It is a servers enriched environment that is intended for anyone, but there is a special of this is on people with disabilities and older people who are both served within this community. There are lots of a public services with complete flexibility. One of the things they do here is offer the services that are tailored for older people stability. If you are a president, you actually have access to those services. This is just an old picture of it. One of the other things they want to do was actually reinvent the shopping experience in a coma. And Kumamoto is like much of Japan. Japanese really love to shop. They are as bad as we are. And the shopping experience in Kumamoto was tough, particularly for older residents. The governor initiated this big planning process to reinvent the shopping experience. She was in many ways solving little problems. The redesigned pedestrian and Darman's in the shopping area downtown. Kumamoto is an urban center. It is not spread out. It is actually possible to solve these things and the the city center. Kazakhstan the pedestrian environment first and then focused on providing wheeled shopping carts to every shop in town. You can pick up a wheeled cart at the front of any store and make your way through the store with a little extra support. There is just a sense of a socially sustainable solution that costs them nothing. Japan has the longest life spent in the world right now, but they still have a retirement age of 60. There are a lot of able bodied people up there and looking for a Portuguese, and they are looking for ways to do reading a Committee for Children, community child-care has traditionally been very separate. Children with disabilities over here and children without spilled is over there. One of the governor's Purdy's has been to integrate this. Site seeing is another piece of the defining characteristics of Kumamoto, and again this was not just solving a problem, a self evident problem of getting people into these boats for these jurors. It was bringing users together to solve the problem collaborative leave.
User experts were in absolute parity -- priority. We considered universally designed at the start of it. It has made some pretty impressive strides. The governor had as a personal party rented the place where she spent much of her career, which is a children's center. I think Roberta might have gone there. It was no way even basic sensibility when we visited. It has been replaced by this extraordinary facility were hundreds of people participated in the design of this project. They have not moved to post occupancy the duration, a very sophisticated post occupancy evaluation. An astonishingly they have cut ordinary citizens, not just parents and teachers involved in thinking about how to make it continuously better.
Once Steve has gotten his hands on the whole world and converted everybody to making sure that we are all making excess of will power point presentations I'm sure this will be a lot smoother every time.
There are a few details of the school. The school is a place where they played in exquisite detail to acoustics and light. I'm sorry, that is really just and honest reflection of the school. This is a very human centered environment. Now, we are going to move on to Boston I have a picture of Goldie Hawn. She was on the cover of AARP in February for celebrating her 50th birthday. She looks 15. She'd surely looks younger than her daughter. We have a little problem here. It makes us a fundamentally different from the Japanese, and I love this ". We have an aging society and an adolescent culture. That is a big of an impediment to a universal design in our culture. We aren't aging in the same way as the Japanese, partly because we have our emigration to think. So we do not look like Western Europe, which we would if it's not for emigration. So by 2015 the U.S. population is expected to peak at 40 million. But only 26.9 over 60. 26.9 over 60 is a lot of people. The other thing that is worth noting in the U.S. again is that we are seeing some remarkable yet subtle changes. There are two universal design the and Greene design projects mentioned by independent centers. One of them is by access living in Chicago. Gerald price is with access building. Please talk to him about access living. Do you have pictures with you to keep I do. I do.
Access living in should there is building a building downtown. They got a great deal from the mayor, and they have done a fabulous work. Some of you know about the project in Berkeley. That is another project that is a transit oriented project. You are nodding your head. It is a drilling project also. We are also seeing as American corporations that are so slow to pick up on this. They are now astonishingly looking at Universal design for proof of concept envisages.
Total has not universally designed vehicles. There are pretty fabulous. The don't poured one of them to the U.S. They don't think we care. Universal design is expanding annually. We were talking about and hour long interview this week with The Wall Street journal. This is a testament to meaningful progress. The U.S. access board has for the first time established a new practice with the new courthouse standards that are being worked on. They are calling for optimal design guide lines. This is a long way from minimums and maximums. We are about the same size as Kumamoto. We have about a 3.2 ma metropolitan area, and that is a much smaller area. We look a lot different than Kumamoto. We are also the second Coast expensive U.S. city, not anything to brag about.
