Responsibility in Accessibility

The discussion of social and spatial justice relates to a documentary called “Darius Goes West”.  In 2007, a group of high school students from my hometown took their classmate Darius Weems, who suffered from a degenerative illness, on a road trip to California hoping that the people at “Pimp My Ride” would fulfill Darius’ wish and give his wheelchair a facelift. Their journey across the U.S. documents all of their visits to major landmarks and buildings where, in some instances, Darius was not able to participate. The buildings either didn’t have elevators or it was nearly impossible to navigate into the building. The original intent of the documentary was not to highlight the flaws in wheelchair accessibility across the country (they just wanted to take Darius to the beach in California and have fun along the way), but it created a dialogue about accessibility in the end.  

Claire Weisz from WXY mentioned during her lecture earlier in the semester that the start and end point of a path of travel should be the same point when it comes to stairs or ramps. I realize that not all significant landmarks can be accessible by wheelchair (i.e. the Grand Canyon), but I believe that it is our civic responsibility as designers to provide spaces that are equitable and accessible to every person. Not only should there be access to these spaces for every person in some way, but the experience of entering and exiting a building should be as similar as possible to that of someone without disabilities. It should not be an afterthought in design, but rather something that is fully integrated. We have the power to positively impact people – all people – so our designs should reflect that.