INCLUSION, EQUITY and ACCESSIBILITY

ENSURING THE 15-MINUTE CITY SERVES ALL

“Finally, we need to change attitudes. 

We continue to have a divergent set of implicit biases around race, gender, and something called ‘ableism.’ 

We’ve inherited a public infrastructure that is ableist by design—meaning that, even with the ADA, it still gives preferences to people who can open doors, climb stairs, run around,” Pineda said in the newsletter.

“Now, because of COVID-19, many more people are experiencing how it feels to have barriers and restrictions placed on how they access public spaces and services, so there is a greater appreciation for the challenges persons with disabilities have long experienced.”

INCLUSION, EQUITY and ACCESSIBILITY

ENSURING THE 15-MINUTE CITY SERVES ALL

Pineda shared from a 2020 article on his work in the Haas Berkeley online newsletter:

“I have five criteria for making cities accessible. 

The first is about laws at every level of government and what they say about building accessibility into city services or the technologies that cities use. 

The second is about leadership: `Are city leaders talking about these issues and using their budgets to identify barriers and remove them?,’” Pineda said in the article.

“The third area, which is critical, is about institutional capacity. You need a cross-agency approach. For example, do all 56 agencies in New York City’s government understand what digital accessibility is?,” he asked. 

“My fourth criterion is about participation and representation. Are you only talking to people who use wheelchairs about how to build an accessible smart city, or are you also asking people with dementia?”

RACISM IS EVIL AND DESTRUCTIVE

ABLEISM IS JUST AS BAD – BUT MOST DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT IS

Every time a city says it cannot afford to make a restroom, pool, park, bus station, etc accessible -- it is blatantly discriminating against people with disabilities.

Each time government says it is impractical, impossible, implausible and unfeasible to retrofit for accessibility -- it is practicing ableism.

Ableism is the evil equal to racism.

Racism = Discrimination against people of color that causes great harm, pain and death.

Ableism = Discrimination against people with disabilities (PWDs) that causes great harm, pain and death.

Racism continues to exist, but to everyone with half a brain or half a heart, it is considered wrong and terrible.

Before the Civil Rights Movement, racism reigned as the most ugly, irrational and dangerous chapters in American history.

Ableism (tragically) flourishes and expands.

Mayors think nothing of labeling PWDs as being burdensome and too costly to accommodate.

City Commissioners use pejorative language such as "wheelchair bound" and refuse to fix sidewalks and create safe crosswalks.

City Managers think nothing of dehumanizing PWDs by labeling them as “confined to a wheelchair” while refusing to support innovative programs that would support equity and inclusion.

America will be a better place when we understand the horrors of ableism.

We all must join together to fight racism and ableism.

INCLUSION, EQUITY and ACCESSIBILITY

ENSURING THE 15-MINUTE CITY SERVES ALL

Victor Santiago Pineda -- who has a PhD in urban planning and uses a wheelchair for mobility – is a speaker, advocate, philanthropist and senior research fellow at the Haas Institute for Fair and Inclusive Society at Berkeley.

“We want more local-based services, more cities with mobility options – it has always been important, but COVID-19 has made it even more urgent,” he said.

“We must look at inclusion. 

It will define the future of humanity.”

INCLUSION, EQUITY and ACCESSIBILITY

ENSURING THE 15-MINUTE CITY SERVES ALL 

The age-friendly strategies are the same as the 15-minute city, she said.

“Age-friendly is very inclusive. 

It also is good for young people and people with disabilities of all ages,” Arigoni said, noting that AARP encourages people to advocate for a built environment that makes them comfortable and allows them to safely move about.

To encourage aging in place and accessibility, AARP published the HomeFit Guide featuring smart ways to make a home comfortable, safe and a great fit for older adults — and people of all ages.

INCLUSION, EQUITY and ACCESSIBILITY

ENSURING THE 15-MINUTE CITY SERVES ALL 

Arigoni said many people want to walk to nearby conveniences, but most streets are too dangerous to cross.

She said transit can be a lifeline to many, but most systems are not designed for older people.

