Adapting Communities for All Abilities

This page hosts information about making neighborhoods, villages, communities, cities, and regions more accessible to populations with every kind of individual ability. Think of the American Disabilities Act, and all of the ways that buildings, neighborhoods, sidewalks and pathways, roadways, and community facilities of all types might be designed initially or can be adapted to best serve people with any and all kinds of physical, cognitive, and sensory differences.

Readers: Please add other relevant topics and help find key references.

• "Autism Spectrum Villages"
  • https://about.autismvillage.com/villagers/
  • https://autismspectrumnews.org/a-small-village-becomes-an-autism-supportive-community/
  • Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/161355354562950/?locale=ka_GE
  • Inclusive living for people "on a spectrum". https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/oakland-county/2024/09/25/oakland-county-breaks-ground-on-first-neuro-inclusive-neighborhood-in-rochester-hills/75380215007/
• Accommodations for Blind and Vision Impaired
• Accommodations for Deaf and Hard of Hearing
• Accommodations for people who are unable to speak aloud.
• "Curb cutouts" and safe pedestrian pathways -- This is just one examples of innovations that are initially intended to serve one group of people with a particular need, but have been found to readily serve much broader audiences, potentially improving access for everyone.
• "Dementia Villages"
  • in Denmark. https://www.dailyscandinavian.com/dementia-village-denmark/
  • https://lottie.org/dementia-support/what-is-a-dementia-village/
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/03/realestate/dementia-villages-senior-living.html
  • See videos from CNN, CBC, YouTube.
• EMF Sensitivity (electro magnetic fields)
• Provisions to support families during pregnancy and early childhood
  • "Pregnancy parking" provisions.
  • Ready access to affordable child care
  • Safe spaces for child-play
  • Parks, playgrounds, paths, and trails for people of all abilities
• Wheelchair Living Communities

• Coordinating Council on Adaptation and Mobility (CCAM). https://nationalcenterformobilitymanagement.org/ccam/
• Equitable transit-oriented development (ETOD). https://allincities.org/toolkit/equitable-transit-oriented-development
• Gao, Jinggin, Fan Zuo, Di Yang, et al. 2024. "Toward Equitable Progress: A Review of Equity Assessment and Perspectives in Emerging Technologies and Mobility Innovations in Transportation," Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems, v151(1). https://doi.org/10.1061/JTEPBS.TEENG-8675
• Liu, X., P. Payakkamas, M. Dijk, et al. (2023). "GIS Models for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning: Current Use, Future Needs and Potentials." Future Transportation, 3(1), 384-402. DOI: 10.3390/futuretransp3010023
• https://www.halcyonhouse.org/venture/hawkar/
• Vision Zero. Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all. https://visionzeronetwork.org/
• Woonerf -- Living Streets. https://www.planetizen.com/definition/woonerf

• Assisted Living

• AARP Living Communities Newsletter. https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/
  • 2024 Workshop about Livable Communities for All: https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/about/info-2024/design-workshop.html
• Ability Central, Grant Opportunities [Web page]. https://philanthropy.abilitycentral.org/what-we-support/grant-opportunities/
• ADA Accessibility Grants: A Guide. 2024. https://top5accessibility.com/blog/ada-accessibility-grants-a-guide/
• Grants for ADA Compliance: How to Access Funding. 2024. https://www.accessibilitychecker.org/blog/grants-for-ada-compliance/
• Inclusive Climate Policy -- "examining critical climate policies . . . [for] impact on persons with disabilities and vulnerable groups. Together, we can advocate for a resilient and inclusive future." https://inclusiveclimatepolicy.com/
  • Inclusive Climate Action Implementation Guide. https://www.c40knowledgehub.org/s/article/Inclusive-climate-action-implementation-guide?language=en_US
• World Summit Awards (WSA). A mentorship platform to bridge the gap between people with disabilities and the tech sector [Electronic article]. Available at: https://wsa-global.org/winner/nextbillion-org/