THRILLED TO TEACH UNIVERSAL DESIGN TO MILLIONS OF REALTORS

HOW TO DETECT ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES IN ANY PROPERTY

My five minute video is online, unlocking the value of Universal Design for millions of viewers.

Viewers learn practical tips for recognizing modifications and opportunities that make a property accessible for people with disabilities.

From doorways and kitchens to bathrooms, pools and parking, my expert insights help REALTORS better serve a broader range of clients.

I spoke at the Florida REALTORS statewide convention last year.

Florida has more REALTORS than any other state -- even more than giant California.

For two decades, I have written cover stories and center spread features for On Common Ground, a smart growth publication of the National Association of Realtors.

Many of my stories have featured groundbreaking Universal Design and wheelchair access insights.

I also crafted a first of its kind, hourlong visual and verbal presentation of Universal Design, Aging in Place and enhancing wheelchair access – for the Ohio REALTORS.

My unmatched Universal Design and Town Planning expertise has been featured in far more than 100 articles, webinars, podcasts, radio/television interviews and books.

https://www.floridarealtors.org/news-media/video-library/learning/how-detect-accessibility-features-any-property

GRATIFIED TO BE A KEY SPEAKER AT THE 2025 JOINT ITE INTERNATIONAL

AND FLORIDA PUERTO RICO DISTRICT ANNUAL MEETING AND EXHIBITION

I am honored to bring my passionate speaking about the value of Universal Design and Inclusive Mobility to the International ITE meeting.

I will be joined by my friend and colleague David Haight and a host of other mobility planning industry giants.

Our topic: Creating Accessible, Healthy, and Smart Multimodal Communities Through Transportation

I proudly speak globally about a better built environment for people with disabilities.

I ENDORSE DAVID HAIGHT FOR

DOTHAN CITY COMMISSION DISTRICT 3 ENDORSEMENT

Perhaps it is not my place to endorse David Haight. I do not live in Dothan, Alabama – I’m from small town Ohio and currently live in a very urban part of Miami.

 

David doesn’t even know I’m writing this – he most certainly did not solicit it.

 

But I want voters to know that David Haight is man of high character. Having worked as a journalist covering politics and having worked for the Chair of the Miami City Commission – I have seen more than my share of folks who run for office for their own benefit.

 

My friend and colleague David is running to serve. He brings virtually unmatched experience as a town planner. His very hard work and dedication has improved hundreds of cities in Florida and far beyond.

 

I’ve known David for the better part of a decade. He came into my life when I was transitioning from marketing urban design to writing and speaking about creating a better built environment for people with disabilities. He experienced the disability of a family member firsthand.

 

David has been a wonderful mentor and coach to my labor of love – teaching planners and leaders about Universal Design and creating places where people young and old can move about safely.

 

As a professional with a career spanning a half century, David has taught countless planners – diverse folks from all backgrounds – who have gone on dedicated their lives to making cities places that serve everyday residents.

David Haight will listen, draw from his experience, inject his strong moral/ethical character and flat out do good things for the good people of Dothan.

P.S. For the record, David and I would probably never agree on who should be in the White House or how it should be led. But that doesn't matter in a local election. He is a good man and a consummate professional.  

CITIES THAT DON’T TOW CARS PARKED OVER SIDEWALKS

ARE DISRCIMINATING AGAINST PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Illegal car parking destroys pedestrian safety and forces people with disabilities into Miami’s dangerous street traffic. 

Perpetually 2 or 3 cars park on NE 9 St @ Marina Blue mixed use tower.

Miami has a Downton Development Authority that has a quality of life team in the streets each day.

I wonder if they have any training on ADA accessibility.

I fear they do not spend one day out of 365 trying to make mobility better for people with disabilities in the city center.

I LOVE THE 100 YEARS OF ART DECO IN MIAMI BEACH EXHIBIT

I’D LOVE IT MORE IF A REDESIGN PROVIDED WHEELCHAIR ACCESS

THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE OUTDOOR GALLERY

100 Years of Art Deco in Miami Beach features 100+ images from around the world create a visual journey through the evolution of Art Deco.

