ArchiPro Commercial Expo speaker profile: Kimberly Graham

Kimberly Graham, creator of accessibility awareness and advocacy blog Grab Your Wheels, Let’s Travel, will be joining us at the ArchiPro Commercial Expo 2022 to speak on the Designing Spaces for All panel. In the lead up to her panel appearance, we asked her a few questions about her journey advocating for accessible spaces, and what she will be speaking about at the event. 

Hi Kimberly, please tell us a little bit about yourself and what your work involves.

I am a Mum to three uniquely diverse children and live on Auckland’s North Shore. Before having children I travelled extensively around the world, worked in tourism throughout New Zealand and managed a small graphic design business in Wanaka. My Partner and I moved to Auckland in 2004, our first born Finlay was 3 months old. We were only supposed to be in Auckland for two years, intending to return to Wanaka and carry on with our lives there. However, our beautiful baby boy started to present with episodes of distress which the local GP couldn’t solve. We rocked up to the Emergency Department at Auckland’s Starship Hospital to find answers. He was diagnosed with a catastrophic seizure disorder that was causing havoc to his brain. His prognosis was bleak and we were advised he will most likely end up with severe disabilities. Our lives changed from that point on...

We had to adapt to a new way of life and learn to let go of our own expectations in order to support him to live his best life. When our son received his first wheelchair we started to discover physical barriers to just about everything. Like every family, we wanted to go on holiday and found it difficult sourcing accessible accommodation, transport and things to do. We discovered playgrounds didn’t provide inclusive play, we couldn’t sit together at events or access public pools and toilets. Stepping out for the day suddenly became a leap of faith.

So, it’s not surprising my passion for a better life for my son, led me to advocate for everyone affected by the barriers of our built-environment. I founded Grab Your Wheels, Let’s Travel, a blog where I could share our experiences to assist others, along with creating awareness at the same time. Grab Your Wheels allows me to share accessible travel and tourism reviews on just about anything to do with getting ‘out and about’ with a wheelchair in tow. I share specific accessibility information, backed up with photographic evidence. The blog is well-received within our disability community and around the world, giving me the opportunity to widen my lens to a diverse cross-section of access needs. Alongside the blog, I founded the Accessible Travel Forum for New Zealand which has given me further insight into the needs of our diverse disability community. 

I write about accessible and inclusive travel for various disability and travel-focused magazines and sit on a number of working groups and boards. I present regularly to local community boards and advocate for improved accessibility within our communities. I conduct audits around public spaces and provide photo evidence reports to councils based on our building accessibility code. I am involved in various projects that look to create a more inclusive Aotearoa, New Zealand. A project close to my heart is the ongoing advocacy for a nationwide network of Changing Places. The most recent inclusion of one of these fully accessible public bathrooms can be seen next to Takapuna Beach. My latest project commitment is the audit of Auckland’s growing cycle network, to provide stakeholder feedback around the access needs of adaptive riders in the disability community. 

Can you summarise what you’ll be speaking about at the ArchiPro Commercial Expo in a few sentences? 

I will be bringing awareness around the Principles of Universal Design through the lens of lived experience within our built environments. Highlighting how a more inclusive city will help in improving our mental health and well-being by taking down the physical barriers to participation.

How do the ArchiPro Commercial Expo themes of diversity, environmental sustainability, and technology & automation apply to the work that you do?

I am a passionate advocate for all three themes. Our public spaces need to become more aware of diversity, not just physically, but emotionally, culturally and spiritually. In creating a more liveable city, it will lead to more people feeling safe using public transport, cycling and walking/wheeling. If we embrace more adaptive technology it will enable more equity for our disability communities, our built environment will then result in encouraging improved participation for all. 

What are some key things you think the design and construction industry needs to embrace in order to build a better future for New Zealand?

The design and construction industry needs to consult with a diverse range of stakeholders, keeping up with engagement throughout the life-time of any project. They need to understand that our NZ Accessibility Building Code 4121 is a bare minimum standard, which doesn’t live up to an international level of compliance. A Universal Design approach means buildings for everyone, at every stage of life, however even that is open to interpretation.

What aspect of the ArchiPro Commercial Expo are you looking forward to most?

I am looking forward to connecting with industry leaders who have the vision to go above and beyond design to create the best functional outcomes for everyone.

Come along to the ArchiPro Commercial Expo to hear from Kimberly, and other experts, on the importance of designing spaces for all to enjoy. Register here.