FROM WOOD BLOCKS TO CITY BLOCKS

 A YOUNG PLANNER’S GUIDE TO BUILDING BETTER PLACES

From Wood Blocks to City Blocks by Juan Mullerat is one of the most inclusive community planning books I have read.

The young community activists/budding urban designers address the needs of a person who uses a wheelchair for mobility.

The richly illustrated publication emphasizes the need for wide, unobstructed, well-maintained sidewalks to support mobility and freedom for people of all ages and abilities.

I collaborated with Juan Mullerat at PlusUrbia Design for a half decade.

It’s where I felt like a graduated from writer/marketer of planning – to person who could give keynote addresses on Universal Design and Inclusive Mobility to planners, engineers and architects.

I will take tiny credit for planting the Universal Design seed in Juan’s brilliant mind.

Both of us are Type A people with a clear vision and sometimes a hint of stubbornness about approaches to the built environment.

Our debates on wheelchair access, retrofitting old buildings, reconciling healthy design issues and aspects of Aging In Place – improved both of our professional approaches to urban design as a way of making the world a better place.

Kudos to Juan and the PlusUrbia team for embracing Design for All.