VISITABILITY -- MORE FREEDOM OF CHOICE

EARTHBOUND TOMBOY

BY HEIDI JOHNSON-WRIGHT

“We shape our dwellings…and later our dwellings shape us.” – Winston Churchill

Housing is the place we make our home, and home is a highly personal space where we make our lives. Home is an inextricable part of our identity. It becomes who we are and what we’re about. 

Neither the ADA nor the Fair Housing Act requires accessible features in single-family homes built by private developers. Why does this matter? Because 69 percent of all housing units in the U.S. are single-family homes.

That means more than two-thirds of the housing in America is not required to be accessible to people with disabilities.

Visitability is an international movement to change home construction practices so that new homes offer three specific accessibility features. It’s similar to universal design, but very focused in scope and more about social reform. The three basic elements found in most visitability laws are.

At least one zero-step entrance on an accessible route leading from a driveway or public sidewalk.

All interior doors providing at least 31 ¾ inches (81 cm) of unobstructed passage space.

At least a half bathroom on the main floor.

Visitability is not about complete residence accessibility but access to principal spaces. Other features -- a roll-in shower or accessible kitchen features -- are typically not requirements found in visitability laws.

In a study conducted by AARP, 90 percent of people ages 65 and over want to continue living in their current residence as long as possible; they want to age in place. In the U.S., more than one million households with a person with a disability over the age of 65 are inaccessible. As more Baby Boomers struggle with mobility, the numbers will only increase.

BUILDER Online, a publication aimed at home builders, says U.S. Census data shows the number of Americans 65 and up will rise significantly between now and 2020. This means they’ll be an upswing in the desirability of aging-in-place home features accompanying the increase of multigenerational homes. Demand will only grow for residential designs that anticipate changes in health, vision or mobility. Such features ensure that homes are not only safe and comfortable, but also aesthetically pleasing.

Such features include.

Main living areas on the ground floor

No steps between living areas

Hallways at least 4 feet wide

Interior doors 36-inches wide with levered hardware

These features provide a basic shell of access to permit formerly non-disabled people to remain in their homes if they develop a disability, rather than forcing them to do expensive renovations, live in an inaccessible home which endangers their health and safety, or move from their community into a nursing home.

Folks undergoing physical rehabilitation from an injury or illness can return home earlier, continuing their rehab on an outpatient basis. Designing for visitability is also convenient to people without disabilities who use strollers or carriages. It certainly makes it easier to move furniture or bring in a load of groceries. 

And true to its name, visitability make it easier for people who develop a mobility impairment to visit friends and extended family rather than having to turn down invitations, or not be invited at all.

I can already hear the naysayers complaining that visitability equals utilitarian ugliness. Truth is, houses with visitability features are usually indistinguishable from those without them.

 

Other objections? Check out 9 Myths and Facts About Visitability: http://concretechange.org/visitability/9-myths-and-facts-about-visitability

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