Visitability - Specific Goals

Specific Goals

1. A focus on single-family homes instead of public buildings. Access to new public buildings, such as government offices and restaurants, is typically already required under various national laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 in the United States. Outside of the UK, single-family homes are the one kind of building which is still routinely constructed without regard to access.
2. Every home instead of just "special" homes. Being able to attend the party is better than isolation, or the risk of being "helped up the steps." People who use wheelchairs or walkers, or are impaired by stiffness, weakness or balance problems are blocked by steps at every entrance of a home. Wheelchair users are stopped by inches from fitting through the bathroom door in a friend or relative’s home.
3. Narrowing the emphasis to the most essential features, which are:

• entering a home,
• fitting through the interior doors, and
• being able to use a toilet.

While there are many possible or desirable features, strongly prioritizing the few features which are most crucial to visiting or residing in a home greatly increases the likelihood of widespread construction change.

Basic access goes beyond visiting. It also helps a person of any age who develops a temporary or permanent mobility impairment. Without basic access in place, architecture forces severe choices:

• Expensive renovations, assuming that the necessary changes are possible.
• Being unable to enter or exit the home independently, or to use the bathroom at all.
• Moving to another home or to a nursing home or other specialized facility.

These issues can apply equally to a person who is recovering from surgery, or to a person who has used a wheelchair for decades.