LESSON 10: UD POLITICS: VISIT*ABILITY AND FAIR HOUSING

To put FACES on the need for Visit*Ability, we start with “Who's NOT at the party?” (Celebs and others who canNOT visit friends whose homes are INaccessible). We describe the Visit*Ability Movement that is spreading basic access across U. S. cities and states, and even a proposed FEDERAL VIZ law. After that, here comes the Judge (again), with a short piece on enforcement of the federal Fair Housing Act Access Guidelines (which actually were FIRST U. S. VIZ legislation (1988)—but it wasn’t called VIZ at that time.

Lesson 10 will prepare you to launch a teen-smart Universal Design and VIZ Awareness Campaign in your school district, local churches and service clubs, or the whole community. As an Expert VISITOR, you'll be able to:

1. Make an effective public presentation that describes VIZ and emphasizes the need for (and importance of) residential basic access features; and

2. Debate the following statements, being able to defend BOTH sides:
   Proponents: VIZ (basic access) is a long overdue and relatively INexpensive set of features that should be included in ALL new and remodeled housing.

   Opponents: Legislating expensive access requirements for new housing violates buyers' rights to make their OWN spending decisions, AND makes those homes less affordable.

WORD BANK: Visit*Ability, basic vs. full/fixed wheelchair access, temporary/permanent disability, aging in place, safety and maneuverability, home resale value, para-/quadriplegic, architectural/attitudinal barriers, social isolation, 0-step/stepless entry, 32” clear passage doors, “on an accessible route,” legislated VIZ vs. voluntary programs, Congress for the New Urbanism, Fair Housing Act Accessibility Guidelines for new multifamily housing.

By late 2005, hardly ANY wheelchair ACCESSIBILITY requirements applied to private, new 1-3-family housing in the U. S., EXCEPT dwellings covered by VIZ ordinances and statutes in a few cities and states. Smith (2004) noted that of over one million new U. S. housing starts per year, 99% of the single-family homes (NOT including townhouses) are built with steps at EVERY entrance, plus narrow bathroom doors (only 28" to 32" wide).

Credit: PB Teen mag

WHO'S NOT AT THE PARTY AND WHY NOT?!

Who do I know who...

Those experiences don’t happen JUST to people who JUST happen to have disabilities. EVERY American has a TEMPORARY disability AT LEAST ONCE in their lifetime. After reading the next three questions, close your eyes and visualize entering YOUR home.

Was that an eye-opener?! The people who need VIZ NOW or will in the future are a HUGE group! Can you think of other folks who might be thankful for basic access from time to time? To mention a few:

Everyone?! In addition to people with temporary mobility problems (e. g., broken leg, hip replacement, or pregnancy), others include children with disabilities who cannot attend friends' birthday parties; hospital patients who can't return home to convalesce in their upstairs bedrooms; and Baby Boomers who are caring for frail parents either in the family home OR their own. Private homeowners may even discover that VIZ increases the usability AND resale value of their homes.

Other advantages of Visit*Ability include greater safety and maneuverability for bringing large bags of groceries into the house. If you ask the Maytag DELIVERY-person (NOT their lonely repairman), s/he’ll probably say that VIZ makes it possible to move major appliances and large furniture in and out of entryways WITHOUT gouging the woodwork, scratching paint, OR smashing a fingers. Finally, the WHOLE community can benefit by saving their tax dollars that go to support people with mobility limits who are UNemployed because most workplaces have steps.

By now you’re dying to know the definitions of Visit*Ability and basic access. In short, the VIZ concept provides BASIC ACCESS to housing, which allows people with mobility limits to enter, visit, share a meal, and use a first-floor bathroom. Basic access requires only three features: 1) At least one no-step entry, 2) a half bathroom on the main floor, and 3) entry and interior doors with minimum 32” CLEAR passage. More on them AFTER the party...

Quotable Quote: The SPIRIT of Visitability is as important as the list of features. That spirit says, “It is not merely UNwise but OUTRAGEOUS that new homes continue to be built with physical barriers...The harsh consequences that INaccessibility inflicts on many people include daily, draining drudgery; physically UNsafe conditions; social isolation; and UNdesired institutionalization” (adapted from Smith, 2004).

EVEN SOME CELEBS HAVE TO MISS PARTIES

You've already named some people that you know could benefit from VIZ. NOW, let's meet some famous names who could be socially isolated if most of their friends' homes have entry steps, narrow doors, AND NONaccessible bathrooms. True, celebs are more likely than most people with disabilities to be able to afford basic access in their homes. But who wants to be the host/ess EVERY TIME?!