In the spirit of inclusion, I wish the journey through Lummus Park was more wheelchair accessible.

I adore the Miami Design Preservation League & will forever be grateful for its exhibit of my photography.

But I do challenge it to use temporary interlocking plastic pavers to make the entire Art Deco 100 exhibit accessible to people with disabilities.

The exhibit runs through January, so there is plenty of time to fine tune its accessibility and Universal Design.

The Miami Beach Pride Festival and Parade uses heavy plastic interlocking mat material to provide wheelchair access and inclusion on the beach sand.

That same product could enhance access along the mushy grass and varying topography of Lummus Park.

REST IN PEACE LEON KRIER

LEGENDAY 

Leon Krier -- world renowned architectural theorist and innovator in traditional architecture and urbanism – died at age 79 earlier this month.

I have had the privilege of lecturing on Universal Design at the University of Miami School of Architecture building that he designed.

I spoke to Krier about my vison for Universal Design.

I later created/taught a full Universal Design course in a traditional building footsteps away from his U-SoA Jorge M. Perez Architecture Center.

Krier was a prominent critic of modernist architecture and an advocate of New Urbanism.

BOUNDLESS (BY AUTHOR ALEX NORMAN)

REAL STORIES AND PRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR INCLUSIVE LIVING

As a Universal Design writer, educator, planner and advocate -- I applaud Alex Norman for authoring BOUNDLESS: Real Stories and Practical Strategies for Inclusive Living. 

In these troubling time of pushback against equity/inclusion for People with Disabilities, we need books that focus on Universal Design.

From the book blurb:

In Boundless: Real Stories and Practical Strategies for Inclusive Living, Alex Norman and Garrett Mayersohn share personal stories, lived experiences, and practical strategies to help readers identify and remove hidden barriers that exclude millions of people every day, often without us realizing it.

Through these real-world insights and the seven proven principles of Universal Design, this book offers practical ways to create environments where everyone feels welcome and empowered, no matter their age, ability, or background.

Amazon: https://a.co/d/8v2se4J

I AM HONORED TO BE QUOTED AS A UNIVERSAL DESIGN EXPERT IN MY FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE CHARLES T. BROWN’S ISLAND PRESS BOOK:

ARRESTED MOBILITY – 

OVERCOMING THE THREAT TO BLACK MOVEMENT

Steve Wright, disability rights advocate and professor of Universal Design at the University of Miami School of Architecture, believe that there can be a middle-ground solution (to the issue of conflicts of sidewalk use and safety between those who uses wheelchairs for mobility and cyclists/scooter riders.)

“It’s an interim and if we…make a strong case for infrastructure that’s humane…we can have a very wide sidewalk and we can have a bike land and we can have some sort of marked lane for scooters,” he says.

“The idea that this is weaponized…the idea that a Brown or Black person has maybe had a 50/50 chance of getting a ticket or being called over and read the riot act…that’s not a world that I want to live in.”

I have spent my life as a writer, planner, educator and advocate – working the create a better built environment for marginalized people.

I was proud to be on one of Brown’s first Arrested Mobility podcasts, sharing my expertise in hurdles to mobility experienced by people with disabilities, especially wheelchair users.

I have been gratified to work as a Universal Design subconsultant to Brown’s Equitable Cities -- an urban planning, public policy, and research firm
working at the intersection of transportation, health, and equity.

                                                    Charles Brown

IF YOU ARE A PUBLIC SERVANT, BUT YOU DON'T WANT TO SERVE ALL PEOPLE EQUALLY

YOU ARE NOT QUALIFIED AND MUST QUIT YOUR JOB

City official: "It denies access to people with disabilities, but it technically meets code. So there's nothing we can do."

Me: Fix your broken code.

Laws prevented women from voting & deemed Black people 3/5ths of a human being.

Just because it's the law doesn't mean it's right.

Perpetuating discrimination is NEVER following the rule of law.

GENERATIONAL TRANSITIONS & TRENDS IN HOUSING

AARP URGES UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND INCLUSIVE HOMES

Matthew Kaplan, Ph.D., is professor of Intergenerational Programs and Aging in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education at Pennsylvania State University, said old-fashioned planning—an evening meeting where people have two minutes to share their views by speaking into a microphone—does not create cohesive planning for an aging and increasingly diverse America.

