New YouGov poll reveals exactly how inclusive infrastructure is

Infrastructure provides the basis for communities to thrive, boosting social unity and economic mobility, when done well. 

But not everyone has the same experience when using its services.

For some, the built environment becomes an obstacle course, and the structures that were put in place to help them – in particular legacy ones – can instead hold them back.

This might be for a range of reasons, including accessibility needs, cultural or ethnic backgrounds and gender.

The barriers they face are not caused by the impairments or differences themselves. They’re often inadvertently built in by those who design, deliver and operate infrastructure.

A new ICE paper examines people’s experiences of infrastructure and discusses the sector's role in ensuring it is truly inclusive.

It recognises that when we design for inclusivity, everyone benefits. And, it points to the barriers to designing and delivering more equitable infrastructure – including our understanding of how different people use these services.

New polling highlights the depth of the challenge

A new YouGov poll of Great Britain, commissioned by the ICE, lays out the scale of the challenge*:

• 55% of British adults don’t think that the UK government cares about accessibility and inclusion when it comes to infrastructure planning and construction.
• 78% don’t feel that people like them are listened to when infrastructure is planned, funded and delivered in the UK.
• Women, people with disabilities, those living in non-urban areas, older people and those with a lower household income were more likely to say they ‘don’t often’ or ‘never’ feel safe, confident or included when using transport infrastructure.

The barriers people face

Of those living with a health condition or disability that limits them “a lot”, almost half (42%) don’t feel safe, included or confident when using transport infrastructure.

In practice, some of the common barriers they face include:

• street obstacles
• entering taxis
• use of staff assistance
• step-free access on and off vehicles and at stations

Similarly, 39% don’t feel confident in the urban environment’s ability to serve their needs.

In practice, this means lost access to basic services as well as social and economic opportunities.

An ageing population is likely to compound the issue

Almost one in five people in England are aged 65 and over, and almost two in five are 50 and over. Median age is increasing faster in rural and coastal towns across the UK.

As people age, their health and mobility, and thus, their experience of infrastructure, will change. Those living in rural areas may also face connectivity challenges.

This applies to transport as well as access to online services, particularly as the government and other organisations continue to move to ‘digital by default’.

Not all disabilities are visible

Not all disabilities are physical or visible, such as deafness, severe anxiety disorders and neurodiversity.

The unpredictability, uncertainty and inconsistency of transport networks can prompt or increase anxiety and distress.

A gendered experience

The challenges people experience with infrastructure are not limited to disability and transport.

Safety concerns, particularly for women, may also affect how they use infrastructure. For example, they may opt for areas with better lighting.

Furthermore, the way caregiving responsibilities are distributed often means women travel at different times of the day, when services may not be as available as they are for ‘peak’ hours.

The role of the infrastructure sector

Those working on infrastructure projects of all sizes have important roles to play in making sure they meet the needs of a wide range of people. This should be considered at every stage, from design and construction to operation and beyond.

User panels are a valuable approach. These bring in people with lived experience of the barriers that need to be addressed, helping to ensure that consultation includes real users from the start.

Social procurement is another key area. This is how organisations, including public bodies, use their buying, contracting and management processes to improve economic, social and environmental wellbeing – known as social value.

Once a project is in use, post-occupancy evaluations can be an important tool to determine whether the service is meeting people’s needs and where it could be improved.

Project performance can also be optimised by tailoring communications to different groups, helping to encourage positive behaviour changes. For example, the water sector has led trials focused on helping Muslim and South Asian communities reduce water consumption in religious rituals and cooking practices.

Users should feel like equal partners in design and delivery

Designing, delivering and operating inclusive infrastructure is about how involved people feel in the process.

That 78% of those surveyed didn’t feel that people like them were listened to suggests that consultation and a feeling of agency are important pieces of the puzzle.

Co-production may be a better approach altogether.

Instead of a one-way consultation process, co-production treats end-users as equal partners in design and delivery.

It involves them much earlier, helping define the problems that need addressing from the start.

This approach is already highlighted as good practice in many guidance documents, but it can easily be ignored if organisations don’t have an incentive to follow it.

What’s holding the sector back from more inclusive infrastructure?

Common obstacles include:

• financial and engineering barriers;
• an under-valuation of the wider benefits associated with inclusive infrastructure investment;
• a lack of data; and
• a workforce that fails to represent the users that infrastructure serves.

Trade-offs are inherent in project delivery.

For example, asset owners will need to seriously consider the realities of the cost of retrofitting.

But a better understanding of the value that inclusive infrastructure provides for the whole of society would set the platform for change.

Read more in the ICE’s new paper, Built for purpose? Understanding people’s experiences of infrastructure assets and services.

Read the paper

*All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,266 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 28 - 29 April 2026. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).