Universal Design
How to Protect Pedestrians With Disabilities
Public agencies don’t track traffic deaths and injuries involving disabled people, leaving a gap in data to guide safety interventions.
America’s 15 Most Accessible Cities
These cities are the easiest to navigate for people in wheelchairs or with mobility challenges.
Opinion: ‘Floating’ Bus Stops Endanger Blind Pedestrians
A design that places bike lanes between bus stops and sidewalks complicates mobility for pedestrians, especially people with vision impairments.
How Zoning Reform can Help Seniors ‘Age in Place’
Without more middle housing options, the United States will be short on ‘aging-ready’ homes.
How to Make Documents More Accessible With Color Contrast
There are many ways planners can be more accessible in their work. This article will briefly touch on color contrast as one of the ways to improve accessibility in planning documents.
How Urban Design Fails Families
For parents of small children, amenities like public restrooms or shady parks can vastly improve—or deteriorate—the experience of navigating cities.
New York Subway Begins Accessibility Improvements
The MTA is putting its effort to improve the system’s century-old stations to make them more universally accessible in high gear, adding elevators, boarding upgrades, and mechanical improvements.
ADA Compliance Slowly Makes Headway
Decades of advocacy are paying off, but it often takes legal action to force cities to make accessibility improvements mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act over thirty years ago.
A Child’s Eye View of the City
A new VR tool invites urban planners to viscerally understand how a small child experiences the urban realm—with less-than-ideal results.
Universal Design in D.C.’s Rock Creek Park
After being closed to cars during the pandemic, Rock Creek Park’s Beach Drive has become a haven for people with mobility impairments.
How Urban Design and Infrastructure Affects Public Health and Dignity
Poor infrastructure can have powerful impacts on how different groups access resources and experience the public realm.
New Orleans Facing ADA Lawsuit for State of Sidewalks and Lack of Curb Cuts
The city of New Orleans' compliance with Americans With Disabilities Act compliance is too little, too late, according to the plaintiffs in a new lawsuit.
'Pedestrians First' Measures Walkability for Babies, Toddlers, Caregivers, Everyone
The ITDP's new Pedestrians First tool describes why and how to improve walking conditions, and provides comprehensive analysis of walkability for 1000 cities.
The ADA Turned 30, but Universal Accessibility Still Far From the Reality
While many cities have shown efforts to implement accessible design since the 1990 adoption of the American Disabilities Act, more must be done.
A Guide to Universal Design in the Public Realm
New universal design guidelines go a step beyond complete streets.
How Would Losing Your Sight Change Your Approach to Design?
Alison Prato speaks with architect Chris Downey, who lost his eyesight five years ago following surgery to remove a brain tumor, about how his approach to design and his experience of the city have changed.
Does Vancouver Ban Herald the Death of the Doorknob?
Amendments to Vancouver's building code adopted in September will require lever handles on all doors in newly built housing beginning next March. Could such code changes soon be adopted far and wide?
Old-Age Adaptation: Our Next Great Urban Challenge
Americans are living longer and changing the demographic profiles of our cities in the process. Planners are just beginning to understand how our streets and systems must adapt to accommodate this trend.
Aging Boomers Changing the Shape of Cities Across America
It's not just the Sun Cities of America that are planning for how to meet the needs of the country's coming bulge in its over-65 population. Ryan Holeywell highlights how some cities are adapting their built environments for an aging population.
Planners' Sacred Trust
Most professions have special responsibilities to society. Physicians are expected to observe the Hippocratic oath. Police officers must apply the law fairly and refrain from abusing their power. Lawyers and accountants are expected to offer accurate advice and protect client confidentiality.And planners? We have a special responsibility to consider all perspectives and impacts. When evaluating public policy questions most people ask selfishly, “How does this affect me?” Planners, in contrast, should ask selflessly, “How does this affect the community, particularly disadvantaged and underrepresented groups?”
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
