Rolling Rains Report:

What's a Kid to Do in Chatanooga?

Why not try the Creative Discovery Museum?

The museum is one of three recipients of the 2005 Universal Design in Learning Award. The award is offered by Arts in Action which explains, "The award provides financial support to children's museums to support new or existing programs, exhibits, or initiatives that demonstrate best practices and innovation in the implementation of Universal Design Principles."

Ayala Rahav @ Senior Touch Ltd.

Senior Touch Ltd. has an understanding of Universal Design and the senior market whether at home or abroad:

" We focus on product usability and the extent to which the product can be used by older users "
http://www.thematuremarket.com/SeniorStrategic/interview_ayala_rahav-5159---5.html

Hong Kong's Dragon Cruise

Cruise lines and water-based touring companies face design questions that are unique to their situation. A thorough rethinking of ship design and water-based travel products is in order using the principle of Universal Design. Here is a report on First Travel's new 'Hong Kong Dragon Cruise'. While they have not undertaken such an integrated approach they have acknowledged some of the basics.

See:

http://www.marinelog.com/DOCS/NEWSMMIII/MMIIINov25.html

Disability Discrimination at the Taj Mahal Employs Religious Metaphors

Plans to enshrine disability discrimination at the Taj Mahal have succeeded through the use of religious metaphors.

Surely, arguments can be made that the design mistakes in the Taj Mahal might better be solved by something other than a hydrolic lift that is aesthically at odds with the harmony of the building originally constructed as a mausoleum for Arjumand Bano Begum, later to be known as Mumtaz-Mahal. But the deeper question has to be asked, as was done by the U.N.'s section on World Heritage Sites, "What is the meaning of such architectural "harmony" when it is a manifestation of social exclusion and a barrier to access?"

From Disability News & Information Service (http://www.dnis.org/index.php)

Plan for introducing a specially designed hydraulic lift inside Taj Mahal to allow people with disabilities to visit the inner platform has been shelved as it may destroy the monuments' sanctity says C. Babu Rajeev, Director General of Archaeological Survey of India (A.S.I.), in conversation with Parvinder Singh.

Plan for making Taj Mahal's inner dome accessible has been shelved: A.S.I. Chief

Plan for introducing a specially designed hydraulic lift inside Taj Mahal to allow people with disabilities to visit the inner platform has been shelved as it may destroy the monuments� sanctity says C. Babu Rajeev, Director General of Archaeological Survey of India (A.S.I.), in conversation with Parvinder Singh.

1. After Professor Stephen Hawkings� visit to India, in 2001, the Archaeological Survey of India (A.S.I.) had announced a policy to make the World Heritage Sites accessible. What is the present status of access for people with disabilities at these sites and National Monuments?

Yes, we do have a policy on access for people with disabilities to these historical sites. In April 2005, I held a meeting with Superintending Officers, our men on the ground who get orders executed, from across the country to take a feedback on various issue including what is being done about access in there respective jurisdictions. The issue of access was reiterated during the meeting and a decision has been taken to make all World Heritage Sites (20 declared and 14 listed) friendly to people with disabilities on a priority basis. Thereafter, focus would be shifted to all ticketed sites under us. Right now I cannot give you a specific number of how many monuments can be declared barrier-free. Efforts, however, would be to attain a standardisation of these facilities to adhere to a quality, so that these can be used effectively. In the National Capital Qutub Minar and Humayun's Tomb are two such examples.

2. Are there any guidelines or parameters that ASI has on access for the aged and people with disabilities?

No there aren�t any guidelines as such, and I do not think there is a need to prescribe any specific parameters. It is not an issue that involves very hi-tech technical know-how to make ramps and toilets accessible. As these facilities can be easily provided for. However, the will and spirit to carry them out is need.

3. But you surely must be aware that in the United States, Britain and several other European countries specific guidelines ensure that people with problem of access can reach such sites link any other section. Isn�t there a need for similar initiatives?

It�s not right to compare the situation here with these countries. There are huge cultural differences. Further, specific laws in these places make it mandatory for all facilities, not just monuments, to have an accessible infrastructure. For instance, I often see during my travels abroad that wheelchair users are provided with special lifts at airports when a flight is about to take-off or land. In India at best you see two people manually dragging wheelchair user. There is a general lack of standardisation in India.

