The public indoor environments tool Our Connected Neighbourhoods is using is based on the Dementia Friendly Communities Environmental Assessment Tool produced during Australia’s first pilot project to develop a dementia-friendly community.

The collaboration between the town of Kiama – on the south coast of New South Wales – Alzheimer’s Australia and the University of Wollongong used interviews and mapping exercises alongside people living with dementia and their carers to develop this toolkit for auditing public buildings. As such, it is particularly suited to the needs of OCN’s environmental strand.

The indoor environments tool has 17 assessment questions about the space being audited. All of these questions are answered “Yes” or “No”, with the option to include additional notes. At only two A4 pages, we hope you will find it a manageable option for starting meaningful discussions about the accessibility of environments we use on a regular basis.