The Celebs who canNOT come to the party are an AWESOME group! Most on OUR list are adults, because the older that one gets, the more time they've had to hold dangerous jobs (e.g., fighting wars, construction, farming,..) AND use adult toys like fast cars, sports equipment, and Big Bikes. Plus, UNless you're a child prodigy, it usually takes a few years to become a nationally- or world-famous CELEB!

One person who DID become a child celeb is former Disney Mouseketeer, Annette Funicello. Later famous for her peanut butter commercials, Annette was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis while she was a young mother. But until recently (she's 60-Something now), she led an active life from her chair.

If you’ve watched 'Ed' on the tube, you’ll recognize Daryl 'Chill' Mitchell, a former hip-hop performer who plays Eli, the bowling alley manager. Chill's music, film, and television career was already booming when a 'cycle crash almost ended his life in 2001. Spinal cord damage made him a PARAplegic, so he and 'Eli' BOTH rely on wheelchairs to get around.

One of America's newer Celebs with a disability is architect Michael Graves, who’s designed gobs of cerulean blue household products for Target stores. (Surf the web to ALSO find some of his great ARCHITECTURAL designs!). Following a disabling disease just a few years ago, he’s had to adapt his living and work environments for his IMmobility.

In 2003, Graves' somewhat universal paper shredder design was awarded Silver among the year’s New Products. It looks like a sleek, covered wastebasket, but serves as a combo shredder, trash and paper clip holder, and pencil sharpener. By the way, the Target organization unveiled a new national marketing slogan in 2005: Design for All. BUT it’s NOT synonymous with UD! CLICK HERE to see what they DO mean: http://target.com/designforall/home.jhtml

Another high-profile celeb brings fireworks to the party! John Hockenberry, an award-winning foreign correspondent and TV/radio personality, became a paraplegic at age 19 in a car accident. If you’re a late arrival, YOU’LL MISS the tiny red, blue, and green lights that blaze when his wheelchair’s front wheels turn.

John’s 7-year-old twin daughters convinced him that the electric scooter wheels were a big improvement for being disabled in public. Although his girls are almost too big to ride on Daddy’s lap anymore, his SECOND set of twins, 4-year-old boys, still fit just fine!. You can read about this Dynamic Dad with a Disability if you CLICK HERE: http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/story.php?artid=1019

Sadly, two very successful celebs with disabilities left us in 2004. First, jazz pianist and composer, Ray Charles, had a long and highly successful career WITHOUT SIGHT. When someone guided Ray to the ivories, HE STARTED the party! If you haven't seen the movie, 'Ray,' GET DOWN (to the video/DVD store)!

Former Superman (aka Chistopher Reeves) became a QUADRIplegic after falling from his show jumping horse. Before his death at only 50, he had become a disability advocate who raised broad public consciousness, plus millions of $$$ for disability-related research. A strong advocate for stem cell research, Reeves died before he could benefit from it.

Searching for teens who may miss the party, we immediately thought of Helen Keller, whose sight and hearing impairments made her an early “disability poster child.” Several decades later, Ted Kennedy, Jr., lost a leg to cancer while a YOUNG teenager. But that didn't keep him from snow skiing with assistive ski pole/ski devices. After college, he RAN a successful campaign to represent his Massachusetts home district in the U. S. House of Representatives.

Over the past decade, two young women just out of their teens became the first Miss Americas with disabilities. First was Heather Stone, who’s been deaf since childhood, followed a few years later by the former Miss ???, who just happened to have insulin-dependent diabetes. Their disabling conditions could have resulted in HUGE communication and attitudinal barriers as they traveled the world as goodwill ambassador. Instead, their limitations provided HUGE opportunities to create disability awareness among millions of Americans.

Did we mention the many American TEEN HEROES (male AND female) who were injured in the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, or other hot spots? Despite widely varied combat disabilities, most of today's severely wounded soldiers are rehabilitated and if appropriate, receive prostheses. They WON'T be ”confined to wheelchairs” because that last phrase is NOT politically correct. For example, a recent change converted the former Army Disabled Soldier Support System to the U. S. Army WOUNDED Warrior Program.

Of the current crowd of TEEN IDOLS, whose temporary or permanent disability has introduced them AND their fans to architectural and attitudinal barriers? The surfer-girl from Hawaii who lost an arm to a shark is fast becoming a new teen celeb. Would Mary-Kate Olsen's eating disorder qualify? Who’ve we missed? While you’re thinking, we’ll get back to the importance of Visit*Ability (which IS a minimally-Universal Design).