4. What sort of training is being provided to A.S.I. officials and local staff including guides vis-�-vis disabled tourists?

At the moment no training programme is being carried out and there is nothing in the pipeline either. Well, you see we do not really need to train the entire staff. Sensitisation and awareness over the issue is required for the top-level people who are involved in the panning phase. From there on, we conduct periodic appraisal and assessment of the execution of the policy being carried out by the staff.

5. What are the challenges that ASI confronts in making �heritage sites accessible�?

The country has a very large number of heritage monuments, around 5,000 of them. The idea of access for people with disability is rather new and it will take a lot of time for things to move. But we are taking steps in this direction. One of the problems that I noticed when I visited some sites is that facilities are very poor and unusable. For instance, some of the ramps that I saw that some of the monuments were too steep to allow any access forget about wheelchairs. But anyways the biggest problem is that we cannot do too many changes to a monument, as it would interfere with its original look. If a platform is too high, we cannot make a too long a ramp.

6. People were quite enthused to hear about the lift in the Taj Mahal? Tell us more about how A.S.I. is importing technology/ know how for creating universal access to the monuments? Do you feel that the lack of access to important tourist destination may be acting as a put-off for aged and disabled foreign tourists?

There was an announcement sometime ago, but we have shelved the project for providing a lift, which was to be especially designed and engineered, to reach the inner platform. This was done primarily because there was opposition from some groups and individuals, who have raised concerns over the sanctity of the place being desiccated due to this move. Yes, I too feel that cultural sanctity of a historical place is important. We cannot and should not destroy that. I have been to the platform that houses the grave; I do not understand why people make such a crowd there. The outer structure of the monument is the main attraction and it is accessible�. The problem was of electrical cables etc to power the lift. No technological association with foreign countries underway or planned as yet. Better accessibility will definitely encourage such tourists to visit these monuments.

Source:

http://www.dnis.org/index.php

Wheelchair Rider's Guide

The Coastal Conservancy is sponsoring a book signing for Bonnie Lewkowicz's new book, A Wheelchair Rider's Guide: San Francisco Bay and the Nearby Coast.

It ill be held at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park, 2777 Middle Harbor Rd. (at 7th St.), Oakland on
Tuesday, May 9, 2006, 11 a.m.

A Wheelchair Rider's Guide is a guidebook to wheelchair-accessible parks, trails, and beaches along the bayshore and coast is now available. Bonnie is the founder of Access Northern California specializing in advocacy and education to bring accessibility to the recreation and tourism offerings of Northern California.

From the press release:

Meet author Bonnie Lewkowicz, a dancer, wheelchair rider, and access specialist, and others who worked to create this unique 208-page guide.

It's a key to shoreline discoveries and pleasures in the San Francisco Bay Area, and it's yours free of charge.

Also tour Middle Harbor Shoreline Park, in the midst of the Port of Oakland,

and learn about its rich history as you take in spectacular views of

the Port, the Bay Bridge, and the San Francisco skyline.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO RSVP, CALL 510-286-4091

or email calcoast@scc.ca.gov

Italian "Agriturismo"

Rural Tourism is a growing phenomenon worldwide.

Sometimes it is haphazard. It has been entertaining to watch the fortunes of the state of Wyoming fluctuate with the whims of Hollywood -- "Brokeback Mountain" and "City Slickers" each contributed their share.

Other times it is supported by a substantial policy infrastructure. Agriturismo is a serious tourism endeavor in Italy. Try Agriturismo.net (selecting the box for "Disability Access") for a glimpse of just how developed this niche is there.

Design Lecture Series in Chicago

This lecture promises to be noteworthy. Marca, Valerie, & Coco have all been innovators for years:

Universal Design: A Catalyst for Invention Tuesday, April 25, 6 pm

Free - there will be a sign language interpreter and descriptive narrator for the panel discussion.
Join Marca Bristo, president and CEO of Access Living; Valerie Fletcher, Executive Director of Adaptive Environments; Coco Raynes, president of the multidisciplinary design firm Coco Raynes Associates; and Rebecca McGinnis, access coordinator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and universal design scholar, as they discuss the innovative ways universal design principles have been applied in cultural institutions.

