I love the proverb “By teaching, you will learn, By learning you will teach”.
Lately I had an amazing opportunity to learn more about accessibility, Universal design and aging in place concepts. Since I started learning about this in University the concept captured my heart and I decided that this would be my niche when I graduate. I am glad I started my journey learning more about those concepts so I could make a difference.
A place that is accessible means that any one can have easy access to it. They can walk through it and use all the facilities associated with that place without any difficulty, I don’t think anybody would disagree that this is the least basics of human rights. When we say any person, it really should be any person. Not everyone in our communities are able-bodied. Some people don’t have any option except using a wheel chair to move around, some people are visually impaired, others have hearing impairments and some people can’t communicate except by sign language, some also suffer from memory loss or dementia. That is only mentioning some of the disabilities that we could all suffer from for a short period or permanently.
How can we provide places that would cater to the needs of all people with diverse abilities without them needing to ask for help and preserving their dignity? How can we avoid segregating, stigmatizing or isolating any user? How to make the space simple, easy to understand for people with different language skills, concentration levels or knowledge level? How the space could minimize hazards and provide safety for all users? This is Universal design
Universal design accommodates people with wide range of age and body size and , different abilities with the dignity and respect and opportunity for choice and individual preferences. Amazing!! Isn’t it??
It is not an easy task to universally designed places and still have the great aesthetics but it is possible! Designers can create anything they want when they prioritize the Concept of a User centered design . When there is enough awareness about universal design, it will bring more appreciation from the public. The public will have more of an understanding when it is created for a beautiful purpose to make life easier for people with diverse abilities. This is the community I want to live in, I want design with purpose!
That is just the tip of the iceberg into something I am very passionate about. I hope that I will be able to learn more and teach more! If you are interested to know more about a specific topic concerned with Universal design, please let me know and let’s learn and teach together.
Rehab,
