Universal Design: Living Large in the 70’s

See it in video: Living Large in the 70's

Ahh, the 70’s. Muhammad Ali, Mark Spitz, Vietnam, China and Watergate. What about Star Wars, disco, Atari and video cassettes? How about the New York City blackout, Son of Sam and Guardian Angels? A pretty amazing decade, but, I’m not talking about those 70’s. I’m talking about you and your seventies!

Becoming seventy is far away, maybe 10, 20, 30 or even 40 years off. When it comes, I’m sure you want to be living a great life. There are a few essential ingredients required for that decade to be great; one of them is your independence.

What will give you your independence in your seventies is not what gives you your independence today. The environment you live in will need to be different; you will have to ready it for your arrival. The good news is that there is nothing to invent and no mystery to solve – it’s already invented and solved. To prepare your environment for ongoing independence you need two words: universal design.

What is universal design? It is an approach to designing products and environments that doesn’t discriminate on the basis of age or ability. It means that a home, for example, can function equally well for a child, an adult, an elder or a person with a physical limitation either temporary or permanent. Right now, we don’t build homes that way; we build homes for one type of person, an able-bodied adult.

Universal design unlocks the gate to living large in your seventies (and many other decades of living) but it doesn’t overcome another rather large obstacle, your fear of aging. Ask me about my seventies and I get squirmy and try to change the subject. I don’t want to think about it. When I do, I don’t have positive associations. I think of slowing down, weakening strength and failing body parts. Shudder! Planning for my seventies? Mañana!

Unfortunately, mañana isn’t a winning formula. Without planning, I’ll stumble into my seventies. I’ll have fewer options. I’ll be trying to stay afloat rather than living large. The question that emerges is, how can I get excited about taking actions today that won’t seem to matter for years?

There’s a trick.

Start by remembering an adventuresome vacation you took. There you were, time off from work, where to go? You did your research, talked to friends and voila, Costa Rica would be your destination! Step two was to hone the plans: what hotel, what flight, what activities, etc. Finally you put your money down and booked the trip. Excitement bubbled within; you were going to Costa Rica! Did you walk into work the next day all ho-hum? No, you couldn’t wait to tell friends and co-workers about your forthcoming trip! After work, did you just head home? No, you hit the stores and bought snorkeling gear, a fishing rod and some suntan lotion. Hardly a day passed without some excitement and preparation for the trip.

It’s the same for your seventies. The only thing that’s different is the destination. Much like the vacation, there is a chunk of time in your future that’s open and can be planned as you see fit. Begin by imagining what you want it to look like. This is an important step. As you imagine your seventies, be unreasonable. Let nothing hold your imagination back. Be vivid. Be unbridled in your creativity. If you have an idea and it doesn’t excite you or put a smile on your face, cross it off and imagine something else. Keep going until becoming seventy couldn’t happen soon enough.

Good questions to ask yourself during this stage are: Who am I? Am I rich in wealth? Am I rich in spirit? Am I rich in love? Do I live in a warm climate or a cold? City or country? A big community or a small one? Near family or far away?

As this picture of yourself in your seventies emerges, map it out. Write it in a journal, collage it or make a scrapbook of ideas. With a clear picture of your seventies that makes you excited, we now need to work toward the present – is there an action you could take today? Steps toward the present will be large at first and as we get closer to the present, will become smaller. The end of this journey will be the present, and, in this present, you will be clear on an action to take that will bring you toward living large in your seventies.

Let me walk you through it using myself as an example. Don’t ask me why, I’m a New Yorker, but, I have a thing for Montana. I want to be in Montana for my seventies. I’ll have an apartment in New York and will visit frequently. I’m still married to my wife and we have a joyous vibe that attracts lots of visitors. The house is on the North Fork in the Bitterroot – lots of trout. I have a big porch that faces west, and, I can drive from the land onto the porch and into the house with my rugged ATV-ish scooter. For some reason, that picture of seventy excites me.

Working toward the present, at age sixty, I got to have things pretty set up so that ten years out I’m living this dream. I’ll be familiar with Montana having visited for long periods. I’ll be members in local clubs and have my first few friends. I’ll know where I want to live and be ready financially to purchase land and a home.

Jumping toward the present another ten years, what do I got to have at fifty so that that vision at sixty is ready? I need to be building equity, I’ll begin visiting Montana regularly, I’ll be in my peak earning years and kids will be all educated freeing up additional capital to set aside.

I’ll jump again toward the present but in a shorter time jump, five years. At 45, what do I got so that the vision at 50 is ready? I’m building my value at work, I’m owning or buying some of that equity that’s gonna grow and I’m raising a family. What about one year from now? I’m finishing my research on being seventy in Montana. How about three months from now? I’m in the middle of my visioning and research. And how about right now? Right now, I’m beginning my research. Right now, I’m Googling universal design and thinking about being seventy in a whole new way.

If at the beginning, I asked you, “What are you doing today so that being seventy is gonna be great?” You might have squirmed, said you had an IRA and changed the subject. Instead, you have a new answer, Google universal design resource and start forming an idea of what you’ll need to keep the independence you love.

Wow. Living large in the seventies is possible. When you get there, it will be ready for you. Your independence will be as present as it is today. Opportunities won’t diminish, they’ll continue. Sure, it will all look different. But best of all, you’ll still get to be you.