Universal Design in Homes in India

While much of the press that is easily available to me here in the US emphasizes the near ubiquity of Universal Design in new home construction and in remodeling this piece by Vivek Sabherwal tells the rest of the story. Universal Design is global good sense.

Read Ageing, with Comfort: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=124661

Homeland of the Chiricahua Apache Indians

http://www.nps.gov/chir/
The Chiricahua Park area was once home to the Chiricahua Apache Indians and their leader, Cochise. The rock formations are dramatic.

The Park Department offers a page on accessibility.

Pauline Hephaistos Access Survey Projects

Access Project has been involved in the production of Access Guides for over thirty years. The research is carried out by Pauline Hephaistos Survey Projects (PHSP)

http://www.accessproject-phsp.org/

PHSP guidebooks are based around several principles. They aim:

to provide practical and well-researched information for disabled people and those who have difficulties in getting around who want to travel, and get out and about;
to provide information which is firmly based on the experience of disabled people;
to set new standards in terms of a clear and concise descriptive presentation of access information; and,
to be a catalyst for change, both by making people more aware of what needs to be done, and by showing what is currently possible.
In an ideal world, High Street travel agents, conventional guide writers, tourist offices and website information would include details about access. However, the diversity of the issues is so great, that to expect sources such as tourist boards, tour operators and guide writers to provide what is needed is probably unrealistic. At best, such organisations tend to go only as far as to say that somewhere is 'accessible' or it is 'not accessible', by which they generally mean step free. This begs so many questions as to be misleading for much of the time. Places might be described as being not accessible, when the only barrier is two steps, and many chair users travelling around with friends, for example, would be able to manage. Other places might be described as 'accessible', because they are step free, but there may be large distances involved, or steepish slopes.

There are several problems inherent in the judgemental approach, and also in the use of 'standards', such as those applied to hotels in the UK:

firstly, in attempting to impose a degree of consistency, people have focused on the perspective and needs of one subset of the disabled community, wheelchair users. This is based on the assumption that they always have the most demanding requirements, which is not always the case;
secondly, it is difficult to arrive at satisfactory and objective criteria, and when stringent guidelines are followed, most listings are heavily weighted towards the more/most expensive facilities (particularly for accommodation);
thirdly, general publications such as guidebooks, theatre listings and the telephone directory, suffer from having to make gross generalisations. It is simply not enough to say that a site, shop or cinema is 'accessible', and in practically every situation more information is needed. Another organisation called Artsline provides this for entertainment venues in London, and it too bases all its information on visit as well as describing the access barriers, so that people can make up their own mind about a visit. We would like to highlight this as being 'good practice';
fourthly, the existence of standards encourages the attitude "well, we've fulfilled the criteria". People can even become less willing to try to react positively to individual needs. In addition, many people will not try to adapt their premises, because they appear to be such a long way from meeting the standard, yet small and probably inexpensive changes could bring substantial benefit to disabled people.

Universal Design Living Laboratory

From my perspective, UD is emerging into the mainstream market. There is a common misconception that UD is a way to comply with the Americans with Disability Act Accessibility Guidelines. UD, however, is not just for people with disabilities or people who are elderly. UD is human-centered design. It can alleviate many of the housing problems wheelchair users have been facing for years. These homes need not look geriatric or hospital-like. They can be homey, spacious, and welcoming for all.

Our home is slated to begin construction this spring. Upon completion in late Fall 2006, it will serve as a national demonstration home and Universal Design Living Laboratory. The landscape will be wheelchair accessible and include raised beds and containers in the gardens. The home will showcase the latest products and technology supporting the principles, not only of UD, but also of green building (which optimizes use of natural resources including energy and water) and healthy home construction (which aims to increase the quality of air and water in the home).

For the full article see:

http://www.udll.com/articles/building_a_universal_design_dream_home_a_primer_for_building_human-centered_homes.cfm

Green, Well-Lighted, and Accessible

Daylighting is the simple practice of using available light resource through design in order to create a more human-centered environmentally responsible built environment. You can read here about the approach of the Daylighting Collaborative and see its member organizations here.

