Beyond the Checkbox: Rethinking Design for Accessibility in Atlanta Housing and Public Spaces

By Carden Wyckoff, Citizen Advocate for People with Disabilities

I often get asked if I have always used a wheelchair; the answer is no. 

I was born with a progressive muscular disability which gradually led me to use one full-time at 23. In high school, ascending and descending stairs marked one of the first significant challenges of my decline. I vividly remember feeling isolated having to walk up the switchback ramp alone because the width did not allow side-by-side ascension while my friends waited at the top of the stairs. 

The ramp had technically “checked the box” for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance. I wondered if the architects had considered the lasting negative emotional impact the stark design contrast caused during adolescence which continues in adulthood. The isolation transcends just having friends walk behind me. It creates a feeling of frustration that a box was checked but still leaves me without a sense of belonging. This experience motivated me to advocate for people with disabilities, which began in high school, expanded at the University of Georgia, and continues today. 

People with physical disabilities often think in relation to access, safety, physical effort, distance, and independence. Other considerations include textures, color contrast, and wayfinding. For example, while using a cane or rolling around on a variety of surfaces, one’s mind maps the best routes throughout the city by the vibrational feel. In addition, we generally gravitate to places with natural lighting, which reduces eye strain and fatigue. These little details are highly important and “outside the box.” When I moved to Midtown Atlanta in 2018, I was discouraged with new builds lacking ADA and universal design thought leadership. Having a problem-solution-oriented mindset, I approached Midtown Alliance about making an impact and soon joined the Midtown Development Review Committee (DRC) in October 2021. 

The Midtown Development Review Committee and its Pivotal Role in Development

The DRC is composed of ten individuals representing residents, property and business owners, institutions, neighborhood associations, and MARTA. We provide formal recommendations to the City’s Office of Planning on all Special Administrative Permit (SAP) applications within the Midtown SPI-16 and SPI-17 zoning districts, also known as the Midtown Improvement District. We focus on the city’s zoning requirements such as the exterior, entrances, ground level, and parking. Interior design is not a focus of this committee, although suggestions are made when warranted. 

My personal recommendations are based on four pillars: 

1. Personal experience
2. Being an IAAP Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC) 
3. ADA
4. The seven Universal Design Principles (UDP) which are Equitable Use, Flexibility in Use, Simple and Intuitive Use, Perceptible Information, Tolerance for Error, Low Physical Effort, Appropriate Size, and Space for Approach and Use.

When a new project is presented to the DRC, questions that come to mind are:

• What are the paths of travel throughout the building and the distance from A to B? 
• Does the path of travel create isolation or inclusion? 
• What are ways to reduce fatigue in the path of travel? 
• How does the design incorporate high contrast and different textures to assist with wayfinding?
• What is the purpose of each floor/unit, and is everyone able to access it? 

Previous project observations:

• Unused lobby space creates fatigue
• Two-story buildings without elevators create exclusion
• Narrow switchback ramps create isolation
• Lack of diversity in ground texture and contrast create difficulty with wayfinding

In addition, the DRC does not currently address the design of ADA units in apartment buildings. Recently, I have been seeking a new ADA apartment unit, and it has made me keenly aware of another level of inequity that should garner our attention. An ADA unit floor plan is larger than standard, squared layout, lowered countertops, roll-in shower, roll-under sinks, lowered microwave, wider door widths, and reinforced walls to mount grab bars around the toilet and shower. After touring 25 apartment buildings that had been built since 2013, what I discovered was there are only 1-2 ADA units per bedroom count, which have unreachable stacked washer/dryers instead of side-by-side, tubs instead of roll-in showers, microwaves mounted above the stove, North, South or East facing, and all are closer to ground level floors than upper ones. 

Why are wheelchair users confined to certain parameters and denied the option of renting an ADA unit on an upper floor, westward facing, and with a balcony?

Non-disabled people have all these choices. In order to move from a place of isolation, we should work to uphold equitable design standards in zoning and housing that create a sense of belonging.

Shifting from a Checkbox Mentality

This leads me to the questions: Can Atlanta, the birthplace of US Civil Rights, be a leader for disability rights in equitable housing and access? Why are people with disabilities still fighting for basic access – let alone universal design – despite ADA legislation being passed more than 30 years ago?

We have a dream for Atlanta to instill equity in the zoning requirements. Some suggestions are:

• Establish a Disability Development Committee to work alongside architects and developers to conceive a framework of universal design standards at a minimum
• Build a tactile and high contrast wayfinding system for our sidewalks
• Create an Accessible Entrance Program similar to the city of San Francisco
• Increase the minimum requirement of accessible units from the state’s code which outlines “2% of the total rental apartments, or a minimum of one, whichever is greater,” and apply the minimum to duplexes and condominiums
• Ensure disability representation is added on all Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) boards

Atlanta’s Opportunity to Lead in Disability Inclusion 

In Midtown, the DRC’s goal is to design with disability inclusion at the forefront. However, we represent only one area of Atlanta. We would prefer to be proactive rather than reactive. This could be accomplished through instituting changes in the brainstorming and design phases, and through advisory project management rather than attempting to make revisions after the fact, and having to retrofit, which can be prohibitive in terms of costs. Since 2000, Midtown has doubled in population, and it is understood that there will be more densification in the area in the near future. As we move forward, Atlanta has a unique opportunity to shift its perception from a place of isolation to one of inclusion. And through that, to create a sense of belonging and rid itself and its leaders of the checkbox mentality, for everyone’s benefit. 

This is sponsored content.