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The IDeA Center is happy to announce
that two new publications available in 2010.
Inclusive Housing: A Pattern Book (W.W. Norton & Co.) will be released in April 2010 and is a resource for designing communities to accommodate social diversity and provide equitable opportunities for all residents, or, inclusive design. It focuses on design of housing to provide accessibility to people with disabilities and, at the same time, provide benefits to all residents. The book emerged out of a lengthy discussion within the Congress for the New Urbanism about accessible housing design in the urban context. This discussion identified the need for information that would help incorporate accessibility for people with disabilities into neighborhood and housing design practices without compromising other important design goals. For ordering information, please go here:
Direct
from Publisher, W.W. Norton and Co.
Borders
Barnes
and Noble
Amazon
Google
listings
The State
of the Science: Emerging Research and Developments in Universal
Design (Bentham Sciences
Publishers, Ltd.) will contain the latest research related to universal
design that was presented at the RERC-UD's State of the Science events.
The publication has over twenty contributing authors from around the world
and emphasizes the growing need for evidence based practice in the field.
Continue to other upcoming publications >>
The RERC-UD's R2 team
has begun a 1-year study that will evaluate the usability of 18 household
products for four user groups: wheelchair users, persons with vision
impairment, older adults, and healthy young adults.
Photo of full scale bus simulation at IDEA Center
For R2 researchers, the principal aim of this project is to establish the
discriminant validity of the Rapid Assessment of Product Usability and
Universal Design (RAPUUD). The RAPUUD is a 13-item tool based on the
Principles of UD. The team began developing the RAPUUD in 2007 as part of
its long-term goal to encourage product developers to integrate inclusive
design principles into their product designs.
Data Collection Underway in CMU Lab on Modality Preference for Rider Report on Transit Accessibility Problems
A was built at Carnegie
Mellon University (CMU) to studyrider documentation of bus shelter
accessibility barriers. The first round of publications from this team was
presented at a poster session at this year's Transportation Research Board
(TRB) Annual Meeting in January.
For more information about the
RERC-APT go to http://www.rercapt.org
A full scale model of a
simulated bus and platform were recently constructed at the IDeA Center at
The University at Buffalo. The apparatus will allow us to test the impact
of various ramp slopes and lifts on the usability of transit
systems.
Continue to complete article on RERC-APT >>
The RERC-APT recently developed a collaborative relationship with
Easter Seals Project ACTION. Easter Seals Project ACTION promotes
cooperation between the transportation industry and the disability
community to increase mobility for people with disabilities under the ADA
and beyond. Recognizing our common goals, we worked together to develop,
"Universal Design & Accessible Transit Systems: Facts to Consider When
Updating or Expanding Your Transit System." The guide is targeted
towards those involved with transportation infrastructure and capital
investment purchases of equipment. It provides useful information on
accessibility and the benefits of universal design, and contains
recommendations and guidelines for transit agencies to consider when
updating or expanding their systems. It is available online and as a print
publication.
Since fall 2009, over 10,000 fact sheets were mailed out and over 1000
copies were distributed at various conferences.
In addition, Mary Leary, Senior Director of Project ACTION &
Transportation Initiatives, joined the RERC-APT Advisory Board.
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