Quotable Quote: Visit*Ability: It's your PATRIOTIC DUTY! Who could argue that our disabled vets DESERVE (basic) access—and more? (B. Peters, listserv comment 2004).

A NEW 45-UNIT SINGLE-FAMILY VIZ SUBDIVISION DEVELOPED BY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY IN ATLANTA. Side entrance has NO steps so it’s easy to bring out the baby stroller or a major appliance.

VISIT*ABILITY: THE BOTTOM RUNG ON THE UD CONTINUUM

Later, the Disability Rights Action Coalition for Housing (DRACH) also began to promote VIZ; and its members were helpful in finding the best strategies to get VIZ proposals passed at local and state levels. Since 1999, growing numbers of cities and states have enacted Visit*Ability ordinances or laws requiring that new single-family, duplex, and triplex housing be built with minimal access features (Truesdale & Steinfeld) 2001). By late 2005, a federal VIZ proposal (the Inclusive Housing Design Act, H. R. 1441) was pending in the U. S. Congress for the second time.

'In a pinch,' the swing-clear hinge moves a door out of its frame, adding about 1.5" more clear space--maybe just enough to allow wheelchair passage.

While representing the bottom rung on the UD continuum, VIZ requirements could produce a significant increase in the inventory of accessible new 1-3-family dwellings AT MINIMAL ADDITIONAL COST. VIZ or basic access enables a person with a disability to enter a home (without being carried), enjoy a meal, and use the bathroom before going home (Kochera 20002, Smith 1996).

States that have passed voluntary or legislated VIZ programs include Georgia, Vermont, Texas, Kansas, and Arizona. The list of cities and counties with VIZ is growing rapidly: Atlanta, Austin (TX), Bolingbrook, Chicago, Naperville, and Urbana (IL), Pima County and Prescott Valley (AZ), Iowa City (IA), Toledo (OH), Scanton (PA), and Arvada (CO).

Whether OR NOT new homes are planned to accommodate people with disabilities, VIZ features offer easy living by those who MAY develop temporary or permanent MOBILITY impairments. VIZ features allow persons with mobility limits to enter friends' homes or attend neighborhood meetings without having to leave early to find an accessible bathroom. VIZ also BEGINS to meet the access needs of homeowners who (suddenly OR gradually) face the results of accidents or normal age-related limitations.

Quotable Quote: …The dozens of homes I have tried but been excluded from while house-hunting, and the hundreds of homes I have visited (or NOT been able to visit) have affected my life strongly. I am far from alone in my experience of having to live in a home for six months where I had to crawl on the floor each time I used the bathroom because the door was too narrow. Many have it worse. (E. Smith, 2005).

VIZ has appeared ONLY because U. S. progress toward FULL accessibility has been so-o-o slo-o-ow. The VIZ definition has been evolving since Ms. Smith began her public crusade and was joined by DRACH. Basic Access represents the “Minimalist” (lowest) level of Universal Design. At the other end of the UD continuum, full built-in Universal Design offers a much higher level of access than VIZ --and MUCH more. Visit*Ability is a compromise between FULL, FIXED wheelchair accessibility (which is more expensive and permanently needed by less than 10% of Americans) vs. BASIC ACCESS that EVERYONE NEEDS.

Instead of requiring a long list of fixed-access features, VIZ prioritizes the most essential items that the largest numbers of people need to enter a home and have access to a first-floor bathroom. The local, state, and federal VIZ efforts discussed in the Advanced Option below may add more features. Smith's VIZ “short list” follows:

MINIMUM, NON-NEGOTIABLE VISIT*ABILITY REQUIREMENTS:

*One zero-step accessible entry on an accessible route into the house
* Accessible entry and interior doors with minimum 32" clear passage
*An accessible main floor (half) bath with a clear path to the toilet

One no-step entry on an accessible route allows chair users to wheel up and into the house without needing to be lifted over one or more steps. Aside from the safety hazard of being dropped or tipped out, being carried in is an UNdignified or embarrassing way to make one’s Grand Entrance to the party.

IF installed during original construction, ALL three VIZ basic access features generally ADD less than $100 to the total cost of a new single-family home built on a CONCRETE SLAB, and add about $650 to the total costs of a similar house built OVER A CRAWLSPACE OR A BASEMENT (Schakowsky, 2005).