You actually see them to give? The reason that we got involved in this is because Boston was building it's first new never aired since it built back Bay hundred 50 years ago. They had to fill and land and March. This project is in some ways easier. This land was filled in at 200 years ago. There is a thousand acres of underused land, mostly open parking and poured it business. It was right outside of the adaptive environment office. Literally we were the last building. When I came and I confess to having been ignorant of adaptive environment prior to being my being recruited for the folks who were looking for a new exec director. I looked at the most enormous urban planning projects. So it was a condition of employment. They have to live with my party. We secured initial support from the Boston Foundation, our community foundation. We definitely invited ourselves to this party. We had no power, no authority, and not a magician. So we created our own. I recommend it. It could work. We secured initial political support from the Boston Redevelopment authority. I am a person who spent a number of years of my life in government, and I have feelings about manipulating, cajoling, convincing, what ever it takes to get the people who do have authority to buy its. Flattery is enormously valuable. We secured initial moral support from the Boston Society of architects, the largest AIA chapter and the country.
Let me just look at a couple of things spurred one of the things that was so interesting about this is this is something that was essentially forgotten. It is a short walk and visually connected to the financial district. Weeper bifurcated by the elevated roadway that cut through the city. That $15 billion project was well under way. This was a chance to create new neighbor heard that leads to the inner city. This project stretched to fall apart this week, and it is my the frightening to consider what that means for our town. It may be that the last person out of Boston terms of the flights.
Predicted but was initially just hundred and 27 acres. We focused our attention purred what we did initially was start with the education the governor brought in 600 citizens. We it is not have the worst of all -- let me back up for a second. Treated is missing from this. I don't know what happened. We traded a small highly visual very thoroughly designed little boat. It was little because we designed it is deservedly to fit in the inside pockets of a men's jackets because our primary audience we had to connect to work mail developers, mostly male urban planners and mostly male archetypes. And we wanted something that was correct, courage looking, and probably something you would say, for there without thinking about it. You would have to leave through it.
That was our first strategy. Don is in Ohio architect. Global Evanses and there is very compelling. It doesn't matter to everybody. It mattered a lot. We secured a three MIT urban planning interns for 18 months, just a terrific resource. Nearly free. We had them for four years total. It gave us a great deal of capacity. We conducted workshops each year at the architectural events. Each year on your cell design as the urban scale. And a three we brought in some of those experts from elsewhere, from Japan, U.K., and Spain week had an educative focus in a coverage of -- reflect on that for a second. Anyone who did a conference in October of 01 was dealing with a very difficult moment. We had dozens of governmental, nonprofit, and Development Partners for about 400 people. We did a courage of Charette with the Boston Redevelopment authority. We did a planning Charette, and all day Charette for the community in two dozen for.
We involve young people, and listens in particular in the pedestrian design event. They actually did a 12 footboard demonstrating streets fit for people with images that were historical and what they would do to transform them into streets fit for people. This is actually a stronger fix strategy. To pull it off you really need the force power of government to be really meaningful and a stretch. We did elder focus groups with different Paris, extremely valuable. We always started with education, and they were never shy. We went to a children's museum and stood 180, East Church in Ural's purge that very nearly killed us.
Don't ever work with that many it to general spirit. This was for this waterfront neighborhood, inventing a new neighborhood. There was one piece and the to Asea. They actually designed a building attests to the judge's damage was a satellite of the Children's Hospital in Boston. The have this idea that the children Giselle was use the lights at kids who were in the austral stay away long time that if they had access to the museum at night it would be such fun. They executed slides that would bring them from the Children's Hospital satellite unit right into the children's museum. They could play all night. Some wonderful stuff out of that process.
If you want to melt a developer's heart have little kids present their ideas for human centers to sign. Strategical Russians, and I will be.
Here, you have to have standing contrast stitching, public-works, disability Commission, another commission. They have become among our most reliable allies. State government is interested the part of this. The Environmental Protection, Highway, Department of conservation and recreation. There are intermittent great palace. Some times of the uses and sometimes big impediments.
So Steve Lafferty is here. Regina, Valerie, Eleanor, Roberta, Mary Lou, Sylvia, Joe, Nick, and kids. I just want to speak to you for eight minutes. I am also told that the buses for the tour are outside. So the people who are going on the tour it is through this story here and to the left.