Konrad Kaletsch, CAPS
June 12, 2009
Universal Design Resource
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Universal Design: New Baby vs. New Elder

A bit of a rant today:

It’s getting to be years ago that I was looking at bookshelves filled with books on having a baby, bringing a baby home, what to do with a baby when it’s home, what to expect next; what it’s expressing and when, how-to this and that. Then the parents, and what they are going through and how they can handle it. I still see that bookshelf at bookstores, how could I not? It’s one of the bigger shelves in the store.

But I go now in search of a different book. It’s the one on bringing an elder into my world, not a baby. Forget finding it on a bookshelf. I have to go to Amazon. Why? There are so few books written on this topic. If I help a parent move closer to me or maybe into my home, there’s no psychologist there to hold my hand and guide me along the way. There’s no medical book like the pediatric ones that tell you no honey until age 1. There’s no book telling me how to make my parent’s new home “elder-safe.” There’s no info on how to prepare for the transition and how to make the move itself.

The beginning of life has as many concerns and hurdles as does the end of life. One just seems to us as a bit more optimistic and less fearful. This is a call out to authors and professionals to start writing these books. The market will be there when your book arrives. Occupational therapists – you know the whole world of concerns of what ailment needs what environment to have a person comfortable and successful in their daily routines. Psychologists – tell me how I’m going to decompress when things get rough; how can I love my parent when it gets hard? Builders – tell me what I need to have in their new home. And doctors – tell me how to find a new range of specialists in the new neighborhood; tell me how to have a smooth transition from one practitioner to another.

For you authors who take this on: one of you will write “the” book on this topic. One of you will be on Larry King. One of you will make this bringing of an elder into our lives something we can do without all the fumbling. I look forward to your success.

PS: A video clip about planning your own 70's:
"Living Large In The 70's"



Konrad Kaletsch, CAPS
June 5, 2009
Universal Design Resource
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Universal Design: A White House Disability Agenda

"We must build a world free of unnecessary barriers, stereotypes, and discrimination.... policies must be developed, attitudes must be shaped, and buildings and organizations must be designed to ensure that everyone has a chance to get the education they need and live independently as full citizens in their communities." -- Barack Obama, April 11, 2008

Below are key points from a White House disability progress report:

1) The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a number of provisions of particular concern to people with disabilities.
--- The Act included $500 million to help the Social Security Administration reduce its backlog in processing disability applications.
--- The Act supplied $12.2 billion in funding to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA);
--- The Act also provided $87 billion to states to bolster their Medicaid programs during the downturn; and,
--- The Act provided over $500 million in funding for vocational rehabilitation services to help with job training, education and placement.

2) The President signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the first piece of comprehensive legislation aimed at improving the lives of Americans living with paralysis. The Stem Cell Executive Order, March 9, 2009: (read the remarks) (read the executive order)

3) Strengthen Access to and Improving the Quality of Health Care President Obama has placed comprehensive health reform at the top of his domestic policy agenda. This means providing all Americans with stable and reliable access to quality and affordable health care. He will work with Congress to build on what works—including strengthening Medicaid and Medicare, programs that are of particular importance to people with disabilities.

4) Promote Access to Community Living Services Too many people who need assistance with activities of every day life are faced with a difficult choice. They can move into a nursing home and face safety and quality of care problems or risk injury or death by staying in the community without adequate services to take care of personal needs. The President believes that more can be done to encourage states to shift more of their services away from institutions and into the community, which is both cost effective and humane.

5) Protect Civil Rights The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a landmark law that has done much to protect people with disabilities from discrimination. However, President Obama will push for more consistent and effective enforcement of ADA, which can do more to prevent discrimination in employment, public services, public accommodations and telecommunications.

6) Expand Educational Opportunities President Obama supports educational opportunities for people with disabilities and will expand funding for programs like the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) that ensure all Americans have access to the tools to succeed.

7) Increase Access to Employment President Obama is committed to expanding access to employment by having the federal government lead by example in hiring people with disabilities; enforcing existing laws; providing technical assistance and information on accommodations for people with disabilities; removing barriers to work; and increasing employment opportunities for people receiving public benefits.


My own comments? PHEW! The historical trajectory shows that disability rights are the access point for a wider discussion on universal design to come in the future as our population faces the first impacts of an aging society. The dialogue, shut down by Obama's predecessor, is once again open. Did I say, phew!


Konrad Kaletsch, CAPS
May 21, 2009
Universal Design Resource
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Universal Design: Welcome to SATH!

Welcome to SATH, the Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality. Founded in 1976 and presently led by Stuart Vidockler, SATH is an educational nonprofit membership organization whose mission is to raise awareness of the needs of all travelers with disabilities, remove physical and attitudinal barriers, to free access and to expand travel opportunities.

So why do disability travel opportunities matter to you? Maybe the better question is why doesn’t it matter to you? Or maybe you haven’t asked the question in a while and now remember traveling with a temporary disability and the added complications. I am sure your compassionate self believes in equal travel opportunities, but then your brain gets involved and comes up with arguments like cost, inconvenience and mistaken assumptions.

SATH is here to dispel outdated beliefs and put in their place a new reality that illustrates the benefits when travel is available for all. SATH educates and advocates. They work hard to coordinate industry efforts. They field media questions. They post news updates. Best of all, they are here for you. They are a clearinghouse of information and can help you skillfully navigate disability travel whether you are travel agent looking to enter a new market (hint-hint – lucrative opportunity), a hotel or transportation service, or a consumer.