Subway and elevated train systems in New York, Chicago and other cities were built without elevators and even with retrofits, only a fraction of stations are accessible to people who use wheelchairs for mobility or are not capable of walking hundreds of stairs to a boarding platform.

“Older adults don’t use public spaces. 

They are 20 percent of the population, but participate in only 4 percent of park use,” Arigoni said, citing a RAND Corporation study. 

“We must apply an age-friendly lens to how we design housing, transportation and communities.”

INCLUSION, EQUITY and ACCESSIBILITY

ENSURING THE 15-MINUTE CITY SERVES ALL 

“Our country is aging. By 2034, there will be more people over 65 than under age 18 for the first time ever,” said Danielle Arigoni, AARP Director of Livable Communities.

“That’s a significant demographic. It calls out to ask the question, are we ready? The answer is most communities are not ready.”

“Most are not designing for older adults,” she continued, noting increased rent burden, a paucity of public transit and the lack of housing accessible to people with disabilities as major issues. 

There are a number of people who want to stay in their communities, but don’t feel they are able to.”

INCLUSION, EQUITY and ACCESSIBILITY

ENSURING THE 15-MINUTE CITY SERVES ALL 

“Virginia and Maryland -- the places where people who work in D.C. live in – they never had density and no one thought they would. 

But over the past few decades, they have added density, offices, groceries, amenities and transit,” Florida said, pointing to those bedroom communities turned into more inclusive cities as an example to duplicate. 

“They have allowed taller, more dense apartment buildings and look where Amazon HQ2 is going – right in this area (in Arlington).”

The AARP, aware that many people outlive the ability to drive a car to meet their needs and that living in isolation has negative mental and physical health impacts, has become a leading advocate for livable communities in a more dense, urban setting.

INCLUSION, EQUITY and ACCESSIBILITY

ENSURING THE 15-MINUTE CITY SERVES ALL 

“Zoning and building regulations are a century old,’ Florida said, noting a major overhaul to promote equity and inclusion is long overdue. 

“(These were) very necessary during factories, when housing needed to be separated from a polluting environment.  

But that set of codes are no longer adequate to deal with a clustered, knowledge-based environment.”

For more than half a century, zoning codes have been used to exclude density and affordable housing from the suburbs, Florida said. 

He encourages public-private partnerships to quash antiquated, exclusionary codes and to replace them with more dense, more affordable housing.

FIX THE ENVIRONMENT, NOT THE PERSON

 MY ENDURING SKEPTICISM WITH STAIR-CLIMBING WHEELCHAIRS

 

People without disabilities always seem to being (foolishly, arrogantly) staking their claim as those that know what best for people with disabilities.

I am able-bodied, but a third of a century of being married to (and warmly serving as the caregiver to) a spouse who uses a wheelchair for mobility, has informed my opinions.

While I wouldn't stop research into super-human, super-costly mobility devices, I loathe the idea of "fixing" people with disabilities.

My wife is a Person with a Disability (PWD).

She is not broken.

Rivers bend, trees twist -- they are not considered disabled, they are considered beautiful.

Diversity is seen throughout nature.

It makes life interesting, rich and worth living.

PWDs are a significant portion of the population and buildings, parks, transit, streets, sidewalks, crosswalks, mobility devices and civic space should be designed to accommodate them.

About those I-Bots, exoskeletons and super wheelchairs sold as solutions to barriers for PWDs

I knew a wealthy person with a stair climbing wheelchair.

It cost him a fortune.

It performed about 8 hours per day.

That meant he had to have a backup standard power wheelchair and could never rely on the stair-climbing super chair to meet his daily work and living needs.

The stair-climbing gyroscope of a wheelchair not only cost more than 95% of the population could afford, but it also was subject to very expensive repair and maintenance.

Something that works 1/3 of the day and is out of price reach of nearly all -- IS NOT A SOLUTION.

INCLUSION, EQUITY and ACCESSIBILITY

ENSURING THE 15-MINUTE CITY SERVES ALL 

“In urban centers, residential is the highest and best use,” he said. “converting older office to residential, with public support, into affordable housing -- is a must.