Ms. Smith's group, Concrete Change, has a COOL website with a photo gallery showing VIZ home entries vs. ugly steps; VIZ homes on concrete slabs, crawlspaces, basements, and steep terrains; and a CUTE 0- step GINGERBREAD HOUSE created by disability advocates in Rochester, NY. Its “Making Change” section offers info on how to make social change.

The Concrete Change site also offers a CD/DVD presentation on stepless entries, copies of fact sheets on VIZ, its costs, and the proposed federal VIZ bill (H. R. 1441), plus information on and a link to the Easy Living Home program (see Lesson 6). Unfortunately, they ran out of the COOL T-shirts that could have turned you into a traveling VIZ billboard! But keep that in mind: printing shirts with VIZ or UD logos or your own promotional design is good UD Awareness Campaign idea. CLICK HERE to pay them a short visit and get right back here.

MOST RESIDENTIAL INTERIOR DOORS ARE TOO NARROW Most new homes have at least a half bath on the main floor for guests. But they are UNlikely to have a door wide enough for wheelchair access. Go home and measure yours! To obtain 32" of clear passage space typically requires the door to be AT LEAST 34" wide (better yet, 36" wide). The 34" width is just enough for a standard 27" wide wheelchair AND user to pass withOUT skinning knuckles OR damaging the door or trim. If an existing home has 30" or narrower bathroom doors, the only alternative may be to remove the door AND its frame. But first check whether a 34"-36"-wide pre-hung replacement door may be installed. The “door wall” must have enough space for bathroom fixtures, the door/frame, and 18” beside it for a chair user to open (NOT block) the door. Often, the doorframe may be wide enough for passage. But the inward-opening door blocks clear passage to the toilet OR prevents maneuvering a wheelchair within the bathroom. At the very least, a chair user may be unable to close the door. An alternative may be to install a sliding barn-type door on a rail above the doorframe OUTSIDE the room OR remove the door and its stops and replace them with a heavy privacy curtain.

ADVANCED OPTION: LEGISLATED VS. VOLUNTARY VIZ PROGRAMS

A federal VIZ law (the Inclusive Housing Design For All Act [IHDA]) proposed in 2002, was sponsored by over 100 U. S. Representatives (Democrats AND Republicans). Although it died when Congress adjourned in January 2005, a similar bill was re-introduced later in 2005 as House Bill 1441(with the same name). HB 1441 is based on testimony for the 2002 federal VIZ proposal PLUS analyses of the early local and state VIZ efforts and operations. Look up HB 1441 and follow its progress through Congress: http://www.concretechange.home.mindspring.com

Ideally, public-spirited citizens would urge local homebuilders to adopt VIZ standards VOLUNTARILY as a matter of conscience, economy, and common sense. The numbers of voluntary programs, however, are very small in comparison to the growing numbers of LEGISLATED (also called “mandated”) VIZ regulations in U. S. cities and states.

Quotable Quote: Developers in the East market it as “Lifestyle Design” while builders in the South call it “Easy Living” for people over 50 as well as younger folks with disabilities. Universal designers say it's a usable, comfortable home for ANYONE. But in SOME U. S. cities, counties, states, (and perhaps soon, the nation), VIZ is THE LAW, applicable to all new homes, regardless of who will live there (Paraphrased news item, 2004).

For local- or state-level VIZ legislative proposals, Smith recommends that the list of required features be very short. If not, passing a Visitability law may be almost impossible. Due to their simplicity and the minimal cost, VIZ programs that require no more than 2-3 basic access items are much more likely to be approved by a governing body than specifications that go further. For example, apartments in new structures with four or more units are required to include 7 Fair Housing Access Guidelines (see Lesson 6).

Perhaps the most successful example of a locally-mandated VIZ program is the City of Bolingbrook, Illinois (near Chicago). Since 2003, the City has required homebuilders to include basic access, PLUS several other features in every new home (no matter how financed). By late 2005, nearly 4,000 new units (most single-family) had been VIZ-built in the city, with approved building permits for more 'on deck.'

Bolingbrook is a good case study for citizens who want to propose a local VIZ ordinance. In small cities or suburbs, building 4,000 new homes with Basic Access+ in less than two years is HUGE! Another local success is Pima County/Tucson, AZ. Although opponents challenged the new countywide VIZ ordinance, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld it!

In contrast to legislated VIZ requirements, voluntary VIZ proposals often include ADDITIONAL access and UD features. For example, the Georgia Easy Living Home voluntary certification program requires BOTH a main floor bedroom AND full bath with chair maneuvering space. The Easy Living Homes' (ELH) website includes a Gallery of 10 homes priced from $100,000 to $500,000, AND explains how builders in other states may start such a program. To see example ELH homes.