Disability travel and universal design are partners in a better world that works for everyone. Awareness and a demand for inclusive design are necessary to bring about these shifts in design over the next years; the money is there (see below).

Begin by visiting the SATH website. Questions not answered in the site can be emailed to Jani Nayar who will generously assist you.





TRAVELERS WITH DISABILITIES COULD SPEND $27 BILLION PER YEAR, SAYS NEW HARRIS INTERACTIVE POLL.

The Open Doors Organization in cooperation with the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) and the Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality (SATH) released a landmark study on the spending trends and market scope of U.S. resident travelers with disabilities. The study, conducted by Harris Interactive, polled 1,037 people with disabilities. The major findings of this groundbreaking study were released on January 16, 2003 at the 7th Annual SATH World Congress in Miami.

The study suggested that people with disabilities could spend at least $27 billion per year, if certain needs were met. These include a "meet and greet" at airports and preferred seating as top issues for the airlines while lodging issues include the need for rooms close to amenities and staff members that go out of their way to accommodate guests with disabilities. People with disabilities spent $13.6 billion on 31.7 million trips in the past year. The modifications suggested by the survey could increase expenditures by people with disabilities by 100% per year.

In 2001, the airline industry saw $3.3 billion in spending by travelers with disabilities, resulting in 52,800 jobs created to provide services for people with disabilities. The lodging industry saw $4.2 billion in spending and 60,000 jobs. The study also suggested that people with disabilities could at least double their spending generating $6.4 billion for airlines and $8.4 billion for lodging if the needs of travelers with disabilities were addressed. Currently travelers with disabilities generate a total of 194,000 travel-related jobs, $4.22 billion in payroll and $2.52 billion in tax revenues in the U.S.

The study was conducted to measure general travel behaviors including how often people with disabilities travel, with whom they travel, how much they spend while on the road, the mode of transportation and accommodations used, and on which sources of information they rely to make decisions. The study provides information that travel industry and related businesses will find invaluable as they seek to stem large losses following the terrorist acts of 9/11/01. The upside potential for both the economy and the travel industry is highly significant. TIA participated in the study in a consulting capacity, advising in the questionnaire design and validating the study and its findings against TIA's substantial market and economic research resources for the U.S. travel industry.

The Open Doors Organization is a not-for-profit corporation founded for the purpose of teaching businesses how to succeed in the disability market and to provide direct support to people with disabilities. The organization creates comprehensive programs and services that offer training and consultation and market statistics to both the public and private sectors.


Konrad Kaletsch, CAPS
May 14, 2009
Universal Design Resource
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Universal Design: Website Under Construction

The Universal Design Resource website is undergoing revision! When created, my intention was to raise awareness and provide information. For the revision, I have structured a tiered approach: First is a facelift using today’s technology making it easier for you to participate by either finding what you are looking for or by submitting your own material. Universal design is not so much a destination but rather a dialogue; the new UDR website will support that. Second will be networking opportunities similar to Facebook and Linkedin. The final tier will be a wiki-style knowledge base. In all levels of development, I will strive to meet the needs you expressed in the survey (which you can still respond to).

Here’s a quick glimpse of UDR Version 2.0:
--- More and better organized material for those who are researching universal design for their projects including internal search engine.
--- Focus on meeting the needs of professionals.
--- Courses, links, photos, hot topics & news and problem/solution forums.
--- Professional networking opportunities; marketing, codes, database.
--- Reading lists and resources.
--- Clean, intuitive look.

UDR website has an expected launch in late July. Until then, keep the feedback coming through comments at this blog, the survey and UDR email.




Konrad Kaletsch, CAPS
May 7, 2009
Universal Design Resource
Universal Design Network at Facebook and LinkedIn

Anne Wiesen: The Restorative Garden, Healing by Beauty

The restorative garden can be as simple as a well-situated pot of healthy sage at a window-sill or as sublime as a cathedral forest. It’s how we respond to a garden that makes it restorative. Are there gardens that are universally restorative? Gardens that evoke a healing response in each and every one of us? I believe so.
I’ve learned that the most restorative of gardens are those that embody “nothing less than the entire universe” – to borrow from Luis Barrigan. To me this means, the whole universe of human experience is present: from the basic requirements for our biological survival to the complex processes that reveal the breadth of human emotion, thought and spirit.

The well-situated pot of sage sits in my friend Susanna’s* window. This restorative garden is spare, simple, provocative and beautiful. Just sage, in a large urban front window. It’s there for anyone walking by to appreciate. Susanna’s cultivation and placement of sage gives me pause, draws my gaze, stimulates my thought, and elicits quiet experiences of wellness and marvel. Noticing the darkened soil of the freshly watered plant I feel a curious satisfaction, and completion. Freely circulating air above and around the living sage reminds me to breathe in it’s oxygen and I feel gratitude for my ability to do so. I realize my attention on the garden has shifted my mode of thinking. It’s not that I am momentarily distracted from my busy life. Instead, I have momentarily returned to what is essential for human life: the plant world, all the bio-chemical processes that support it, and the care of a thoughtful steward to transform these processes into nourishment and care. No wonder then, that a single well-cared for plant carries a universe that we experience as beautiful.