Getting Around Tricino, Switzerland

The "Federation for the Integration of the Handicapped" (sic), a group in Ticino, Switzerland, has done an accessibility audit that is useful for visitors. You can see a report at James Martin's About.com site -- Europe for Visitors.

ENAT - European Network for Accessible Tourism

Thursday, May 9 is the launch event of the "European Network for Accessible Tourism" (ENAT).

From the release:

ENAT is a new membership organisation for businesses, organisations and individuals that want to support and learn more about accessible tourism in Europe. It is a Network for those who already possess a lot of experience in the field, and also for those who might know just a little - but want to know and do more. By bringing all interested parties together, we hope to contribute to the important goal of making tourism accessible for all across the whole of Europe

The European Network for Accessible Tourism is sponsored by nine founding organisations, including VisitBritain, The Hellenic Ministry of Tourism, Fundación ONCE and accessible tourism specialists from Belgium, Greece, Ireland and Sweden. The European Commission is also supporting ENAT in 2006 - 2007 with a grant from its budget line for "Transnational Pilot Projects for Mainstreaming Disability Policies".

International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: Photo Contest

Entry closed on March 31, 2006 for the current "ICF Photo Contest - Images of Health and Disability." Keep a creative eye open for images to submit next year as you examine the work of previous winners:

2002
2003
2004

Northern Lights Spotting

The AMTAK Empire Builder run from Minot, ND to Minneapolis, MN covers a lot of prarie in its 9 + hour run. Some of the landscape may be quite interesting - maybe even colorful once the spring growth takes hold. I wouldn't know. The route is an overnight run.

Tonight there was a trace of Aurora Borealis arcing along the northern horizon -- an animated curtain of filmy white looking like a waterfall in the sky phasing in and out of focus.

The wheelchair accessible cabin span the width of the car. Its esthetic appeal is nonexistent.

The toilet -- seat up and bowl gaping as we entered -- is the first thing you see in this combined bathroom/sleeper. The curtain available to divide the room bisects the doorway when drawn so cannot be used to hide the WC from anyone entering the cabin. Hospital mentality.

The convertable seat/bed was surprisingly comfortable to sleep in even for someone six feet tall.The attendant, Reggie from Seattle, had to set the bed up because the conversion is not designed for indepence of the travler with a disability. Fortunately, service was excellent.

Maine's Opportunity To Lead the Way To Information Access For Everyone

In September 1997, leaders from Maine State government, business, education, and the non-profit community gathered for the Conference, Maximizing Economic Potential. They set out to explore how Maine could develop the information technologies to be globally competitive. Surpisingly, one of the documents to result was a good analysis of Universal Design that still has relevance to the creation of good sources of information for the traveler with a disability:

Universal Design: Maine�s Opportunity To Lead the Way To Information Access For Everyone

Japan's Centrair Airport Teaches Universal Design by Example

I have not flown out of Nagoya's Centrair Airport but their web site indicates that they now what the issues are for travelers with disabiities.

For a look at what infrastructure Japan has in place for travelers with disabilities look at this Centrair page.

New Dehli: First National Conference on Accessible Transportation

This conference sought to bring the government service providers, stakeholders and user groups on one platform to address the concern of senior citizens and persons with disabilities. Five international experts also addressed the conference. Of them Ling Suen of the International Centre for Accessible Transportation, Canada recommended enactment of a National Transportation Act in India like that in Canada besides a complaint resolution mechanism and redress system to make the roads, buildings and other public places more accessible to the elderly and the disabled.

Source:
http://www.hindu.com/2006/03/19/stories/2006031910640400.htm

Divi Tiara Beach Resort in Cayman Brac

Divi Resorts offers accessible scuba. Road & Travel Magazine reports on a January 2006 tour sponsored by Craig Rehabilitation Hospital held at Cayman Brac near Cuba.

A Japanese Initiative: The Barrier-Free Company

Consultant Makoto Nakazawa has the right idea -- and a list of accomplishments to prove it. The Barrier-Free Company takes seriously the tourism potential of seniors.

