THERE IS NO DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

WITHOUT DISABILITY

I support Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 100% 

Sadly, 90% of the time I am bitterly disappointed because those framing it completely exclude disability.

I met with a VP of DEI from a major university.

They point blank said disability won't be part of its DEI for foreseeable future.

The blatant exclusion of disability from DEI -- MUST be fixed.

People with disabilities are by far the most under and unemployed of all marginalized groups.

Not because of their disability, but because of structural ableism.

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

If the sidewalk network and/or transit station (think of hundreds of New York subway stations and Chicago elevated trains without elevators) is not inclusive, a person with a disability may not be able to make it to an essential appointment for a health checkup or treatment.

Urban Design that fails to create inclusive parks and recreation can create social isolation.

Social isolation is one of the biggest contributors to the decline in mental and physical health in senior citizens and people with disabilities.

In most states, the departments of transportation allow just one curbramp at the extreme corner of an intersection.

It does not line up with crosswalk or sidewalk.

This means a person using a wheelchair has to partially roll out into oncoming traffic.

The best practice is a beveled curb ramp covering the entirety of all four corners of an intersection. 

This is another case of minimum ADA compliance NOT being a best practices approach to urban design.

Never design at the bare minimum 1 to 12 grade for accessibility ramps. 

If the builder misses the mark by a little bit, the ramp is too steep. If the ground settles a tad, the ramp may not be safe for people with disabilities.

 

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

Disability discrimination is called ableism. 

Ableism is devaluing a person with a disability because they are disabled. It is exactly like racism, which devalues on skin color and culture.

Both are indefensible and sometimes lethal.

It can be as simple as sidewalks.

If a city fails to maintain broken sidewalks and fill in missing parts, a person with a disability is forced to go out into the street to continue their journey to a transit station. 

Pedestrian deaths are almost constantly on the rise, so putting more people into danger’s path is very bad planning.

 

 

 

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

It is incredible that virtually every prototype for robotaxis and driverless public transportation vehicles – is a sedan that cannot accommodate a wheelchair users.

Even companies that boast they are creating the transportation of the future for all, push back on accessible vehicles.

They basically say, let us figure this out for a decade, then we’ll include power wheelchair users. 

Can you imagine saying “we won’t let people of color in this park for a decade, till we perfect it.

Or, well, we won’t seat women in this performing arts center for about a dozen years, till we get the operation going perfectly.

There would be outrage.

As well there should be.

But create the vehicle of the future, and you apparently get to discriminate.

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

For those hardline fiscal folks unconvinced of spending to make every mode of transportation accessible (including taxis, rideshare, autonomous fleet vehicles and airport shuttles), check out this fact. 

A 2020 study by the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency found that for every dollar spent on home repair (to make it more accessible for aging and disability), there were $19 in Medicare savings.

If we invest in accessible transportation, sidewalks, parks, shops, housing, schools and more – we get a huge return on investment.

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

Homebuilders must catch on that there is value in creating a house with one level entrance, with exterior and interior doors wide enough for wheelchairs, plus kitchens and baths fitted for access.

I remember when people told me roll-in showers were horrible and felt like bathing in a decrepit VA hospital.

Today, many of the hippest hotel brands feature all units with walk-in showers.

Turns out young professionals prefer a rain head plus shower wand vs. a dirty tub and the possibility of tripping over its side with wet feet.

Pocket doors and barn doors work well, because they remove hinges that can snag a wheelchair, walker or other assistive mobility device.

They also look great – barn doors for kitchen and living room entrances grace the covers of interior design magazines.

A shower bench, which allows a person with limited mobility to safely transfer into a shower and sit during bathing – can be made of lovely teakwood.

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

The ADA National Network has calculated that the cost of incorporating accessibility features in new construction is less than one percent of construction costs.

The organization notes that is a small price in relation to the economic benefits to be derived from full accessibility in the future, such as increased employment and consumer spending.

Yet less than one percent of all housing in the U.S. is readily accessible to people who use wheelchairs.

Virtually all of that is in multifamily units.

Quick side note.