As we rebuild office tower-dominated CBDs into more 15-minute neighborhoods, we must ensure they have workforce housing.  

There is a model for this: New York City has inclusive zoning; when a developer wants more height etc., they have to include 25 percent more affordable housing.” 

Florida said the decline in retail creates an opportunity in the suburbs, especially for malls and office parks near major highways or on main bus routes. 

He said increased density and affordable housing could turn these huge land masses into livable areas with co-working space and mixed-use.

INCLUSION, EQUITY and ACCESSIBILITY

ENSURING THE 15-MINUTE CITY SERVES ALL \

Florida said there have been two “rays of silver lining” the past year: a workable COVID vaccine available within a year of the outbreak and the outpouring of attention focused on a more equitable society – that grew under the Black Lives Matter movement. 

He believes the Biden administration will help cities to build more transit, bike lanes, housing and other infrastructure aimed at improving equity.

Florida said local governments will have to create more regional partnerships, to solve issues that extend beyond city or county boundaries.

Even the trend of more permanent work from home, resulting in office vacancy, can create opportunity.

INCLUSION, EQUITY and ACCESSIBILITY

ENSURING THE 15-MINUTE CITY SERVES ALL 

Florida noted the chasm that allows the wealthy to work from home in safety and shelter, while low-income service workers have had to face exposure at jobs that interact with the public.

Florida supports compact, vibrant, mixed-use, transit-served development. 

But he said unless government intervenes, only one third of the population will be able to afford to live in the 15-minute neighborhood. 

“We know about food deserts, lack of broadband access – these divides will accentuate, unless we do something as a society,” he said.

INCLUSION, EQUITY and ACCESSIBILITY

ENSURING THE 15-MINUTE CITY SERVES ALL 

“Unaffordability and inequity have long been a problem in the superstar cities – New York, San Francisco, Boston, (Washington) D.C. 

If you look at the prices of homes – up double digits -- that new urban crisis is moving to Miami, Dallas to Nashville to the second and third tier cities,” 

said Florida, University Professor at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities and Rotman School of Management, Co-founder of CityLab, and Founder of the Creative Class Group. 

Florida fears the pandemic will increase the divide, if government doesn’t take action. 

He said the pandemic already has accelerated inequity – even in terms of crucial healthcare, where black and Latino Americans have higher COVID rates and less access to testing or vaccines. 

INCLUSION, EQUITY and ACCESSIBILITY

 ENSURING THE 15-MINUTE CITY SERVES ALL 

Ownership is out of reach for most, rent is staggeringly high and the point of entry for commercial space prevents many mom and pops shops from opening in the urban core.

So how does Charlotte or Baton Rouge, let alone Paris or New York, plan for affordability, accessibility and equity – especially when many have been hit hard or crushed by pandemic economics?

Professor/urbanist/writer Richard Florida addressed many of these issues in his 2017 book, The New Urban Crisis: How Our Cities Are Increasing Inequality, Deepening Segregation, and Failing the Middle Class-and What We Can Do About It.

INCLUSION, EQUITY and ACCESSIBILITY

ENSURING THE 15-MINUTE CITY SERVES ALL 

The 15-minute city/neighborhood, at face value, sounds as inclusive as any urban planning concept ever introduced.

Jobs, housing, health care, groceries, shopping, education, parks, services and more within a 15-minute walk or bike ride. Fixed-route transit is plentiful, so no one has to own/maintain a car.

 A compact, mixed-use area should have jobs to uplift low-income folks and a city designed with a diversity of services should address the needs of diverse people – those marginalized by color, gender, physical ability, etc.

But the sad fact is, unlike a big chunk of the post-World War II 20th century – when cities were affordable and wealth was clustered in suburban homes – amenity- and activity-rich city centers are increasingly affordable only to the upper class.

ARCHITECTURE THAT IS NOT EQUITABLE, INCLUSIVE AND ACCESSIBLE -- HAS NO PLACE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

SCHOOLS OF ARCHITECTURE MUST TEACH UNIVERSAL DESIGN

For years, we have been saying that there is no reason that modern buildings continue to create barriers for people with disabilities.

