Monday 20 August 2018

Updated Stats from CDC provide more proof for practice of Universal Design

It never ceases to amaze me that I am always in the right place at the right time.   The instance that makes me state this was last Thursday when I got in the rental I am driving and turned the key.  The radio was set to a talk station I do not normally listen to and the first thing mentioned was an interesting statistic that adds more burden of proof for the need for the widespread practice of universal design.

One in four adults in the US is living with a disability--and this does not even count the population of kids (people under 18) living with a disability. (I must say I think this is an oversight on the part of the CDC because kids should count in any situation because they are the future of the planet and this omission only serves to prove how much people with disabilities are not thought about as a whole population.  Kids count!)  Getting back to the point... 

This latest report is up from the 1 in 5 it has been since I first learned of the statistic in 2012. This new news with the addition of the under 18 population means MORE than A QUARTER of the US is disabled in one way or another.  The statistics were broken down even further and it was mentioned that 65 percent of that quarter of the population is physically disabled.

Aren't these startling statistics proof enough of the need for changes in the way housing is designed and constructed?  I don't just think so, I know so.  Here is a link to the CDC so you can see for yourself.

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/p0816-disability.html

Universal design is a problem solver.

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