Because my personal and professional experience is rooted in physical disability, that is what most of my “do this, don’t do that” examples are built on.

I stick to what I know, but beyond mobility disabilities – cities and the professionals that design/build them MUST also address visual, hearing and cognitive disabilities.

 

 

 

HONORED TO SHARE MY UNIVERSAL DESIGN/BETTER MOBILITY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITES EXPERTISE ON THE GRANDEST OF STAGES

CREATING ACCESSIBLE, HEALTHY, AND SMART

MULTIMODAL COMMUNITIES THROUGH TRANSPORTATION

I’m proud to share that my “The Universal Design Toolbox for Complete Streets: INCLUSIVE MOBILITY MADE EASY,” will be part of the prestigious 2025 Joint ITE International and Florida Puerto Rico District Annual Meeting and Exhibition taking place this August in Orlando, Florida.

My Universal Design-driven expert session was co-created with David Haight, FAICP LEED AP ND, Transportation Planner/Urban Designer of global built environment firm AtkinsRéalis.

Our expertise will be shared via “Creating Accessible, Healthy, and Smart Multimodal Communities Through Transportation” – a curated technical podium session.

ITE, A Community of Transportation Professionals, was founded nearly a century ago as the Institute of Transportation Engineers.

It has 18,000 members and chose our presentation out of hundreds of abstracts submitted.

It is extremely rare to have a non-engineer, non-certified planner chosen as an expert speaker.

I am honored to create better mobility and inclusion for people with disabilities.

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

The CDC has documented that one in four people will experience some degree of disability that impacts their daily lives, in their lifetime.

The United Nations has identified far more than one billion people with disabilities on earth.

Universal Design supports aging in place.

This is crucial in America. 

In a few years, more people will be over 65 than under 18 in the first time in U.S. history.

No matter how much Botox we use or pickleball we play --- we lose mobility as we age.

Given the above numbers, no community should be pushing back on making more of the built environment accessible and doing so in low-maintenance, high-impact ways.

Complying with the ADA is not only about doing the right thing – it’s also about capturing a growth market.

More than 10,000 people retire each day in America.

Capturing their dollars for where they live, work and play – could be a huge boost for real estate developers rebounding from the loss of office and retail tenants due to work from home and e-commerce.

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

While Universal Design serves all ages well, it is a must for people with disabilities.

Sadly a lot of professionals who design and regulate the built environment – cling to some wrong-headed notion that disability is an outlier.

The snide part of me says that perhaps they have built so many barriers and paid so little attention to the ADA or Universal Design, that they’ve isolated people with disabilities from their cities and neighborhoods – and you don’t see those you deny access to.

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

Note how Universal Design Creator Ronald L. Mace, who used a wheelchair for mobility, did not name it disability inclusion design.

His genius understood that when you design without barriers – EVERYONE BENEFITS. 

The ramp and wide sidewalk may be essential for the person who uses a wheelchair.

But the lack of steps also removes a tripping hazard.

Wide sidewalks benefit young families pushing strollers.

Curbramps are beloved by the armada of delivery professionals rolling hundreds of pounds of goods through the central city as e-commerce and online buying expands.

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

I did not invent Universal Design.

That honor goes to the late architect and planner Ronald L. Mace, FAIA, founder of the Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University, who coined the term universal design.

He defined it as "the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design."

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

How can you be in the design business and pretend not to see that outdoor lifts fail to serve wheelchair users?

How disingenuous is it to say your studio designs for all, but you create a 400-unit apartment building – with 100 reserved to be affordable/accessible dwellings – accessed by an outdoor lift doomed to fail in less than a year of operation. 

For the record, I have surveyed 100 lifts in Miami-Dade County. More than 95% were nonfunctioning.

Many had been blocked by a potted plant.

Others led to locked doors. 

 

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

Outdoor lifts – instead of less costly, low maintenance ramps – are routinely used as the only way for a person with a disability to access a condominium complex, apartment building, office block or mixed-use main lobby.

They may meet code, but they are operated with a key that always goes missing.

They break down because they require intense maintenance.

If they are in a nightlife district with lots of bars, they tend to be used as de facto restrooms – for No 1, No 2 and vomit. 