I'm sorry, I am curious about who is here. Can I just ask a couple of categories. How many design professionals? Quite a few. So somebody is confused. How many academics. Some may be both, of course. How many people who would consider themselves user experts? How many people who are urban design policy people to do some of you have raised your hand every time of course and that makes sense. That is a good thing. Who did I forget? Government. My gut talk government, of course. These are the only government people? How will we enter it government if there is only one table? We will have to work on that one. Tradition, I think of transportation as part public policy and government, nonprofit, public housing not here? Public housing? Two, great.
Also I want to make sure that's you get a chance to visit the foot display at your shall design exhibit, if you have not, which is open after the break around the corner here.
Language on a universal design this political to integrate into public policy. We did that in the municipal Harbor plan at guys developments. It required that developers indicate how they would the universal design. They have to scrap it on what parts of development. We into rigid of universal design into multiple -- every time there was a universal design deadline they had sued integrated. The road still comes lists. In any large development and the U.S. It is common for citizen does patient to be expected. There is the upper edge in the to write comments letters, even in a city that is dense and with a very highly attuned urban planning and design community and architecture community. The average number of letters from citizens or anyone, any participant in a development, even a billion baht development the big number is six. If you are one of the six or five or four or three comment letters, you have a tremendous influence. It is not to be ignored, the opportunity to do that. At some point people could sit of just having you in the audience, and if you they may as well harnessed that energy and time and put you on the bourse which has happened to us. Does it make a difference to absolutely. We still believe that regardless of the amount of energy and time invested has to continue for a long period of time even with integration into planning guidelines in order to make a difference on a broad scale like this.
I won't bother with images you cannot see. This is feasible and worthwhile work. We know enough to move Fort. The potential impact is some compelling. A few lost points, disability is conjectural. Think about that WHO issue. A person is more or less civil this on her physical condition affirmation and social or human environment. Iran and varmints are ideal focus for in Russell resigned because of public funding and public impact. It is part of what you can invite yourself to participate. The international information infrastructure is definitely did. Currently nothing like that exists. We need case studies available on the Web to share. The last image I cannot share with you is a very simple image from Boston of a curved credit edge of a public park downtown. That curved edge is the usual 4-inch granite edge along the sidewalk, but in this case is a curse to allow you to walk on the grass and see know that you are welcome to walk on the grass. The overarching goal of universal design as the Iran scale has at every other skill which is to create an experience of welcome. Think you very much for your ideas and patients.
This is Pat. If you can hear me text back yes. Wonderful. We are just waiting for them to test everything out. Wendy Wiitala will also be in this session. She will be talking about the ability center. -- the ability center of Toledo.
There should not be. I don't believe the session has started yet. Like this morning, everyone will be testing their information and. We are just waiting for the presentation to begin. That would be correct. Yes, we to understand that. As soon as they start to we will get underway here. Captioner, can you hear me? And could. I am not sure what the delay is. Okay. We are with you.
We talked about shipping one of the planner is speakers. The speaker who is scheduled at 3:00 will be arriving tomorrow and is stuck in New York. We still to not have the afternoon plenary speech. It is a swap with Catherine hunter who will be talking about successful transportation. I hope you can all make that. Suit opened this session we have Joel Casselman.
Before I begin I would like to recognize disfellowship. Their funding is what helped back my research that I conducted for this presentation. I would also like to think the Winnipeg independent Resource Center for some of the funding in helping me offset the travel and accommodation and registration costs in attending this event. My presentation is entitled A step-by-step guide in developing a disability policy. My name is Joel Casselman period I have a master's degree in city planning from the University of Manitoba. Both of those institutions are in Canada.
I did not do this research and apparently for this presentation. Rather what you see here is a condensation of my master's dissertation, developing a visibility policy for the Province of Manitoba. The research I conducted for this in addition, to the academic literature research involves service and jurisdictions were visibility has been adopted and interviews and focus groups with visibility advocates, government representatives, home builders in the disability community. My research showed that it could be possible to implement visitability codes just simply through the amendment of low building code. In Manitoba it is at the provincial level for the provincial Building code. What I found through research is that it could be very difficult because most people really aren't all that familiar with visitability. To suddenly imposed it on them like that could get a real uneasy feeling and generally would have an overall negative atmosphere. I thought the best way to do it would be to introduce it in a gradual step-by-step basis. Change.