Gardens that reveal the nourishing forces of nature re-enforce our experience of beauty and wellness at multiple levels, with myriad benefits. At our simplest, in our common humanity, and consciously or not, we are all evolutionarily prepared to be nourished by a restorative garden.


* Susanna is a restorative artist, therapist and interfaith minister (2010). Her practice, Creating Space, is to reveal nature’s essential potency and beauty and to help us reveal the same in our selves.



Anne Wiesen is an ethnobotanist and garden advocate who runs the NYC based non-profit, Meristem. Meristem provides educational resources for architects, designers, urban planners, and community activists to create restorative gardens that promote ecological, individual and community health.

Order your copy of: Restorative Commons: Creating Health and Well-being Through Urban Landscapes. Published by the US Forest Service, the volume is multidisciplinary compendium of 19 authors inspired by the Meristem 2007 Forum with a foreword by Dr. Oliver Sacks. No charge.

Meristem, Inc. Information about restorative gardens, including a database of studies supporting nature’s role in human health, and to contact the author.

It has been a pleasure to have Anne Weisen bring her appreciation of nature and her commitment to our having it always present to this blog; thank-you.

Konrad Kaletsch, CAPS
April 24, 2009
Universal Design Resource
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Universal Design: Nature & Urban Gardens

Stepping back from a focused view on universal design, I see that there are other ways to achieve an environment that disappears the effects of many conditions that would otherwise be considered disabling. What is it and how is it possible?

A new and beautifully illustrated book, Restorative Commons: Creating Health and Well-Being Through Urban Landscapes, not only values that calming experience we all feel after time spent in nature, it looks at how to bring nature back into our urban settings. As Oliver Sacks says in the introduction, this non-pharmaceutical therapy works because it seems to satisfy a deep and necessary biological craving for nature.

This book consists of eighteen articles, informal dialogues, with an emphasis on the urban settings in and around New York City. Topics covered include human health and well-being, civic stewardship, design, lessons learned and ongoing questions. Best of all, for a limited time, the USDA Forest Service is making this free both as a hard copy and as a pdf. Don’t miss this engaging and inspiring book!

Use these links to get your copy:

Restorative Commons: Creating Health and Well-Being Through Urban Landscapes

USDA Forestry Service publication details
USDA Forestry Service book chapter details
Book in pdf form (save a tree)
A one-page pdf flyer



Konrad Kaletsch, CAPS
April 17, 2009
Universal Design Resource
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Universal Design: “Time” To Do It Right

I was struck by an article by Dr. Dr Sunil Bhatia in that way when a subject just doesn’t leave you alone – it kept popping up in my thoughts. Dr. Bhatia created and runs the Design For All Institute of India and publishes a monthly newsletter. He recently wrote about the invention of the measurement of time and its impact on human life; click here for the pdf article.

Long ago there were no means to measure time beyond the sun, moon and seasons. One can imagine that to be present in the moment might have been easier. Today, being present seems impossible; our gadgets ply us with constant interruptions. We are always managing what was, and planning what will be. Hardly ever are we simply present. We jump so much between past, present and future that it actually appears as if there really is such a thing as time – as if there is anything other than this very moment.

How did this shift occur? How did we move from a timeless human existence to one measured by time? We tracked the planetary motions, discovered the pendulum, built big clocks and finally made tiny ones that are portable. Time became noticeable and measurable for everyone. Once measurable, there would soon be either too much or too little. This shift in awareness made time seem as real as the earth we stand on.

With this measurement of time came awareness in our notions about yesterday and tomorrow, last month and next month. Notions about too long or too short appeared because we have a precise measurement device – gone was the pure sensation of experience: “That rollercoaster ride was too short,” rather than, “it was so exhilarating.” What disappears in a world ruled by time is our freedom to be present. Instead, our actions must adapt into a framework of time. If we do so well, we are considered efficient, a much valued attribute in today’s world. But in doing so, we traded away a simple key to happiness. No longer do we do that which is simply better for us. No longer do we take the time we need to do something right. We squash ourselves into time, we budget time and we are slaves to time.

Do you disagree? On your next activity, take the time you need to be present as you work and to work in a means that produces happiness for yourself and those who will experience the results of your efforts. Time says get it done rather than do it right. As a paradigm, the era of time consciousness has revealed its consequences. Much that is awry in our world is so as a result of the clock. As we move into an era of universal design, it will bear similar fruits if we are unwilling to get it right rather than on time. It is time to put aside the clocks and to focus who we are when we do what we do and the impact our caring will have. Such a consciousness will result in greater compassion and thoughtfulness. The rushing about will gone and in its place will be richer and more rewarding lives. This is a result of placing our values on experience, not how long it took.


Konrad Kaletsch, CAPS
April 13, 2009
Universal Design Resource
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Universal Design: The Wooden Plate

Long ago there lived a happy family in the foothills of the Pyrenees. They raised livestock in the hills, mostly sheep and pig, and went into town once a week to trade their meats for supplies. The grandfather, too old for work, stayed in the home and helped care for his little grandson. The father toiled long days in the fields while the mother maintained order in the home. As the years passed the grandfather became increasingly difficult; at dinner he often pushed his plate off the table and grumbled about circumstances.