For ages, we have marveled at how architects are creative and unburdened when addressing flood plain, windstorm, life safety and myriad other codes, regulations and best practices – but are resistant toward even the most basic Universal Design.

Universal Design is inclusive, equitable and accessible – to all people of all ages and abilities. It is NOT something built just for people with physical, visual, hearing, cognitive or other disabilities.

Now we are sharing this spot-on article from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Matthew Allen wrote a piece Designing for Disability Justice.

It includes a great quote from Sara Hendrenon, on the barriers of standardization within the subject of disability in design:

“I think the biggest barrier, of course, is the limited imagination that standards tend to create. Because it’s a checklist and a liability matter, the rhetorical framing of disability gets subsumed under that logic: a cloud over the excitement of a project, or a ‘don’t forget’ matter of inclusion.”

Read the full article at:

https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/2021/02/designing-for-disability-justice-on-the-need-to-take-a-variety-of-human-bodies-into-account/

THE LIGHT OF NEW YORK

   IMAGES OF MANHATTAN

Chelsea is home to art galleries and a vibrant gay scene. 

Meandering 30ft above is the green-fringed, art-strewn High Line.

– Lonely Planet

THE LIGHT OF NEW YORK

   IMAGES OF MANHATTAN

It’s hard to believe that the 1½-mile-long High Line – a shining example of brilliant urban renewal – was once a dingy freight line that anchored a rather unsavory district of slaughterhouses. 

Today, this eye-catching attraction is one of New York's best-loved green spaces, drawing visitors who come to stroll, sit and picnic 30ft above the city – while enjoying fabulous views of Manhattan's ever-changing urban landscape.

It loops around Hudson Yards and ends at 34th St.

– Lonely Planet

THE LIGHT OF NEW YORK

   IMAGES OF MANHATTAN

For many immigrant generations this low-rent landing place was the corner of Manhattan where their American adventure began. 

Today, the Lower East Side and East Village buzz with an unthreatening bohemian energy, offering some of the city's finest bars and indie boutiques – it's an open-air playground for those willing to tolerate (or attracted to) the area's vestigial grime.

– Lonely Planet

THE LIGHT OF NEW YORK

   IMAGES OF MANHATTAN

The High Line's attractions are numerous, and include stunning vistas of the Hudson River, public art installations commissioned especially for the park, wide lounge chairs for soaking up some sun, willowy stretches of native-inspired landscaping (including a mini sumac forest), food and drink vendors, and a thoroughly unique perspective on the neighborhood streets below – especially at various overlooks, where bleacher-like seating faces huge panes of glass that frame the traffic, buildings and pedestrians below as living works of art.

– Lonely Planet

THE LIGHT OF NEW YORK

   IMAGES OF MANHATTAN

Designed by William Van Alen and completed in 1930, the 77-floor Chrysler Building is the pinup for New York's purest art deco architecture, guarded by stylized eagles of chromium nickel and topped by a beautiful seven-tiered spire reminiscent of the rising sun.

The building was constructed as the headquarters for Walter P Chrysler and his automobile empire; unable to compete on the production line with bigger rivals Ford and General Motors, Chrysler trumped them on the skyline, and with one of Gotham's most beautiful lobbies.

– Lonely Planet

THE LIGHT OF NEW YORK

  IMAGES OF MANHATTAN

If the skyscraper is the showy image of high-rise New York.

Then the gritty fire escape must be the urban image of low-rise Manhattan.

CELEBRATING MY 3,000TH BLOG POST

 

I earned my first paycheck as a writer at age 14.

I worked as a full-time journalist at a large paper for more than a decade.

I have written about urban design, disability advocacy, architecture, mobility, town planning, travel, policy, food, music and a host of other issues during a four-plus-decade career.

I started this blog nearly a decade ago.

It has shared more than 2,000 original, fine art photos that I have taken with a variety of Nikon Digital SLR cameras.

My blog’s posts have been read by more than 285,000 original visitors.

The words, if compiled into average book length, would fill four full volumes.

I have shared best practices, humor, rage and beauty.

