Last week I wrote about visitability. Today I’m surfing the ‘net and discover in the Justice for All blog that the Inclusive Home Design Act (IHDA) has been reintroduced in the House by U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky. On a metaphysical note: start thinking and speaking the world you wish to...
A White House Disabillty 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.” —...
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...
Bill Statements: Are They Getting More Confusing?
Today is a rant ‘n rave: bill statements. I’m talking credit card bills, mortgage statements, cell phone, utility bills … all of them! They get harder and harder to read. And, it’s not just me getting older. Account numbers, the ones you copy onto your check, used to be trouble...
Tags: account, bill, Chuck Schumer, design, invoice, kaletsch, konrad, Konrad Kaletsch, statement, universal design
Destination or Journey, Part II
In May 2008, I wrote the following: “One day, there will be the ultimate universal design handbook. It will have well conceived answers to every design quandary, each achieved cost effectively and with elegance. No. That would be as if universal design was a destination, a place we arrive at...
Euthanasia
Today’s partisan politics is like a bad marriage. The couple no longer communicates; instead, they undermine each other’s intentions by using any opposing position, even when it doesn’t support their own agenda. President Obama wants to improve our health care system. He doesn’t have a perfect solution – it’s a...
Grave to Cradle
The provocateur speaking… What if universal design prevents a very important part of life, that of connecting with our elders. The ideal is ongoing independence, and it is voiced most strongly by those who will retire soon, but what if we are too successful? What if old age becomes just...
NAHB’s course: Universal Design/Build
This blog is an announcement and the body of text that follows is copied from NAHB’s website: UNIVERSAL DESIGN/BUILD This two-day course focuses on integrated home design features and product specifications that account for client differences due to circumstance, physical characteristics, health issues and aging. Universal Design/Build expands on the...
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...
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...
Testing, Testing!
Topics: Blog, Politics & Governance
Happy New Year! Is everyone feeling it? 2011 is gonna be great! Anyone want a 2010 repeat? How about New Year resolutions? I’m a bit compulsive about that – I start in December and finish about now. It’s good. I have a real roadmap for the year ahead. One resolution...
The 8th Principle, Part I
An eighth principle would be a welcome and needed entry to the brilliant seven as created in 1997 by the North Carolina State University’s Center for Universal Design. Rather than only define the environment of a user, this eighth principle would address perception; those shared by the observer and the...
The 8th Principle, Part II
In last week’s post, Universal Design: The 8th Principle, Part I, I departed from the more frequent discussions about how we physically “fit” in our environments and looked at the emotional landscape we have as a result of being perceived and judged as fitting in or not. Here is Part...
The Five Year Plan
Do you have a five-year plan? As it is close to New Years, how about a one-year plan for 2011? Those who make a plan are much more likely to achieve their goals than those who don’t. What about your company, what’s their plan? How about your country? Still with...
Tags: einstein, five year plan, India, kaletsch, konrad, Konrad Kaletsch, new year, plan, universal design
Voting NYC Nov 2: Hello? Universal Design?
I’m the oddball having never voted with a paper ballot so this mid-term election was an eye opener. I used to say, “What’s so hard about paper ballots?” Now I know. I longingly cherish our NYC mechanical voting booths with their bare incandescent lights, threadbare curtains and creaky gears and...