The best way to do it is in five easy steps. The first step is to design and build several possible for set homes. The next step would to introduce visitability in any type of housing that is built with public funds. The third step would be to introduce visitability in specially designed projects. The fourth step would be to introduce visitability in housing through various private incentives, in the final step would be to introduce visitability into the local building code. Pataki.
The first step as I said would be to build several dismal homes. This has started in Atlanta and in the next Kingdom. What happened is this protect homes when they were belt showed that it was possible to build a visible fawn with a very minimal additional charges in the building design and construction costs. It is possible and does not really cost a lot. There is nothing really new or revolutionary about it. My feeling is when you are building these homes you don't simply and fall of the disability mini and nonprofits. It is important to get the design community on board. You can contact local universities. Most universities have the outreach programs, especially in their design schools. It is to get students and professors from the various design professions, architecture, landscape architecture, interior design and city planning, which is what my background is. They can learn about universal design and visitability simply to the hands on the design and construction of these homes. I feel this is crucial because most design schools and the the has States and Canada generally do not have universal design and warrants as part of their curriculum.
While these homes are being built is the sizzle to conduct tests during the construction phase to ensure that they are visible. That is to get people with different degrees of disability to come in to these homes, test them and see if they could use it. It could be someone who walks with a cane, walks with one of those workers, a power chair, powered scooter, or one of those large power shares. Tested with as wide a range as possible and make sure it is suitable for everyone. If you are in a jurisdiction where there is a large degree of minorities who are more likely than not to have a my disability, make sure they are involved as well. In Winnipeg, Manitoba we have a very large numbers will population. They have a much higher rate of disability and the Canadian population as a whole. Generally there rate of disability is to the three times that of the Canadian average. In Manitoba if they were defined designing a visitability policy -- okay. In designing a visitability policy it would be is essential for aborigines with disabilities to be involved in the side process. Make sure members of that minority, African Americans or Hispanics, are also involves in the process.
The next step would be to introduce a visible features in any kind of housing that is built with private or public funds. This can be housing projects that are simply multifamily units dwellings that are designed and built with government money or housing that is built by non-profit organizations. Generally there receive public funding and contract out to build the homes themselves or with various private partnerships. This is one way, I feel, appointing such an ordinance will require intense lobby from the disability to many and allied organizations. What I have found through my research is that almost all the policies that I examined where all implemented because of the intense lobbying of the disability community.
It was not always initiated by local governments. Change the slide. Change it again. I feel that the lobby and generally consists of finding allies in local government to would be willing to initiate the initiatives in legislation. But to people in civil service. These type of people to research and have the information on hand, and they would be able to simply provide the fuel for the fire to show this is possible they have the background and credentials. They are the ones to the politicians are more than likely to believe. It is also important to find allies in the local media. Generally don't rely on the mainstream media. Generally the main stream tends to still cover stuff that is sensationalist.
Looked to the community-based media's, the ones who take an interest in the local issues. If you have a good piece of journalism there, cut it out and put it in a portfolio and use that when you are lobbying for visitability. It is also important for educating the general public about visitability. One thing you could do is hold seminars to get people talking about what it is like to live in your own. Ask them to look at their home. How do you get into your home to most people get into their homes with stairs. Most people, even those who are not disabled, have sometimes had difficulty when it comes to getting in and out of their home. There are using furniture, stroller, sometimes the door is too narrow in the furniture is too wide. I ask them again. Have you ever had a time when you had to come but somebody with a disability in your all? How difficult was it? Chances are they have. Could you continue presiding in your home if you developed a disability copy it separate or conduct? Chances are most would not then through the stick as them, show them the costs of having to retrofit a home to make it a accessible, $1,000 for the main doorway. $700 for Kuwait in home. $530 to put reinforcements and the washer walls to allow for grab bars. Most people could probably not afford that. It would provide the have to take out a second mortgage in order to finance these renovations. Another part of the complaint is drafting the proposed ordinance is. Generally get some lawyers and design professionals on hand to help draft. Again finally to help educate some materials hold public forums and workshops for the government and community at large. Last year I was working at the Winnipeg independent research center on designing a very successful symposium on visitability. We brought people together from various backgrounds, disability community, the design community, and to a certain degree the construction industry. Basically we had a form or suppose him and give the different perspectives on the development of visitability policies.
