The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990, 34 years ago. It enshrined the rights of people with disabilities, preventing discrimination and requiring accommodations to be made to meet their needs. It was a landmark piece of legislation. However, it doesn’t require one of the best ways to properly meet the needs of people with disabilities, and something that benefits everyone: universal design.
Universal design is a design principle that makes accessibility the default. According to the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design, accessibility “is not a special requirement, for the benefit of only a minority of the population. It is a fundamental condition of good design.” Universal design is the concept that the main way of accomplishing something for the majority of the population should also be the accessible one. Instead of having a special side entrance of a building with the main one having stairs, for example, the main entrance should instead be wheelchair accessible with a ramp or level entrance that everyone uses.
It’s the ultimate form of inclusivity — not only is there a way for someone who is disabled to do something, but it is the way to do it. There’s no special treatment, or request for accommodation, or having to advocate for oneself. It just works.
One great example of this is curb cuts. It is legally required (due to the aforementioned ADA) that every sidewalk has a ramp going from the sidewalk level to the street level. Everyone uses the curb cuts at intersections, and not only does it make going anywhere with a wheelchair possible, but curb cuts also demonstrate one of the benefits of universal design. Often, accessible design helps everyone, even those who aren’t disabled. People pushing strollers, or a rolling suitcase, or taking their bike with them, or moving anything with wheels can now use these curb cuts, too.
This doesn’t just apply to physical environment design. Universal design is also being employed in fields like education. Institutions like Cornell University have started to use universal design principles to design better courses for all students. Often, students with disabilities have to ask for accommodations from professors and teachers because they have a condition that makes some aspect of the course, or taking things such as exams, difficult. However, using universal design, professors can instead make those accommodations the default. Making test times longer, or deadlines more flexible, or recording lectures for students to be able to review later, are all accommodations made for accessibility, but applying them to everyone can not only take the burden off of a disabled student for having to ask for “special” treatment, as this can often be tiring, but it can help all students succeed.
Universal design is one of the simplest, but most powerful concepts. It simplifies designs into a singular vision that can help the most people, in sometimes unexpected ways. Instead of accommodation, it gracefully includes everyone. It’s time to do more than just accommodate.
