It is an uncomfortable question to have to ask before leaving home for
a family evening out – it smells of social exclusion, denied entry, not
being wanted, or not knowing the rules and the odor clings to the
questioner.It is a question that also implies an absence or failure of
control, of decision-making, of social acceptance.  In
truth, though, the question rises from our
empirical knowledge that the built environment is not physically
available to everyone, and that assumptions about physical access can
ruin our plans. Although this question does not present itself to most
people, our family has asked it for over thirty years.

You might assume that the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), (http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/html/adaag.htm) signed into law in July 1990, and its Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) (http://www.adata.org/adaportal/Facility_Access/ADAAG/ADAAG_TOC.html)
which have been evolving ever since, would obviate our question.  Sadly,
although the ADA has established these mandated guidelines or
standards, their enforcement has never been a high priority beyond the
disability and elderly communities (Read, little to no federal funding
for oversight. Sound familiar?).

A newer way
of thinking about equal access, universal design (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_design)
was developed by a group headed by Ron Mace at the Univ. of NC.
(http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/).  Not
restricted to the physical environment as is accessible design,
universal design expands the concept of nvironmental access and applies
its seven design principles to a variety of other venues (http://www.universaldesign.org/)
with a particular emphasis on usability. 
It supersedes the prescribed physical, visual and auditory
environmental considerations of the ADA by applying its own principles
to the environment, to products and to communications. (http://www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Academics/instruction.html)
 

It’s a win-win situation, a universal benefit that improves many aspects of our daily lives. (http://www.cast.org/research/udl/index.html,
http://www.udeducation.org/, http://www.aarp.org/families/home_design/)

Read about it, share your ideas, understand how it improves
your life, recognize it the next time it crosses your path!

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jo holzer
Having grown up in the South before desegregation, I was exposed to acts of discrimination for as long as I can remember. Even as a child, I could easily understand the depth of emotions of both parties -- it was unmistakable. I was taught the traditional Southern subtleties as a matter of course -- the reasons for "keeping him in his place" and what his place was, for example. More