Committed individuals and they are going to decide what is going to be taken. Generally the consortium would consist of the lawyers, social workers, engineers, design professionals. These are the people who can make decisions quickly on what action is to be undertaken. The rest of the team would have to consist of worker bees. These are volunteers, students, activists, people who are willing to put in long hours, but they are not the ones to make the decisions. They simply implement the decisions that have been decided by the court. Third step, once you have got visitability done in various public housing projects the next up is to introduce it in special development projects. This would be a central in introducing visitability to the private housing market. Joan, this would include large-scale development were public funds are being used. In Winnipeg, Manitoba up one such project would be called the Winter League West development which is a lushly and developed suburban area. We are hoping to try to develop it using out on the visitability, but traditional mixed land use, the New urbanism, as well as designing a energy-efficient features in the homes and buildings. By designing these pieces together it makes it easy to implement visitability.
Most people are familiar with energy-efficient features. Combining the two, introducing visibility in with these features which most people are familiar with makes it easy to introduce visitability to people who don't know about most don't even realize it. In most cases when visitable calls have been built, they say did you notice the doorway is a little water? I did not notice that. They don't realize it is called for someone with a disability. It is a sheer contrast to their warning ramp put onto a real -- party built home. This goes to the stigma that many people with disabilities face. By having it of interest that doesn't clash with the rest of the harm it makes it much easier for a person with a disability to blend in with their surrounding environment. Most important this would introduce visitability to the home building industry and by introducing it in a special development project it could lessen the Opposition that the home builders industry has toward visitability. Such projects should include New urbanism developments occurred.
New urbanism is generally the values opposed by New urbanism are generally quite similar to those of the disability they brought different lifestyles and peoples and generally they are traditionally friendly toward people with disability. You don't need to have a car to get around. It must just be someone who can't walk long distances. Are in development are much easier for them. The sheer irony is most of the homes in urban to elements are not visitable. This is something of an irony. Given as the first visitability organs, no offense to Ms. Casselman at concrete change, began in Atlanta Georgia which has the distinction of being the most called out city in North America. It is one of the worst type of and Carmens' for which a person with a disability would have to live. Again, energy-efficient features Scott visibility are quite similar in terms of cost effectiveness. It might cost a bit more in the short run, but it saves in the long run. They are both economically sustainable. But the realistic people on board and start advertising the marketing potential that a to four com has. Most people would love to live in a home where they could continue presiding if they developed a disability. Most baby boomers have a parent come visit. Instead of having to visit them at a third location or their home, it is good for everyone. That means once you have got these visibility and special design projects done and down pat, start introducing visitability through various types of legislation.
Examples are tax rebates, the waving of development fees. And this will simply encourage home builders and a large-scale developers to implement visitable features into their homes. And some cases when developers are giving a subdivision permit, this is in Canada, they are generally required to develop a certain amount of property and the tonnage that sued the city as a means of public space. It can be a part, community center, elementary or high school. You can do the same thing with visitability. Over the next five years you will start implementing visitability in these submissions. And the first year, five% of all new homes have to be visitable. Second year, 10 percent. And you can go on and on until you are at 25% that will allow the development community to gradually get introduced to visitability. By the time they are finished with it there realize it should not be that big of a deal. Mandatory visitability, simply mandate before features in all new build homes. There should only be a few exceptions were possible. One is homes where the temperature would simply make the visitability impractical. If it is up on a hill or have a lot of water retention there could be problems per homes that have been built specifically for the owner our homes as the owner has built him or herself.
Rise of run for a run of 12. That would be the most crucial one thing I need to be clear is it is most essential that this level entrance to the Hall actually leads to a whole floor of the home. And a lot of houses in Canada at the entrance actually leads to a landing where there is one story going up and one is to rate going down. That is kind of ironic. And a richer -- it doesn't really lead anywhere. Then there should be to small stores on the entry level floor.