Grandfather’s behavior became increasingly disruptive at mealtime, causing frequent messes and much broken crockery. The father, tired after his long days sought easy ways to improve the situation and restore peace to the evening meal. The solution was to move grandfather to a different table far away from the family and to serve him dinner on a wooden plate. In a way, peace was restored. The young boy, observing the new family order, spent the next days with carving knife and a piece of wood. The father took notice of the boy’s project and watched with pride seeing his son so focused and determined. The father asked the son what it was that he was making. The son said, “This will be a wooden plate for you Papa when you are old.”

The father understood and brought grandfather back to the family table. Although mealtime wasn’t always smooth, it was understood that caring for Grandfather was more than pushing him away when he became inconvenient.


Konrad Kaletsch
February 13, 2009
Universal Design Resource
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Universal Design: Tax Incentives

If you live with a physical limitation, you have added expenses that are rather obvious: maybe a specialized car, home, appliances, electronics, etc. You pretty much know that if you are relocating, the home you choose will require expensive modifications just so you can move in - we’re not even talking about decorating!

If you are able-bodied, do you have such added expenses? The obvious answer is no. You relocate, move in and start decorating - no remodeling the bathroom just to take a shower. The less obvious answer is, yes. How much disability adds to your expenses varies depending on what you include. Your taxes have about $300 billion to support those who would work but can’t because work isn’t accessible! If those people were in the workforce, they would be contributing about $200 billion in tax revenue. Where do you feel this invisible but real financial pinch? It’s in your payroll taxes - the ones your employer deals with, the one that’s a disincentive for new business and innovation.

What does reversing the tax pinch look like? Rather than having the expense show up as a disincentive, lets have it show up as an incentive:

• Building universal design homes gets tax credits based on specific features (a universal design bathroom gets $500 credit; an elevator gets $1000; and so on). Presently Virginia's Department of Housing and Community Development offers a $500 tax credit.
• If remodeling your home because you have to accommodate a new disability and would otherwise have to leave your home, make it a medically tax deductable.
• Provide intelligently designed increases in disability tax credits. If you’re the one forced to pay for home modifications, sweeten the deal because when you are done, you’ll have added to the real estate market a soon to be much needed commodity, universal design housing.
• Building departments typically burden the process of granting permits; in addition to tax incentives, a universal design application could get priority status. Building departments could find other means to encourage universal design housing such as fewer restrictions; for example, allowing smaller lot sizes.
• Do you have a school tax? Create a tax incentive by lowering the school tax if a home is built or modified to meet universal design standards. Typically the occupants will be empty nesters thereby adding to any lost tax revenue.

Compared to government mandates, tax incentives keep us, the individuals who are the soul of this great country in the driver’s seat. We make the choice, and, that what universal design is about, having choice.

Konrad Kaletsch
January 31, 2009
http://www.universaldesignresource.com/

Universal Design: Emily Post for Buildings

Laura Claridge has just published a biography on Emily Post. To the delight of fans, Emily Post was quite the woman living in quite the time. To her detractors, Emily Post is still no more than an arbiter of manners including the extended pinky finger while quietly sipping tea.

It was in 1922 that Emily Post wrote her famous guide to social etiquette. Some people now perceive it as an obsolete set of behavioral rules for people in high society. However, this interpretation misses its theme: the promotion of core values like consideration, thoughtfulness, and kindness. It is also misses the personal benefits of good manners, which include confidence, self-respect, and an instinctual feeling that one is doing the right thing. Following an outward set of behavioral rules enables us to fulfill our inward human need of belonging and being a member of a society. What has changed since Post first published her guidebook is the prescribed behavior. What hasn’t changed are the fundamental core values behind the manners.

Whereas etiquette provides guidelines for person-to-person, universal design provides guidelines for the environments we occupy and the tools we use; it is environment-to-person (or to product). No longer will building just be about shelter, function or good looks. Universal design brings etiquette to how your home is crafted. A home or community that applies these guidelines is one that is inviting and welcoming to all; it is a well-mannered house. It is a house that fulfills that need of human belonging. No longer is one shut out because an “ignorant” building unfairly impedes entry due to a limitation in physical ability.

Konrad Kaletsch
January 22, 2009
http://www.universaldesignresource.com/

Universal Design: The Future

Survey: Making UDR Better

Read 100 books on future trends and two themes emerge: China once again becomes the dominant power (weren’t they always except for the last few centuries); and, Web 2.0 will change everything. So, wouldn’t you buy stock in a social networking company based in China?

Our bias in life favors the rear view mirror and makes it much larger than the windshield we use to peer at the road ahead. Looking back, with all its nostalgic overtones, certainly feels more predictable and assuring. But the reality is that the windshield is much bigger than the mirror, as it should be, if we are to make strategic and successful choices for our future. Universal Design Resource, seated in the driver’s seat, peers eagerly at the road ahead. On the passenger seat lies an open map. On it, a red line indicates the planned route. But, a few mysteries along the way mean stopping and asking strangers for help (I hope you appreciate the old-school travel metaphor).

As Universal Design Resource embarks on a major revision, some things are mapped and others are stops where we ask for directions. Presently, we have a survey posted and are asking you to help a stranger. Your few minutes will be a great contribution to Universal Design Resource reaching a destination that serves you better in the near future. Please follow this link to an anonymous 10 question survey (as a bonus, you’ll discover a great company, SurveyMonkey).