For more information:

E-mail: info@barrier-free-jp.com
Web site: http://www.barrier-free-jp.com
Address: Rm 703, Torano-Mon KT Bldg., 5-11-15 Torano-Mon, Minato-Ku, Tokyo, Japan 105-0001
Phone: 81+ (0) 3-3459-4543
Fax: 81+(0) 3-3459-4547

Susan Fornoff Captures the Dilemma in "Age of Denial"

Even as Universal Design gains popularity this ancedote opening Susan Fornoff's SF Chronicle article captures the tension:

Meri-K Appy can't forget the look on the face of her neighbor, a fit and athletic Baby Boomer, who reacted to the phrase "grab bars" as if someone should have bleeped out the two seemingly innocuous four-letter words.

Read Age of Denial for a look into why it is so essential to differentiate between "accessibility" and Universal Design.

(Full Disclosure: There are no grab bars in my remodeled Universal Design bathroom either!)

(Fuller Disclosure: I had an outstanding deisgner who came up with excellent solutions that unstylish accessiblity products unneccessary.)

Strategic Use of Universal Design as a Business Tool for 21st Century

Sooshin Choi is on target.

Choi, Associate Professor of Industrial Design in the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning at the University of Cincinnati wrote Strategic Use of Universal Design as a Business Tool for 21st Century

Vigo in Galicia

Have you ever had a song stuck in your head for hours? For days? A Buddhist meditation instructor once explained to me that it has to do with failure to be in the present moment.

I plead guilty to lack of mindfulness lately. (Is that mindlessness?) Chalk it up to all the hours in the air recently (and more tomorrow.) Apparently that has left me victim of the latest unbidden mantra. It is a line from one of my favorite movies -- Bye, Bye Brazil. The line is, "Para Vigo me voy!"

Maybe, I thought, I could exorcise this phrase by answering the question, "Where in the Sam Hill is 'Vigo' anyway?

It turns out that the proverbial Sam Hill may have been through Vigo -- Vigo, Indiana -- but the movie character might also have been referring to the town in Galicia.

Vigo, Galicia has been upgrading its tourism offerings thanks to the crew in the photo above.

Their campaign targets a big rollout for Easter Week 2006. Here is a press release for you to try your lingistic skills on. I have an inquiry in to Vigo's tourism office to get more background on accessibility especially of the "Vigo Enroute" initiative ( "Vigo en Ruta"). The project has three routes: One Hundred Minutes of Culture "100 minutos de cultura", One Hundred Minutes of Ocean"100 minutos de mar" and 100 Minutes of Nature "100 minutos de natureza."

Meanwhile, maybe the webcam at Faro de Vigo will convinceme to someday make good on the promise, "Para Vigo me voy!"

The US Department of Transportation DOT Proposes Amendments to its ADA Regulations

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a notice on February 27 to amend its ADA regulations. These regulations cover policies and practices by transit operators as well as detailed criteria for transportation facilities and vehicles.

The notice seeks to clarify the responsibility of transportation providers to make reasonable modifications to their policies and practices to ensure program access. In addition, the notice addresses boarding platform access at commuter and intercity rail stations that would preserve requirements in the current standards for transportation facilities in light of DOT’s plan to update its standards based on the new guidelines the Board has issued under the ADA. The notice is available for comment until April 28, 2006. The notice also seeks public feedback on other issues including bus rapid transit, classification of key stations, vintage streetcars, coverage of intercity rail, and other issues where clarification in the regulations is needed. Comments on this part of the notice are due by May 30, 2006. The notice and related docket information is available on DOT’s website at http://dms.dot.gov .

Turtle Mountain: Off Season Tourism

The Chippewa People offer this appealing invitation on the Turtle Mountain Heritage Center web site:

The staff of the Turtle Mountain Heritage Center would like to help you plan your next vacation to the Turtle Mountains. If you need travel information, lodging information, or other information, contact us. We can also conduct tours of the area by special appointment. We look forward to seeing you soon!

It's 32 degrees Fahrenheit there at the moment but I'm going to take them up on the offer the day after tomorrow.

The Turtle Mountains, Chippewa Reserrvation, and nearby Intrnational Peace Park on the Canadian border can be reached several ways.

The day-long drive from Minneapolis airport passes over the flooding Red River. Been there. Done that. Not this year, thanks.