 

HONORED THAT MY AWARD WINNING STREET PHOTOGRAPHY WILL HELP ILLUSTRATE

URBANIST AUTHOR THOMAS WILSON’S UPCOMING BOOK: EXCEPTIONAL PLACES

Thomas Wilson is a planner, author and scholar who is completing "Exceptional Places" about iconic historic districts.

My photo above illustrates this excerpt:

Ocean Drive art deco hotels in Miami Beach.

The city’s preservation movement of the 1970s and 1980s succeeded in saving its historic resources and creating one of the nation’s most iconic historic districts.

Following its heyday in the 1940s and 1950s, South Beach went into decline as newer, larger hotels were built elsewhere on the island.

In the mid-1980s new investment on Ocean Drive led to a resurgence of interest in South Beach (and Miami Beach in general), eventually positioning it as an international destination.

The historic core is the Miami Beach Architectural District, which includes much of the southern third of the city and encompasses the Art Deco District of mostly smaller hotels, commercial strips, and residential areas.

The latter elements are progressively more prevalent towards the Biscayne Bay side of the island.

According to the nomination form the district “contains the largest concentration of 1920s and 1930s era resort architecture in the United States.” 

Visit Thomas Wilson’s Substack at:

https://thomasdwilson.substack.com/p/exceptional-places

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

I would be on the Forbes richest people on earth list if I had 10 bucks for every time a planner, architect or engineer said “well, it may not work well, but it’s technically ADA compliant.”

What is that? 

Do you ever hear an architect saying “well, the roof is made of paper and will fall in within a matter of months, but if it passes inspection to get a certificate of occupancy, we’ll go home and pretend we didn’t design crap.”

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

I have seen the isolation – and its detrimental mental and physical health impact – created by parks, schools and city halls that are not fully accessible.

If you are in the design field, you MUST remember that the ADA is the FLOOR, not the CEILING.

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

Call me the Universal Design Evangelist.

The Pied Piper of inclusion for all. 

Jane Jacobs biographer Jenna Lang once dubbed me “the Jane Jacobs of Universal Design.”

I was a direct caregiver to a person who battled chronic pain, dozens of surgeries and used a power wheelchair for mobility.

I might not be able to stamp plans like an architect or engineer – but for 35 years, I saw first-hand the humiliation of using a wheelchair ramp in an unlit back alley – at a brand new building that should have featured access at the main entrance.

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

I get architects who say “it’s a fire house, no wheelchair user will work there” when the very same architecture firm has repurposed an old firehouse into a senior center, day care or even two-level restaurant – where wheelchair access is needed on all floors.

For that matter, if the second floor of a fire house couldn’t be reached by elevator – a decorated, retired, disabled firefighter could not visit his/her old workmates, or give a lecture on evacuation technique best practices for people with disabilities.

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

Today, even more than a third of a century after the adoption of the ADA, I still encounter affordable housing developers trying to pass on the cost of accessible units – to the people with disabilities who could not afford to make the modifications in ten lifetimes.

I must deal with traffic engineers that are aghast at the idea of a road diet – taking away a lane of speeding, dangerous traffic and using that space to widen sidewalks to enhance safe mobility – for wheelchair users and all pedestrians.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

My Miami City Hall job also allowed me to hold some city and private sector leaders’ feat to the fire – guaranteeing the ADA was met and exceeded.

I remember catching a horrible barrier created in the drawings for a brand new sky bridge that would serve tens of thousands.

A well-meaning city department head told me not to worry, it would surely be corrected “because everything has to be ADA.”

I replied that people have to be kept in line. 

My analogy: murder, assault, robbery, burglary and fraud are illegal – but lots of people break the rules if we do not police them.

UNIVERSAL DESIGN MYTHS BUSTED:

FACTS THAT FOSTER INCLUSION

I’m so proud to be one of the featured speakers for the inclusive webinar hosted by the Starkloff Disability Institute.

Register for the FREE event today.

Then visit Zoom on April 10 2025 to hear me bust some Universal Design Myths.

