New Visitability Paper Released
The IDEA Center is pleased to announce the release of an AARP Research Report, "Increasing home access: Designing for visitability". This report was co-authored by Jordana Maisel (IDEA Center), Eleanor Smith (Concrete Change) and Ed Steinfeld (IDEA Center). It is sponsored and distributed by AARP Public Policy Institute.
A visitable home in Bolingbrook, IL, where nearly all homes have basements.
Visitability is a movement that seeks to increase the supply of accessible housing through the inclusion of three basic structural features at the time of home construction: a zero-step entrance, wide doorways, and at least a half bath on the main floor of the home.
The Report describes the visitability philosophy, the barriers to implementing visitability initiatives and opportunities for further adoption of the concept in the construction of new homes. It also contains over twenty focused interviews with builders, residents, advocates and public officials who are all involved in the visitability movement. The entire article can be accessed and downloaded from the AARP Public Policy website.
A visitable Habitat for Humanity home in Atlanta, GA.
The Research Report was also mentioned in the September 10, 2008 edition of USA Today.
We hope that this new report will become an important resource for planners, policy developers and homebuilders. It can help them all adopt best practices in accessible housing to meet the needs of people with disabilities today and the aging population in the future.
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