Northwest has a flight, the only commercial option to Minot, which is my choice for this trip. AMTRAK has a night run that takes about 10 hours to Minot, ND which leaves roughly 3 hours remaining by car.

The final leg of the route doesn't take me through Fargo and reviewing its namesake movie is not on my trip preparation checklist but, if I can find the copy she gave me, I want to reread Kathleen Norris' Dakota: A Spiritual Biography

Local Sites:

See Rolette County Tourism
http://www.rolettecounty.com/Tourism.htm

A Resource by Paula Giese:
http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/dakotas/nd.html

Famous Chippewa (AKA Ojibway):
Sam English
http://www.hanksville.org/artists/english.html

Hotels Club News Reports on "Medical Travel" in Brazil: Green Place Flat & Residence

Congratulations to Green Place Flat & Residence in São Paulo, Brazil.

Situated in the city's hospital district Green Place has adopted Universal Design retrofitting for the specialized niche, "medical travel" that is not often discussed in the Rolling Rains Report.

Medical travel is somewhat under reported among those who champion inclusive travel. This is partly because the medicalization of disability stands in fundamental opposition to modern disability rights and self-determination movements. Similarly, in the field of aging, the dominance of medical intervention marks the diffence between the Golden Age of the "Third Age" and the medicalized "Fourth Age" of denoument.

However, serving travelers with disabilities in such a favorable location, Green Place in São Paulo may succeed in demonstrating best practices to be emulated through the industry.

O Green Place Flat & Residence tem andar para pessoas especiais

Com uma localização privilegiada, próximo da Av. Vinte e Três de Maio, numa região médico-hospitalar, tendo nas proximidades o Hospital São Paulo, AACD, Hospital Edmundo Vasconcelos, Hospital do Servidor Público, Clínica Maio e Escola Paulista de Medicina, o Green Place Flat & Residence está sempre buscando soluções práticas para os hóspedes que fazem tratamento médico em São Paulo.

Para estes clientes especiais, o hotel oferece todo o primeiro andar, adaptado para as mais diversas necessidades. Neste andar, 10 apartamentos estão disponíveis com portas mais largas (para a entrada de macas ou cadeiras de rodas), barras para apoio, ducha higiênica e nos banheiros não existe box a fim de facilitar a higienização dos pacientes e dos seus acompanhantes. Os apartamentos têm um dormitório, sala e minicozinha, e o hóspede pode ter acesso à Internet banda larga, TV a cabo e frigobar.

Segundo a gerente geral do Green Place, Cristina Senador, o hotel é muito procurado por entidades da área médica. “Por causa desta procura, o Green Place adaptou espaços no nosso centro de convenções para favorecer este segmento”, explica. E este espaço inclui três salas para os mais diversos tipos de eventos, com completa infra-estrutura, disponibilizando equipamentos com tecnologia de ponta.

O Green Place Flat & Residence fica na Rua Diogo de Faria, 1201, Vila Mariana, São Paulo-SP. site: www.greenplaceflat.com.br

Fonte: Leda da Costa

Source:
Hotels Club News

Global Tourism Renewable Energy Alliance Announced

Green building & Universal Design go together. In commercial building Universal Design & LEED certification go hand in hand. In home design and remodelling Boomer UD retrofits fill the news as do industry stories on energy efficient smart homes.

So it is encouraging to see travel industry organizations such as Green Globe 21and ICTP partner with innovative businesses such as Green Global Village and Mondial Energy.

Travel Wire News reports:

Alex Winch, President of Mondial Energy Inc. announced an alliance with Green Global Village to target the tourism sector with Mondial’s innovative solar financing mechanism.

Winch said that Mondial has developed a financing structure that allows for no capital outlay, low operating cost energy solutions using high quality equipment and long term, stable energy prices. The link with tourism – one of the world’s largest and most energy reliant sectors – opens up immense market opportunity. He added that it would also help the tourism industry do the right thing at the right time for global climate change solutions.

Source:
http://www.travelwirenews.com/news/03APR2006.htm

Absolutely Unrelated to Travel, Universal Design, or Any of the Topics in this Blog

On Wednesday, April 5, 2006, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 AM in the morning, the time and date will be

01:02:03 04/05/06

This will never happen again.