Survey: Making UDR Better

Thanks in advance for your generosity and neighborlyness.


Konrad Kaletsch
January 8, 2009
http://www.universaldesignresource.com/

Universal Design: Obama And Sultey

In our nation, there is much relief and hope with the coming Obama administration. I like seeing him speak, I look forward to his words, and I am excited about his choices. He seems personable and genuinely caring.

On December 10 he announced members chosen to be on his green team. I watched the press conference and saw something unusual as a result of a rare camera angle. When it was Nancy Sutley’s turn at the podium the camera shot switched from the rear of the room to the side of the stage. I watched as President Elect Obama moved forward and using his foot, pushed a stepping stool into position for her. The gesture was personal; they shared a glance that was endearing and which acknowledged and appreciated the caring and the forethought. Seen from the back of the room, as in most network coverage, one saw little more than an odd smile.

With these extra inches to stand on, she presented her speech in no way marginalized by her shorter physical stature. Without these extra inches, she would barely peer over the podium, or, would have stood to its side, an action that would have unfairly singled her out from the other speakers.

I myself am very tall. This is seen in our culture as an asset. Politicians sometimes win and loose an election based on having added height. Short is never an advantage. In universal design, short or tall is affects usability, however, as seen in this example, one appreciates a different focus: height impacts perceptions of capability, tall is better, bolder and more powerful. This adaptation in the press conference leveled the playing field and gave us the opportunity see the people more clearly for their achievements and ambitions, not a physical attribute.

The application of universal design is ever evolving. In this example, a one-size-fits-all approach to design, the podium, heightens our perception of differences. A person can be marginalized not only by an environmental barrier to performing a given task but by how they are perceived in a given environment. Environment can enhance our perception of a person or diminish it (think Alice In Wonderland). Environments that strive to support equal perception of the people who function in them would be yet another evolution of universal design.


Konrad Kaletsch
Universal Design Resource
December 19, 2008

Universal Design: You Are The Expert

Let me ask an expert…

We attribute expertise to one who has extensive training and experience. It is someone with comprehensive and authoritative knowledge. They have skills gained from years of practice. We defer to them for answers and guidance.

When it comes to universal design, the definition of expert applies to you; you are the expert. Routines repeated around your home over many years have bestowed you with these credentials. What takes you beyond the beyond is a depth of individualized research and a profound familiarity with your subject, you. You’ve been adjusting your environment to work as best as it can; there is hardly another expert out there that knows more than you. How is it that you became this expert?

You unknowingly became an expert by the very attributes that make you unique. What works for you doesn’t always work for someone else. Someone with great physical strength uses force; genius uses intelligence. What emerges is that the variety of human ability is infinite. It is variety that is normal, not some standard that there is a normal. Let’s start with 1000 people and sort out who is normal: If our first filter is average height, we quickly reduce the number of “normal” people in our survey down to a few hundred. Our next filter, average weight, reduces our “normal” people further. Let’s have one more filter, age. Now we have a handful of people that constitute normal based on just three filters! If we build for this “normal” person we are in fact building for a very few people leaving the other 900 to bend lower, reach higher, and in other ways force their bodies to work in ways that don’t feel normal (a few won’t be able function at all).

A normal person doesn’t really exist yet we design as if they do. Primary work stations such as kitchens still have a one size-fits-all approach. This leaves many unable to use parts because they are too high, too low, too dark, too heavy, etc. You adapt your kitchen as best as possible to work for you.

If we shift the focus from an expert over there to the expert in you, your contribution matters greatly, yet, there is no place for your experience to be recorded; there is no place where you and other experts can collectively design a better kitchen. Until that opportunity exists, some guy in front of a computer fishing for statistics will design for a “normal” person hoping to sell as many products as possible at the lowest cost.

Universal Design Resource is developing a new web experience where your collective knowledge is brought into forums, discussions and blogs where the best solutions can emerge and guide those that design and fabricate our products and environments. Our launch is in early 2009.

Konrad Kaletsch
November 19, 2008

Universal Design: AARP's Life@50+

I would like to say that a conspiracy took place – at least there’s intention and action in a conspiracy.

At this year AARP Life@50+ annual convention in Washington DC, twenty-five thousand attendees left knowing as much about universal design as when they walked in (nearly none). I really doubt that this was AARP’s intention; perhaps, in all the excitement of pushing product and keeping the 50+ crowd entertained, it just was overlooked.

After walking miles of convention floor for endless hours, I was amazed by the complete absence of universal design as knowledge. There are a number of advocacy organizations, but none had a booth. Not the Center for Universal Design at NCSU, not Adaptive Environments from Boston, not TRACE from Wisconsin, not Universal Design Alliance, not IDEA at SUNY Buffalo, not Concrete Change, not the National Aging in Place Council, not the National Association of Home Builders and their CAPS (Certified Aging in Place) program nor the National Council on Independent Living, and, none of the manufactures or retailers who are committed to universal design such as Toyota, Lowes, Toto, Humanscale, or General Electric. Nothing. Not even a handout.