As the numbers of bipartisan sponsors of the federal VIZ bill rose in late 2004, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) changed its opposition, and instead suggested VOLUNTARY VIZ compliance with an agreed-upon list of access features (a la Bolingbrook). That type of political action often is used to “negate the need for” (in other words: defeat) proposed legislation if the chances of passage appear to be GOOD. If, indeed, the voluntary VIZ proponents “win,” legislative VIZ bills may die in both Congress and state legislatures. What does that teach you about “making social change democratically?

THE DAY WILL COME WHEN

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES,

YOUNG OR OLD,

WILL MOVE FREELY

WITHOUT BARRIERS

THROUGH ALL HOMES,

AS RESIDENTS

AND AS VISITORS.

NOT ENDANGERED BY STAIRS,

BUT SAFE.

NOT EMBARRASSED BY NARROW DOORS,

BUT AT EASE,

NOT AT HOME ISOLATED,

BUT AT THE PARTY.


VISIT*ABILITY

Kudos to Eleanor Smith! Can YOU imagine yourself making SUCH a difference in the quality of life, NOT ONLY for people with mobility limits, but EVERYONE?

LESSON 10 LEARNING ACTIVITY CHOICES

1. HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT: Go home and measure the clear openings of the front/guest entry and bathroom doors. When open, most doors stay within the doorway space, so you must subtract the door thickness (about 1-1/2") from the doorframe's inside dimension. If the result is LESS than 32", an offset, swing-clear hinge (that gets the door completely out of the doorway so all the space is clear) is probably the cheapest way to add enough clearance to the millions of homes that were built with 32"-wide doors.

2. What if YOU Miss the Party?! Visualize yourself having just arrived home from the hospital with a broken leg in a cast, either sitting in a wheelchair or standing on crutches in front of the house. (How) do you think you could enter your home? How might you feel once inside? Would you feel safe being left home alone? (How) would you get out of your room AND the house in case of a fire? How would you feel if your Mom or Dad had to help you use the bathroom?

   Also, think of people you know (family, friends, and other people important to you) who might have a problem getting into and around in most INaccessible houses. Have you accompanied a friend or relative who uses a wheelchair or walker as they ”tool around” town, to school, church, shopping, and visiting their friends’ homes?

   
   

3. Mounting a UD AWARENESS CAMPAIGN OR LOCAL VIZ ORDINANCE: What seems to make more sense, proposing a VIZ ordinance first, followed by an Awareness Campaign, or the reverse? Would the methods of achieving either be about the same, or different? If you only had time, funds, or energy to do ONE awareness campaign, which is better and why? Re-check this lesson’s Links for additional useful information. Start with these questions:

   *How much (local, state, or federal) government control do you as a citizen need or want?

   *Why don’t more homebuilders provide basic access or accept the UD concept readily?

   HEY! That was a great lead-in to considering ANOTHER relationship. How much control and involvement do you think parents should have in your life? How much independence should you have as a teen? Does thinking about that contribute to your critical thinking about LEGISLATED VIZ requirements vs. homebuyers’ rights vs. the needs of people with mobility limits? They don’t call the Government, “Big Brother” for nothing!

   
   

4. VIZ EDUCATION CAMPAIGN NOTES: After evaluating the content and format of the CC VIZ fact sheets, think about using one as is OR adapting it for distribution if and when your town considers a VIZ proposal. First, you’d need to research whether the town, county, or state has proposed or passed a voluntary or legislated VIZ program (check local newspaper and minutes of that governing board, plus the local homebuilders’ association). You might visit City Hall too, and find out upon which model building code and which edition or revision, the current local building code is based.

   IF your group determines interest in such an effort, survey other local leaders, civic groups, and homebuyers and owners about their knowledge and opinions on requiring at least basic access in all new 1-3 family homes. Invite a local communications expert to discuss how to go about trying to make social change in your community, including creating strategic alliances of proponents.
   

   To start, YOU and your class or group could give copies of the VIZ brochure to City Councilpersons or County Commissioners as YOU EDUCATE them about Visitability. We leave the job of preparing convincing presentations and seeking effective testimonials on WHY and HOW IMPORTANT VIZ is to a healthy community—to YOU!

   
   

5. Bonus Project:
   

May I offer a little suggestion? Never try out a 3-wheel motor scooter ANYWHERE NEAR a tree! Since neither my house or my town is visitable, it’s just Teddy B. and me for the duration.....