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CZXwv25VSoG_YSvPSPmMFQ?t=1739485035944

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

Along with covering growth and development for a large and influential Midwest newspaper in the 1990s, I was the guy tapped for the disability stories – including deciphering the new Americans Disabilities Act.

The ADA, the strongest federal civil rights legislation for people with disabilities, became the law of the land in 1990.

On election day 2000, my wife and I landed in Miami.

She soon was working as an ADA coordinator for a diverse city and I was the senior urban policy advisor for the Chair of the City of Miami Commission.

After a dreadful period, Miami was booming and I was the point person to figure out whether hundreds of huge development proposals were good or bad for the city, Ta-da, once again starting meeting at 9 a.m. and working well past midnight! 

 

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

When I was hired at the 35^th largest newspaper in the U.S., I found out I was starting at the bottom.

Night school board and town council meetings in the hinterlands.

I was promoted (sentenced?) to the City of Columbus Development Commission – a board that met well into the wee hours – too late to beat deadline for the morning paper.

I also married young, to a person who used a wheelchair for mobility.

The combination of learning about how “planning nerds” and developers operated + my spouse’s mobility needs + my deep human empathy gained through watching my mom’s tortured days – forged my career.

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

My non MLB dream was to become an author. 

My mom battled with severe mental illness her entire adult life.

During my upbringing in the exurbs of northeast Ohio, she was institutionalized and put on heavy medication regimens.

I figured her first born son could tell her stories as a way of casting off the 1970s middle class suburban stigma of seeing psychologists, psychiatrists and spending time in a mental health ward.

I graduated with a degree in journalism, covering the losingest major college football team in the nation while at Kent State. I was on my way to being a pro sports beat writer.

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

Call me the accidental urbanist.

I never dreamed I would be speaking around the world and the U.S. on Universal Design and how to make cities better and more inclusive for all people – especially those with disabilities.

My first dream was to be a major league baseball player.

Let’s just say if there really were deals with the devil, I’d have played third base for the Cleveland Guardians for a decade and my soul would have been headed to a very hot and uncomfortable place.

When it turned out I was not so great at hitting a baseball, I figured I’d be a sportswriter covering a major league team.

My dad worked in the back shop of the Akron Beacon Journal, so I figured he could help me get a foot in the door and soon I’d be writing about walk-off home runs and near no-hitters.

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

Steve Wright is an award-winning Universal Design consultant, writer, public policy expert and advocate for people with disabilities who Jane Jacobs biographer Jenna Lang once dubbed “the Jane Jacobs of Universal Design.” 

He created and taught a groundbreaking Universal Design course University of Miami and has lectured on the subject nationally and globally.

Along with conducting Universal Design workshops for dozens of clients, he has published thousands of articles on planning for an inclusive built environment. 

Wright has worked at some of the nation’s leading urban design, architecture and mobility engineering firms.

Wright is featured the nation’s preeminent expert in design and public policy to increase quality of life for people who use wheelchairs for mobility in “Mark – A Call to Action.”

The 90-minute disability positive documentary by an Emmy-winning producer-director premiered in Tokyo to a host of U.S. State Department Officials and renowned Japanese disability advocates.

Wright is an acclaimed visual artist who has exhibited fine art photographs from his urban work in Tokyo, Istanbul, Paris, Barcelona, Marrakech, Cairo, Lisbon, London, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Samarkand, Montevideo, Bogota, Mexico City, Prague, Medellin and countless major cities in North America.

 

 

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

This isn’t just about compliance with the ADA; it’s about envisioning spaces where everyone can live, work, and thrive without barriers.

Steve Wright, a universal design expert, calls for raising the bar beyond minimal standards.

From accessible sidewalks to universally designed housing and transit, the built environment should prioritize usability and safety for everyone, including seniors and people with disabilities.

Universal Design improves quality of life for all. 

Features like ramps, wide sidewalks, and step-free entrances don’t just aid wheelchair users—they benefit parents with strollers, elderly pedestrians, and delivery professionals.

The CDC reports that one in four people will experience a disability at some point, and yet, under 1% of U.S. housing is fully accessible. 

