 stipulated that these interventions must be completed within 8 years, i.e. until 2020, provided that the organization of the respective building is not affected. After the deadline, any buildings that do not comply with the accessibility rules will be automatically declared arbitrary. But it was given two year extension until 12/31/2022, and subsequently another one was created three month extension until 31.03.2023. Now we are going through a period of another, her fourth overtimewhich expires on 03/31/2024 and gives another year complete the necessary adjustments and suspend the sanctions.

emergency solutions

“We are used to all these delays, we are actually used to them. We have no illusions. We know that extensions are trying to freeze time,” says K. Antonis Rellas, director and disabled activist. “For almost 20 years, we have been waiting for a change in the “architectural apartheid” that reigns in our cities and does not provide us with unhindered access to the built environment. Where are the practical results of NOK 4067/12? Nobody says it’s easy to turn on all the people everywhere. However, the state is obliged to implement it. Progress has been made, but we still have a long way to go. In some theatres, let’s just say attendance and attendance has improved. However, for us, as creators, access to the stage or dressing rooms remains problematic.”

In the years that people with disabilities and other marginalized citizens wait to be provided with an accessible built environment, they learn to deal with their mobility difficulties with humor. “At least we’re trying to have fun,” says the disabled athlete, explaining how he manages to creatively navigate inaccessible buildings. “Most older apartment buildings don’t have an elevator, and those that do have a lot of steps to get to it. Usually in the apartment building where my friend Kokaki lives, there are five or six steps. Walking up to the elevator my stroller doesn’t fit. That’s why my friends put down their chair, they put her in an elevator and transplant me from a wheelchair to her. As soon as I get down to the floor, they put me in a wheelchair and we go home.”

Registration of public buildings

In a conversation with “K”, he commented on the delays and successive extensions Matilda Hatzipanagiotu, partner of outgoing Minister of State G. Gerapetritis. “In 2020, which was the first deadline, it was found that there were no building records to let us know how many of those buildings are available. That is, there was no description of the situation and therefore there could be no purpose. Now that we have collected data, we would recommend even longer extensions.”

The first data collection was carried out through an electronic accessibility data recording platform established by the State Ministry and the competent Ministry of Environment and Energy. Its development, operation and maintenance were entrusted to the Hellenic Chamber of Tech. The platform deals exclusively with buildings that house public services and public functions. “Of course, there is a need to extend it to private homes.. We just thought it was right not to demand interventions from private individuals that were not even taken in public services,” comments Ms Hatzipanagiotu.

“We don’t need a sample, but a real engineering inspection on site.”

Registration of public buildings is mandatory and is carried out at 364 control points established in ministries, regions and municipalities. Now, after two overtimes, first step of writing completed and, according to the State Ministry, the platform has been announced 30 022 public buildings, which will be assigned to engineers to check their availability.

Checks will be carried out 3450 engineers who are registered in the electronic registry of accessibility controllers, have been trained at seminars and received a TEE certificate. Priority in the audits, which will begin in two months, will be given to education, health and welfare buildingswhich make up 49% announced buildings.

“Even in buildings built after 2012, people with disabilities have found that the toilet has become a storage room or objects have been placed on the way, so we don’t need a sample, but a real engineering inspection on site. ”, emphasizes Ms. Hatzipanagiotu.

For the controls it was provided financing from NSRF resources. ABOUT intervention cost, M. Hatzipanagiotu explains that “buildings owned by the state will be handed over to it, however, before the budget is drawn up, we do not know how costly interventions can be. The main issue is that working on sound recording gives us the opportunity to create public policy.

Nikos and other disabled people they certainly want to see the results of legislative intervention in practice. “Although we are used to planning everything, we are forced to change plans and, above all, take risks, we want more opportunities, without prohibitions and restrictions.”