The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been particularly acute for people with disabilities, many of whom face unique challenges, such as a lack of accessible healthcare spaces or medical equipment. Frequent hand-washing is not always possible for people with certain types of physical disabilities, and physical distancing is especially challenging for those who rely upon personal aides or caregivers.
At the same time, an unintended byproduct of the post-pandemic recovery is the rapid acceleration of high- and low-technology solutions that might also benefit the disabled community. From touchless entries to wider streets, many interventions are now being implemented in our cities and our workplaces that make them more accessible to everyone. As we begin to imagine what a post-pandemic world needs, we believe that now, more than ever, we have an opportunity to remake the places where we live, work, and play more accessible and more inclusive.
Before the global pandemic compelled many of us to work from home, designers of the built environment were making positive steps to create spaces that are engaging, inclusive, and universally accessible in response to the changing nature of how we work, live, and play.
Now, in a time where designers are using this moment to reimagine the future of spaces and places, we must take a closer look at how we’re addressing the needs of people with varying abilities, and reexamine the design responses created through complying with building codes and standards like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
In the U.S., ADA Standards for Accessible Design have undoubtedly paved the way for an increasing integration of accessibility into design practice. However, they are utilitarian in nature and often not sufficient in themselves to support the expanded definition of an inclusive experience.
Eddie Ndopu, founder and CEO of Beyond Zero Ventures, says that accessibility is about more than making physical changes to a space. “For all of its symbolic value as a gesture of accommodation, a ramp, does not make a space accessible,” he says. “It may facilitate entry into a building for people who use mobility devices. What makes a space accessible is the empathy, connection, freedom, and possibility it engenders for people of all abilities and identities to come together.”
In the immediate term, we need to get people back to the office and we need to ensure that all spaces and touch points will be accessible, inclusive, and deliver a feeling of safety to everyone who returns to the workplace and office buildings.