AVOID THE SINS OF THE PAST BY GETTING
MEANINGFUL INPUT FROM MARGINALIZED PEOPLE
Transportation can be especially challenging for people with disabilities, and as such, it is exceptionally important to hear first-hand from those with disabilities when evaluating design changes.
In Maryland, Toole Design created tactile maps as part of
a walking tour so that people with impaired vision could better understand and
contribute their ideas to proposed transportation changes.
Sue Popkin, co-director of the Disability Equity Policy
Initiative at The Urban Institute, has Sjogren’s Disease and uses a cane for
mobility.
Popkin said top-down planning is a failure for people
with disabilities — “Unfortunately, planners don’t do a charette until
everything is designed and you basically are only asking ‘do you want to have a
brown or blue cabinet in your accessible home?’”
“People may want onsite telehealth [connectivity]; they
may want to be able to age in place more successfully.
Take the time to get input before you design. And
compensate people for their time — you get a much better outcome.”
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