Great example of doing it right is the walk way built down near Curl Curl beach and the Freshwater Diggers. I literally drive there (since the way to get there is not accesssible!) to walk in the beauty of nature on a safe walk way. I meet people on crutches and sticks, Mums with kids, teenagers on skates, all kinds and all ages enjoying the small strip of unmatched beauty on a flat safe place. I do it one way at high speed and slowly coming back - sometimes with a little time spent sitting on one of the seats looking out at the ocean. Love taking mobility imparied guest there. Some thought clearly went into the design. Pity about the stairs at the end near Diggers. Took me a while post knee replacement to get up those stairs.
What's interesting is that, lo and behold, it ALSO works for people with perfect mobility. See, it isn't one or the other. Designing for older adults or people with disabilities does not mean compromising on the aesthetic yet people seem to think it does. Thanks for sharing Illana - and I'll check it out!
I love the expression ‘The architecture of exclusion’. The world is designed to exclude - unless you are part of a specific demographic - which we can take a guess at. Thank you @Adam for such a much needed debate.
Great read! I had a friend who lives at home in a second story apartment in his 90’s. Each week he looks forward to going to Dee Why RSL to socialize however he fell and broke his hip. Long story short his lift broke down for 3 weeks as well. During that time he felt isolated and lonely because he couldn’t walk down the stairs. Once the lift was back up and working he couldn’t wait to get back to the RSL to connect and communicate with people of all ages particularly the locals. My thoughts are what’s the backup plan!
Great example of doing it right is the walk way built down near Curl Curl beach and the Freshwater Diggers. I literally drive there (since the way to get there is not accesssible!) to walk in the beauty of nature on a safe walk way. I meet people on crutches and sticks, Mums with kids, teenagers on skates, all kinds and all ages enjoying the small strip of unmatched beauty on a flat safe place. I do it one way at high speed and slowly coming back - sometimes with a little time spent sitting on one of the seats looking out at the ocean. Love taking mobility imparied guest there. Some thought clearly went into the design. Pity about the stairs at the end near Diggers. Took me a while post knee replacement to get up those stairs.
What's interesting is that, lo and behold, it ALSO works for people with perfect mobility. See, it isn't one or the other. Designing for older adults or people with disabilities does not mean compromising on the aesthetic yet people seem to think it does. Thanks for sharing Illana - and I'll check it out!
I love the expression ‘The architecture of exclusion’. The world is designed to exclude - unless you are part of a specific demographic - which we can take a guess at. Thank you @Adam for such a much needed debate.
Great read! I had a friend who lives at home in a second story apartment in his 90’s. Each week he looks forward to going to Dee Why RSL to socialize however he fell and broke his hip. Long story short his lift broke down for 3 weeks as well. During that time he felt isolated and lonely because he couldn’t walk down the stairs. Once the lift was back up and working he couldn’t wait to get back to the RSL to connect and communicate with people of all ages particularly the locals. My thoughts are what’s the backup plan!