My reporting posted in this blog has covered Europe, Africa, Asia plus North, South and Central America.

For several years, I have posted the best elements of my blog on:

Twitter @stevewright64

Instagram steve4156

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/steve.wright.79827

I hope you enjoy my writing and share it with others, so I can gain more readers and more influence when it comes to designing a more equitable, inclusive and accessible environment for all.

The images are from the Wynwood art district in Miami.

THE LIGHT OF NEW YORK

  IMAGES OF MANHATTAN

New York: Architecture and skyscraper capital on the nation.

THE LIGHT OF NEW YORK

  IMAGES OF MANHATTAN

One of the world’s most renowned green spaces, Central Park comprises 843 acres of rolling meadows, boulder-studded outcroppings, elm-lined walkways, manicured European-style gardens, a lake and a reservoir — not to mention an outdoor theater.

– Lonely Planet

THE LIGHT OF NEW YORK

  IMAGES OF MANHATTAN

As the first historic twin-towered building in New York City, the San Remo commands a lofty presence thanks to its distinctive silhouette.

The 27-floor luxury apartment building — designed by acclaimed architect Emery Roth, and located between West 74th Street and West 75th Street — features two towers that jet into the sky, offering an ideal vantage point for captivating views of Central Park.

-Untapped Cities

Miami International Airport adds wheelchair charging stations

My wife, Heidi Johnson-Wright, leading the way. Miami International Airport added 10 wheelchair charging stations.

MIA is one of the first airports in the country to take this measure to make air travel more accessible to people with disabilities.

https://youtu.be/igt7d13eR_s

https://www.local10.com/news/local/2021/05/05/miami-airport-leads-the-charge-with-wheelchair-power-stations/

THE LIGHT OF NEW YORK

  IMAGES OF MANHATTAN

Epicenter of the arts. 

Architectural darling. 

Dining and shopping capital. 

Trendsetter. 

New York City wears many crowns, and spreads an irresistible feast for all.

– Lonely Planet

THE LIGHT OF NEW YORK

 IMAGES OF MANHATTAN

Gleaming with architectural icons, peppered with purveyors of fine food and drink, and host to a booming population, Manhattan's southern tip is no longer strictly business. 

The Financial District houses some big-hitting New York sights.

– Lonely Planet

THE LIGHT OF NEW YORK

 IMAGES OF MANHATTAN

Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.

It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. 

It is considered one of the most expensive streets in the world.

WHEN TRUTH MATTERED

THE KENT STATE SHOOTINGS 50 YEARS LATER

Author Bob Giles tells the story of tireless work and unsung heroes in the newsroom of the Akron Beacon Journal, the once agenda-setting newspaper awarded the Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the May 4 tragedy.

Giles, a young city editor at the time, went on the be an executive in editing and publishing with what then was Knight Newspapers.

Pat Englehart, the state editor in 1970, led much of the coverage of the shootings on the day of and through dozens of investigations. He was a mentor when I was in Journalism School at Kent.

Giles recounts the behind-the-scenes pluck, hard work and doggedness that had the Beacon Journal consistently beating the largest news organizations in the U.S. and the world, on countless stories that told about mistakes and dastardly behavior that spilled blood at a place of learning in Northeast Ohio.

Ohio National Guard -- Kent State -- May 4, 1970

Giles’ book also compares the trust between newspaper of record and local community a half century ago, vs. the chants of fake news and worse today.

Giles wisely notes the dire consequences of the 21^st century, where Donald Trump labels provable facts he views as negative toward him as “fake news.” 

He addresses 50 years change, culminating in an era when Trump and his authoritarian ilk recklessly betray the U.S. Constitution and label the essential free press as the enemy of the people.

He also shares the sad news that newspapers, once the bedrock and essential fourth estate, are now hamstrung with deep cuts. 

The 1970s newsroom that told the world about the horrors, blunders and cover ups at Kent State, had a staff of 150. Today, the once strong newspaper has a staff of 35.

Read my full essay at:

https://stevewright-1964.medium.com/when-truth-mattered-the-kent-state-shootings-50-years-later-d9e6b8e5ae09

Robert Giles