Universal Design

     Born too late to be a Beatnik and too early to be a Boomer, I've pinned my hopes on the Baby Boom.  "No Baby Boomer will accept sitting on the porch of an Old Folks' Home," one of my neighbors in senior housing exclaimed. Sitting on the porch of our senior residence, we agreed; changing demographics, alone, will bring shifts in how we approach aging and independence.

   Added to the challenge of an aging population, American athletes, service members and survivors of acts of terrorism continually enter the mainstream. These realities have changed the face of engineering research, which now includes a medical component. Engineering design for increased function becomes available in the mainstream, as does friendlier home, public and systems design.

“When you focus on someone's disability you'll overlook their abilities, beauty and uniqueness. Once you learn to accept and love them for who they are, you subconsciously learn to love yourself unconditionally.” -Yvonne Pierre, The Day My Soul Cried: A Memoir 

    Decades ago Ronald (Ron) Mace, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, introduced a concept he called Universal Design. His concept honored the need of aging Americans to stay in their homes for as long as possible. Mace was also instrumental in the creation of the Center for Universal Design in Raleigh, North Carolina. His idea was not to create a style of design. Rather it was a revolution in how we view design. The end result is products, buildings and outside spaces, which serve as many people as possible, to the greatest extent possible. It is also cost-effective.

    Universal design aesthetically pleasing, as well as functional; the two are, by no means, mutually exclusive. The idea of Universal Design is not to set disabled users apart from others -- disability affects most people at one time or another. Ease of acces and use benefit everyone. You may be surprised to learn of an international grassroots organization, Concrete Change, that seeks to make all homes more accessible to visitors (more "visitable".) 

http://concretechange.home.mindspring.com/index.htm  

   We've long needed to redefine 'normal' and, next, be seeing people as enabled, rather than disabled. Here's to better homes and futuristic communities everywhere!