Here’s what could be at Vegas@50+ next year: Let’s start with a Universal Design Pavilion (pavilions is how AARP clusters exhibitors by theme). The intention is that all attendees leave knowing at least enough about universal design to acquire it when they want it. This would be supported by handouts, including one in the bag you get when you register, strong visual presence at the UD pavilion itself, interactive displays, additional resources and handouts, workshops, membership drives among the advocacy groups, surveys (data mining to further understand what it takes to create universal design communities), and opportunities for manufacturers to display their commitment to products that support the independent lifestyle that you love. In addition, it would be great to see a celebrity personality give universal design a bit of pizzazz, some wow-ness.

At the core of this endeavor would be Universal Design Resource, and its president, Konrad Kaletsch, providing the leadership necessary for the fulfillment of this expanded awareness. It is easy to imagine the 75,000 attendees, now knowledgable about universal design, telling friends over the following year. If they each have 14 conversations about universal design, one million lives improve as a result. Pretty neat.

Universal Design: The Missing Keyword

There are times in life when we need certain answers. We have many methods for getting those answers suited to who we are as individuals. We contact friends, we search the internet, we go to bookstores, etc. What will thwart our searching, no matter how thorough our technique, is when the answer we seek is hidden. I’m not talking about an answer that hasn’t been invented; I’m talking about answers that are there and would help you move forward. They are the answers to problems that others struggled over and mastered. They are answers that have been tested and refined. It is accumulated knowledge, but you can’t even stumble upon it! And so, with some frustration, you “reinvent the wheel” clumsily moving forward and making all the same mistakes each person made before you.

In many cases, the missing answer is contained in a keyword that, like the key to a castle, unlocks and reveals the kingdom: no keyword, no access, no info … nothing. Universal design is an excellent example a missing keyword. As an advocate of universal design, there is hardly a conversation where the person I am speaking with knows the term or the knowledge it represents. Without much explanation, they quickly understand it, and for the rest of their lives have at their disposal the key to that kingdom.

As an advocate for universal design, I do not demand that you adopt it; you will choose what is right for you. However, I want you to have that key; I want it there for you when you need it; I want you to be able to move with ease and velocity when the need arises. I want you to have the answers that have been developed over thirty years by some outstanding people committed to your life being as great as it can be. I want you to enjoy your independence and to have a life of ongoing opportunity.

You are a key holder as you have found and are reading this blog. My request is that you pause and think about ten people in your life who do not have this key and for whom having this key would make a difference. Contact them, now. Maybe they are your parents or your parent’s friends; maybe your architect or builder; or, maybe your political representative. Tell them about universal design and where to look for answers; Google the keyword, “universal design” or start at my website, http://www.universaldesignresource.com/. Give ten people the key and spare them the frustrations of fruitless searching.

Universal Design: Let Your Home Work For You

Decreasing the time spent taking care of your home and increasing the time your home takes care of you.

According to a survey conducted by the AARP, 89 percent of people older than 50 wish to remain at home, rather than move to other housing options. The question not being asked is how do you make this possible? At what point does your home hinder you rather than serve you?

I’m a home improvement nut. My idea of exercise is digging a 20' trench and installing an 8” culvert … by hand. At 46, I can pull that off. At 56? Probably (add a chiropractic adjustment). At 66? I doubt it. Even I will one day be overwhelmed by my home (never, I say). But, between now and then, I can do things that will reduce or prevent that day. This culvert is such an improvement; my annual driveway maintenance will decrease: less washouts, fewer repairs, easier plowing, smoother and safer driving.

As you contemplate improvements in a home that you plan to stay in, ask yourself these questions: Will the improvement I am about to make be one that will last for years to come? How soon will it need to be maintained, repaired or replaced? Is there a better solution? If I spend less, have I spent wisely? Or, has cost-cutting provided short-term gains only to leave me with a costly expense in the future?

Consider this wisdom, “Decisions made in haste are regretted in leisure.”

Here is a short list of home improvements that reduce maintenance. Add to this list as you renovate through Internet searches and conversations with experienced professionals.

• Favor no-maintenance siding on your house such as vinyl, or more environmentally sound, brick or stone. Choose long lasting roofing.
• Favor surfaces and designs that clean easily.
• Favor furniture over built-in. For example, a hallway wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair might look awkward especially if the rest of the home doesn’t have a spacious feel, so, install a bookcase that can be one day easily removed.
• Apply universal design as much as possible.
• Throw stuff out – give up attachment to the things that have no more meaning in your life; gain freedom and clarity in the process for something new.
• If moving, choose a neighborhood that has supplies, services and activities nearby, and one that has useful public transportation.
• Keep choosing access and convenience – if something is going to be difficult to use, don’t get it.
  

Being motivated by the fear of loosing independence, or a vision of ongoing independence is useful. Grab the impulse (the visioning one feels better) and run with it. You’ll be happy to be one of the people who says, “ I’m glad I did it that way; I'm secure, comfortable and live a great life.”

Konrad Kaletsch © 2008, Universal Design Resource, June 30, 2008

Universal Design: Consciousness Precedes Form

Being green has been around for a long time. However, in the last year a tipping point was reached and green is now visible everywhere. Governments are doing it, business is doing it, schools are teaching it, and even the “bad” guys, such as the petroleum industry, are dabbling with it. We are still on our way to the tipping point for universal design.

Much like being green, the tipping point is reached once we recognize that the box we are living in is just too small. Like any box, it’s fit is limited both by space and time. As our natural state is growth, the logical evolution is that at some point we need a bigger box, just like a hermit needs bigger shell. In the field of universal design, we are just beginning to feel the limits of an outdated box, yet, we’re not aware of the limits that we have outgrown; we just feel the pinch.