(Thank you to Alan Toy for alerting me to this unique opportunity to be "in the present moment.")

Recent Articles on Universal Design

Pat Ferrier, writing in the Coloradan, tells an interesting story - with a bit of edge - on the impact of visitability while making appropriate distinctions between disability, handicap, universal design, and accessible design. (But note Visitability founder Eleanor Smith's notes below.*) Read Homes for All Abilities. The piece is reminiscent of the warning issued post-Katrina -- "Will We Learn From Our Mistakes?"

Here is another good piece. This one is by Maureen St.Hilaire and published in the Arlington Advocate. And one by Kimberly Seldon of Design for Living.

As Universal Design continues into the mainstream publications like MSN (first article) make mistakes like confusing it with accessible design.

The Hottest Remodeling Trends for 2011
http://realestate.msn.com/Improve/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=276542

Universal Design Makes Homes Useful for Every Stage of Life
http://www.mlive.com/homeimprovement/stories/index.ssf?/base/features-0/1140953249123930.xml&coll=7

Latest New American Home Has a Lot of `Wow'
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/home/13944979.htm

But then, they are not alone:

Universal Design, Other Features, Appeal to Boomers
http://triad.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2006/03/20/focus2.html?page=3
by Jonathon Scott, The Business Journal

Scott also makes the error of linking New Urbanism with meeting the needs of those with mobility impairments if a subscetion entitled "Walkable Communities." "Walkable", perhaps, if your stamina exceeds that which generally accompanies aging.

On balance, the practice of Universal Design is suffusing the home industry even if it is poorly understood. Poisitive signs include these reports from the Miami Herald:

Stephen Bennett doesn't need a wheelchair-accessible bathroom. But the president and chief executive of United Cerebral Palsy has lots of friends and professional acquaintances who do and says ``when I have friends over, I want them to be able to go to the bathroom in my house...'

It's a problem that many Americans may find familiar.

As baby boomers hit their 60s, many are learning that even something as simple as getting into their own bathrooms becomes quite difficult if they suddenly need a wheelchair to get around.'

See also Jo Werne's "Prepare Your Home Now for Aging in Place."

* Notes on the Coloradan article by Eleanor Smith:

Many new articles in the mainstream press, these days, reference
Visitabity and/or Universal Design. Below is a good example, from
the March 20 Fort Collins, CO, daily newspaper.

There are a couple of inaccuracies. For instance, it says that universal design was
introduced in Atlanta. In fact, UD was introduced in Raleigh NC,
and Visitability in Atlanta, at about the same time and without
either group knowing of the other for a couple of years.

Nor is EVERY house required to have access in the cities listed, which the
article claims.

I also question the cost figures stated by some
builders in the article, since they are too high unless some factors
are involved the article is not mentioning. For instance, saying
basic access costs "2 or 3 %" of the cost of the home does not
compute, since incorporating the same features is not going to cost
$2,000 for a 100K home and $8,000 for a 600K home--even if certain
features in the high-end home such as the entryway are made with
higher cost materials like flagstone instead of concrete.

The most serious error is to let stand the statement that keeping water
from running into the home is highly complex. When folks assert
that to me, I usually counter with "Does water run in the new bank?
The new Burger King?" And one can also reference Bolingbrook IL,
with its snowy winters, where water has not been a problem in the
thosands of homes built. (A few have received exemptions based on
terrain, but that constitutes less than 3%.) As to cost,
Bolingbrook city officials are stating a cost of about $300 for all
the features--and the homes are built over basements.

With all the above caveats, I still think the article moves the
concept forward well.

Eleanor S.

Paris on a Quad Bike?

The Independent sends a travel writer four wheeling through the streets of Paris on a "quad bike."

And the Envelope, Please!

Rather than spoil the surprise, and to encourage you to become familiar with the work of the Open Doors Organization, follow this link to summary results of the 2005 survey of top US travel destinations for people with disabilities.

While there, explore the site taking a look at some of the work done by Laurel van Horn who has lso co-authored, with Jose Isola, an excellent history of inclusive travel that Review of Disability Studies is inexcusably late in publishing.