From the Cradle to the Grave

From the Cradle to the Grave Every year, one-third of people over the age of 65 falls, and of those people, 20-30% sustains injuries that effect mobility and independence (Rural Institute, 2009). Because of these injuries, it would be a difficult adjustment for one to not be able to move as they once did. Daily tasks such as cleaning, checking the mailbox, or moving from one room to another could become a tedious task. Visitability is define as a home in which a home can be easily visited or lived in by people with disabilities. The Center for An Accessible Society says that 3 requirements are necessary in visitability: 1) at least one zero-step entrance, 2) doors with 32 inches of passage space, and 3) there is a bathroom on the lower level that is big enough to accommodate a wheelchair (The Center for An Accessible Society, 2003). The issue at hand is to make housing have a better visitability factor. In 1986, Eleanor Smith saw a need for people like her or with other disabilities to be able to move freely and not be isolated from the rest of the world. Though the term “visitability” was not yet coined, Eleanor Smith constructed the “Basic Home Access” requirements that we now view as the visitability requirements (Smith, 2008). Visitability is not just an issue relevant to the aging populations such as the Baby Boom Generation; it can be related to everyone. Immobile individuals may not be able to visit their loved ones during family holidays, have sleepovers as children, or even pay a friendly visit to a neighbor. A mundane task such as taking a trip to the restroom could literally have those on wheelchairs crawling since their wheelchairs cannot fit into the bathroom. Being hauled up a steep flight of stairs or from one room to the next can be embarrassing for the person that cannot move freely. Visitability is has a direct correlation to universal design. Ron Mace is the pioneer of universal design. Universal design is defined as the