The typical behavior of living inside a box that has grown too small is to look for answers inside the box. It’s absurd, but it’s what we do. The irony is that the answer to expanding the box is outside the box. The other paradox is that from inside the box we can’t see outside the box. This experience is frustrating and the first results show up as conflict. Without a method or trick, the state of conflict grows until we experience is as a pain so great we collapse in defeat and surrender to the change.

The good news is that there is a trick/method for accessing expansion, and, it’s ridiculously simple: ask a guiding question. If we want to kick the petroleum habit, an outgrown and limiting box, we could ask, “How are we gonna live well without petroleum?” That’s not a good question and perhaps you can see why, it’s still inside the box! Here’s the good and guiding question: “What would life on this planet look like if our energy needs were met through healthy and safe means?” You can answer that question, can’t you? The answer feels pretty good doesn’t it? You can even see an action to take. The box just got bigger, didn’t it?

The technique is based upon preceding the form with consciousness. The access to consciousness is through expansive questioning. The answer shows up through insight. A garnish of patience adds ease to the process. Frustration and conflict can’t and don’t exist in this environment; wisdom, creativity and genius do. One beckons the consciousness, which is then answered with form.

Here are some universal design questions:

• What is possible for us all when we live in an inclusive and human centered society?
• What are the gifts I have that would contribute to those less able-bodied?
• How can I manifest this higher vibration of a society that leaves no one behind?
• What does design look like that profoundly supports our sense of joy, independence, security, confidence and comfort?
• What lifestyle is possible for me if I have taken steps to include universal design in my life?

Konrad Kaletsch © 2008, Universal Design Resource, June 20, 2008

Universal Design: Try Before You Buy

You’re a construction worker, single and moving into a new rental apartment. Unknown to you it has been updated applying universal design. Not a bad place. Bigger bathroom, wider doors and hallways, everything is easier to reach. Different, but good. Then one day, oops, hernia. Back home after the hospital, whew, this apartment is really great! It’s making life easy as you recover, especially when coughing by itself is a chore, never mind having to manage the rest of day-to-day living. You later discover the apartment owner had renovated the apartment for his father and learn about universal design; forever you will include it in your life – it made that much of a difference.

Without having a hernia, how can you appreciate universal design? Here are a few games to try that take away some degree of mobility and foster an appreciation for designs that accommodate your changing condition:

1. Tired legs: Add about 5-10 pounds to each leg – ideally use an ankle cuff weight and wear as much as possible. Discover the extra effort needed just to walk. Looking for elevators and benches now?
2. Car-less: Leave the car at home for one week. Who’s driving you around? How convenient is public transportation?
3. Arthritis: Invent ways to mimic the loss of grip with your hand or loss of mobility. Use medical tape to restrict your thumb or finger’s movement. Wear an undersized jacket from the thrift store and move without ripping the shoulder seams.
4. Vision Impairments: Be responsible and safe with this one. Wear an eye patch and notice diminished depth of field. Wear sunglasses throughout the day and into the evening. How much more light is enough? To a pair of eyeglasses, (use non-prescription if you don’t have eyeglasses), smear a thin film of soap. Can you dial a phone number?
   

As you visit places, think about your mobility as if some aspect of your body was less than able. Remember that time when you had crutches. Or, observe how others are getting about. I see moms with strollers navigating the NYC subway – it’s a two-person operation and they struggle when on their own. Have fun; explore.

Universal Design: Am I Too Overwhelmed?

Yes I am overwhelmed! Being overwhelmed is normal and everyone agrees. However, overwhelm doesn’t have to be an unchallenged way of life. Overwhelm is the condition of being a victim, only in this case the perp isn’t some guy with a mask and a gun, it’s the job, the bills, the inbox, the kids, the home and every other circumstance that wants to rob you of you.

The first and only step out of being a victim is taking 100% responsibility for your life – you did it, all of it. Nobody did anything to you not even some deity, be it good or evil. Once assumed, no longer do things happen to you, you are allowing them to happen, sometimes through ignorance, and are responsible for their happening. Wow. That’s good news – back in the driver’s seat! Phew.

If I am the driver, and right now I seem to be driving myself crazy with stress, where in fact would I actually want to go? If I look down the road I’m on I see sickness, upset, anger, fear, frustration and disease. Desirable destination? NO! But I can’t see any options either – no side roads, no U-turns. If I am taking this journey off the road called Overwhelm, I’m gonna need help. I’ll need a map, some friends and a few new ways of doing business. Wow. I’m not sure how, but, this is gonna work!

Fast forward to some time later: You’re the master of your life just from this simple shift to being responsible. You don’t complain anymore. Being 100% responsible handled overwhelm and is handling other areas too such as finance. You are as engaged in life as before, but the experience is one of play, joy and passion. Life no longer occurs as a series of crisis that blindside you; it’s not like driving through the fog. The destination, though far off, is now clear and intentional.

Now can I look at universal design? Yes. I can see that it’s a bit like insurance – not a lot of fun, but something that gets handled. It’s now part of my master plan as much as finances, fitness, a sense of community, my emotional stability and my growing ability to care for others. I am creating my future; it is mine to create; and, it will indeed be good.