“Finding the magic sauce involves intentionally focusing on voices that spend the most time in the community,” he said, saying rigid night meetings can exclude a large part of a community.

“Have walking tours. 

Come together to build a model and talk about what the people would like to see in their community.

Go directly to stakeholders.”

GENERATIONAL TRANSITIONS & TRENDS IN HOUSING

AARP URGES UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND INCLUSIVE HOMES

“We need to design in ways that are age friendly, family friendly—facilitating ways to interact

Communities need an interactive element.

We need places to know one another, have fun with one another—to help people get out of their social isolation bubbles,” said Matthew Kaplan, Ph.D., is professor of Intergenerational Programs and Aging in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education at Pennsylvania State University.

These kinds of places nourish a higher level of civic engagement so people can work from the ground up with government to address issues of housing types and affordability.

The APA paper speaks to focusing on younger and older people in the planning process:

“By focusing on engaging these two populations, as well as the generations in the middle, and crafting policies and plans that address their needs and bring them together, planners can make sure their communities are good places to grow up and grow old.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GENERATIONAL TRANSITIONS & TRENDS IN HOUSING

AARP URGES UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND INCLUSIVE HOMES

Matthew Kaplan, Ph.D., is professor of Intergenerational Programs and Aging in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education at Pennsylvania State University.

He co-authored, with Irv Katz, a longtime leader of nonprofits on a national scale, “Intergenerational Community Planning”—a deep dive research paper on aging trends and placemaking for the American Planning Association.

“A lot of planning is top to bottom. It doesn’t get at creativity and imagination,” Kaplan said of planning that becomes more focused on zoning code and regulations than how to create great places that are culturally rich.

“Too many suburban and even some urban places are designed in a way that makes it hard for people to walk around and meet each other on the street.

GENERATIONAL TRANSITIONS & TRENDS IN HOUSING

AARP URGES UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND INCLUSIVE HOMES

The Pew Research Center adds credence to the thought that housing and communities must become more age friendly while having more entry points for younger people rebuffed by the lack of affordable housing.

Pew reported that the number of Americans ages 100 and older is projected to more than quadruple over the next three decades, from an estimated 101,000 in 2024 to about 422,000 in 2054, according to census projections.

At the same time, Pew found that young adults in the United States are reaching key life milestones later than in the past.

“Adults who are 21 are less likely than their predecessors four decades ago to have reached five frequently cited milestones of adulthood: having a full-time job, being financially independent, living on their own, getting married and having a child.”

GENERATIONAL TRANSITIONS & TRENDS IN HOUSING

AARP URGES UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND INCLUSIVE HOMES

“People shop for the house itself. They don’t think of its location in terms of location or ability to age with the owner,” Rodney Harrell is vice president, family, home and community at the AARP Public Policy Institute, said.

“Spouses pass on, people cannot maintain a large house, they can’t walk up the stairs.

People are isolated, they don’t drive anymore so they can’t get to the store or even family.

I’ve talked to many people whose dream home has become a nightmare.”

Harrell tells people to approach housing policy like a Swiss Army Knife—with lots of tools and flexibility. He said planners need to design communities that don’t just have multiple generations, but are designed for intergenerational interaction and the positive benefits it brings.

GENERATIONAL TRANSITIONS & TRENDS IN HOUSING

AARP URGES UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND INCLUSIVE HOMES

AARP has crafted model missing middle and ADU legislation, so local jurisdictions can adopt those tools to better serve diverse housing needs.

It also advocates for more walkable communities, which serve the roughly 30 percent of people—of all ages—who do not drive.

“A lot of what we built for decades, you have to drive to access everything.

We must build homes where you can walk, bike or take transit to cultural centers, parks, shopping, education or jobs,” Rodney Harrell is vice president, family, home and community at the AARP Public Policy Institute, said, noting that while this helps older adults, it also is a huge benefit to people too young to drive as well as those with disabilities or incomes that prevent use of a car.

The CDC has documented that more than 50 million people in America are caregivers.