You can bargain these away. Because they are not really that essential. You can park and more. 34 inches, you can't take that sound to the 2 inches if you have to. That will simply again -- most people don't realize that universal design environments are beneficial to them as well. A wider interests is good for someone with a stroller or richer, someone who is caring large packages or items in and out of their home. The handle you can use to five it is also good for small children. It is important that we bridge the gap between the disability 20 and other stakeholders here in Manitoba what I have found is the bridge that exists between the disability community and the burgeoning community has a lot of teaching opportunities the embers of mentality is to see things as a whole. They look at the world through similarities rather than differences. That is important when designing visitability policies. You have to make sure that the whole environment is successful to people with all branches of disabilities, be they physical, sensory, or cotton to. In its a person's have a different view of healing. To aboriginal is. Healing does not meet during the disease or condition.
Well, as I said before generally when you are introducing visitability policy look for it as a means of introducing a pretentious, opportunities for bridging the gap between the disability community and other marginal as minority communities. In Manitoba it has been involved with the aboriginal you might have large concentrations of minorities who have higher rates of disability and the population at large. Reach out to them. Use it as an opportunity to reach out to various committees and the suspicions personally I feel the this bill the community is one of the most powerful committees I have ever come across. They have a lot to teach about creches planning. Next up. What I found is the home builder's industry will be staunchly opposed to any visitability mandate. They have opposed it and in some cases they have shut it down. They will do anything they can to oppose it. Generally do not expect any easy dialogue to end the home builders and the street and visitability. The demographics the way they are there will be dialogue, but it won't be easy. Simply because most builders have it relied on tradition they have been building for the last 40 to 50 years, and they don't feel a need to change. They are market-driven. They prefer to live and die by the market as opposed to regulations. They claim that the cost of implementing visitability is extremely costly. Well, what I found -- one important fact I found during my own research is that it wasn't the cost was the issue prodigious did not like the regulations. They feel the home builder's industry has so many regulations. They generally do not want any more. They're also claims against the traditional concept of free enterprise, supply and demand.
What I have found through my research is a visible costs are minimal. So generally you go from there. Then you just have to realize that a visitability policy really is a that much different from other types of policies. Most of the features we have and today's homes didn't come from traditional supply into manned. They often came from regulations which are necessary. Safety traditions came through finding that old halls wiring or fire traps. They stopped doing that because it was necessary. You can also and implement visitable features because it is necessary. It would be essential to do this in homes built with public funds because these homes are part of the public good. You would have to go into those types of designs. The next thing you can do is hold large Trinity forms and symposiums. You can show people there is a demand for visitable, spurred realistic professionals on board as allies who can promote visitability within the development and real estate industry the can also show them that regulations aren't that much of an impact. It is not a new rule. It is modification of an existing there is already a minimum with foremost goal is and always. But having an expanded with on a doorway or hallway is hardly anything new on and regulations. It is just a tinkering of words in existing regulations.
Again, use visitability as a step to ensure that the entire adult environment is excess will. To have visitability in an environment that is insensitive towards possibilities it renders the idea should top. A sprawl is the worst type of environment for any person with any type of disability, be it physical, century, ability religion, or caucus of development. As I said before I still find a bit of irony that visibility first began in Atlanta which is the most sprawled out city and the U.S. You would think it would be developed in a new Urban development. Ironically most urban developments aren't successful either. That is my presentation.
So as to for people hold all questions until after both presentations. Let me introduce the next speaker, Wendy Wiitala period.
If my voice trails off just tell me to pump it up a little bit. Just let me know when you are ready. Are we could? I am Wendy Wiitala period I am making plans advocate here in Ohio. And I am here to talk to you about how we were able to pass the first visitability wardens in the State of Ohio. Could you go to the next slide please. There are hand outs. I have them in large print and braille. As he is handling those ounce I am going to begin because I don't want to take up too much time. I don't know how many of you were here to listen to Eleanor Wiitala earlier today. She talked a lot about lessons learned from this ability ordnances that have already being passed. Our ordinance actually began in the year 2000. It just passed a in 05. It was a five year to Phase project.
So this is the story of our five your quest to pass the first visitability ordinance and the State of Ohio. It started in the year 2000.