Investing in inclusive design now yields long-term health, economic, and social benefits, making cities stronger, healthier, and more connected for future generations.

LISBON, PORTUGAL

 UNIVERSAL DESIGN -- BLESSED BY THE HEAVENS

I’ve always said Universal Design is sustainable, durable, flexible and valuable.

Here, at Museu Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon Portugal, the heavens light the way to the ramp of access for all.

CASA DO POETA SETABUL PORTUGAL

PERFECT LOCATION, GREAT PRICE POINT, 

LARGE ENOUGH FOR A FAMILY OF 3-4 TO LIVE IN -- NOT JUST VISIT!

Setubal is a gem and Casa do Poeta is in a vibrant location.

You are footsteps from an overlook of the entire waterfront, with a warm, locals bar-restaurants serving local seafood.

There are lots of small, free or low admission museums.

The restaurants are amazing and if you find a locals place, you may get a 5-course fresh seafood meal with wine for under 15 euros including tip.

The architecture is stunning.

This is the real Portugal.

And you are less than an hour's train ride or drive from Lisbon's large airport.

CASA DO POETA SETABUL PORTUGAL

PERFECT LOCATION, GREAT PRICE POINT, 

LARGE ENOUGH FOR A FAMILY OF 3-4 TO LIVE IN -- NOT JUST VISIT!

I could have stayed a week or a month at this Casa do Poeta.

It is footsteps from a grand arch that leads to the main drag into the fascinating old town.

Just below the hill is the region's main boulevard -- Avenida Luisa Todi -- and all of its parks and amenities.

Casa do Poeta Setabul is a 5-minute walk to the famous choco frito restaurants. Maybe 10 to Praca Bocage, the place for visitors.

It's 15 minutes tops to get to Marcado Livramento -- one of the greatest public markets on earth.

The ferry to Troia is very close, as is the entire old town.

CASA DO POETA SETABUL PORTUGAL

PERFECT LOCATION, GREAT PRICE POINT, 

LARGE ENOUGH FOR A FAMILY OF 3-4 TO LIVE IN -- NOT JUST VISIT!

The only demerit in a sea of positives at Casa do Poeta Setabul was the tiny liquid soap dispenser in the bathroom.

Even unique, family-owned properties have figured out it's good hosting to have a large bottle of shampoo/bodywash mounted in the shower and a full bottle of hand soap in the bathroom sink.

On arrival, there was one dispenser, basically out of soap, by the sink.

This may have been an oversight by the cleaning crew -- but it forced me to waste 40 minutes walking to a grocery, waiting in checkout line and walking back...just to have soap and shampoo.

The neighborhood looks a bit dodgy with graffiti. Don't be put off.

The town is transforming and every other building is being renovated.

But I never heard noise from construction during the day or bars and night.

CASA DO POETA SETABUL PORTUGAL

PERFECT LOCATION, GREAT PRICE POINT, 

LARGE ENOUGH FOR A FAMILY OF 3-4 TO LIVE IN -- NOT JUST VISIT!

I was so fortunate to book this property.

The owners were fabulous about keeping in touch before I left the US and while I was in Portugal leading up to this visit and during my stay.

They shared many tips on places to see, things to eat, etc.

I'm a history buff and the apartment shares a wall with the birthplace of legendary Setubal and subversive poet and writer Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage, which serves as a museum to his works and also as an archive of photographer Americo Ribeiro.

The unit even comes with free parking if you can nab a spot at the next door church square.

Bed was comfy, AC worked well, kitchen facilities were top notch and shower had endless hot water.

PONTA DA PIEDADE GROTTO TOUR IN LAGOS BY VIATOR

GREAT VALUE AND SAFE AT SEA WITH SUPER PROFESSIONAL

ENGLISH SPEAKING GUIDE

As most of you know, Viator works with thousands of subcontractors.

They are up front about telling you what sub is conducting your tour.

When I arrived at the docks, an English speaking person told me I was the only one that booked for my time.

I feared I would be left to fend for myself, despite having a very tight daily schedule.

No, he placed me on another boat with a top notch captain and English speaking guide.

All was well.

No worries with Viator.