Harrell said that large number makes it imperative to design inclusive housing that can make life healthier, safer and more productive for both the people needing care and the caregivers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GENERATIONAL TRANSITIONS & TRENDS IN HOUSING

AARP URGES UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND INCLUSIVE HOMES

Inclusive housing, ADUs and livable communities are all needed to serve the more than three-fourths of adults 50 and older who want to remain in their homes for the long term.

For more than a decade, the AARP “Home and Community Preferences” survey has shown 77 percent of those aged 50 and older want to age-in-place vs. retire to an all-seniors community.

Rodney Harrell is vice president, family, home and community at the AARP Public Policy Institute.

NAR is collaborating with AARP on a Livability Index created by AARP to assist and engage people of all ages in making age-friendly decisions and purchases for the home.

“We are a nation of many people, many generations and many ages.

But our housing stock isn’t,” Harrell said.

“Studies show one percent of homes have all the features we need for aging.”

 

 

 

 

GENERATIONAL TRANSITIONS & TRENDS IN HOUSING

AARP URGES UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND INCLUSIVE HOMES

Dozens of scholars have cited over-restrictive, land-use regulations as one of the culprits for the high cost of housing and the supply not keeping up with demand.

About 75 percent of residential land in American cities is zoned solely for single-family detached homes.

That excludes “missing middle” housing—duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and small bungalows—used to provide a lot of affordable housing.

Interestingly, missing middle housing is rarely eligible for tax credits or most other federal, state or local government subsidies.

Though some cities are changing rules, a lot of single-family zoning also outlaws ADUs—a residence that has a full kitchen and bathroom and is located on the same lot as a primary residence.

ADUs can be attached or detached from the main residence, and they can be used as rental housing or to provide living space for family members or caregivers.

 

 

 

 

GENERATIONAL TRANSITIONS & TRENDS IN HOUSING

AARP URGES UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND INCLUSIVE HOMES

The Bridge Meadows communities are built with Universal Design—so residents can be independent and live with dignity whether they are toddlers or centenarians.

The scale matches surrounding neighborhoods. Units for elders—one and two bedrooms—are intentionally scattered among the family-sized units.

“This is living with meaning and purpose.

You are contributing to the world.

Kids mingle with elders.

People watch out for each other. Everyone feels safe. Isolation, a huge threat to mental and physical health for elders, is eliminated,” said Derenda Schubert, executive director of Bridge Meadows.

A large community room hosts potlucks, knitting, art classes, tai chi, movies, birthday celebrations and more to connect people across age, race, sexual orientation, etc.

Schubert is convinced that beyond the benefits of a close-knit community, economics of low wages and expensive housing will make co-housing a major trend.

 

GENERATIONAL TRANSITIONS & TRENDS IN HOUSING

AARP URGES UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND INCLUSIVE HOMES

In greater Portland, Ore., the need for co-housing has grown as people are finding it harder to afford a house.

They also are learning the benefits of clustered housing designed for positive cross-pollination between generations.

“Young people are finishing college, but staying home because they can’t afford housing.

Elders are outliving their incomes—the fastest growing population of homeless people in Oregon is elders.

Multigenerational living addresses those and other issues,” said Derenda Schubert, executive director of Bridge Meadows, defining “elders” as 65 and over.

Bridge Meadows has a trio of co-housing cluster options in urban and rural Oregon:

• An urban North Portland location with 36 total units with nine for families and the rest for elders.
• A suburban edition in Beaverton with 41 units—nine for families and 32 for elders.
• A rural setting in Redmond with 36 total units—10 for families and 26 for elders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

GENERATIONAL TRANSITIONS & TRENDS IN HOUSING

AARP URGES UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND INCLUSIVE HOMES

A Chicago Association of REALTORS® homebuying trends analysis backs Lautz’s insights.

It found that Gen Z homebuyers are purchasing the smallest homes at just under 1,500 square feet, and they are the generation most likely to own a home that’s not a detached single-family property.

Dr. Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research,  said housing affordability has become so difficult for so many Americans, that she has seen a rise in co-housing and other ways of creating cost savings.