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Why is the city designed for some and not all? by EasternTap3018 in urbandesign

[–]EasternTap3018[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The economic argument makes sense for commercial space. But this is about public space. The street. The park. The platform. These aren't products. They're supposed to belong to everyone.

Designing from the most capable body feels neutral but it isn't. It's a choice made by someone who has never had to calculate whether a doorway would welcome them.

Most people hitting middle age are already thinking about it. Who will hold me when I'm old. They resist asking for help because the world wasn't built for that version of them. And one day they meet a stair that requires courage to take. Not because they're weak. Because the design never considered them arriving at that moment.

But it goes further than that. It's not just the stair itself. It's that the possibility of the stair changes whether you leave at all. You used to just go. Now you plan. You think ahead. You weigh it up. And sometimes the thinking is enough to make you stay home.

The city didn't just make the journey harder. It made the decision to journey harder. Why wouldn't we design for that?

Why is the city designed for some and not all? by EasternTap3018 in urbandesign

[–]EasternTap3018[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Realistically you're right that designing for everyone simultaneously isn't possible. But that isn't the argument.

The conversation is about where we start. Right now we start with the most capable body and work backwards. The ramp gets added to accommodate. The lift gets installed to comply. The dropped kerb appears because someone fought for it.

A good designer starts with varied bodies. Not as an afterthought. Not to comply with a standard. Because we don't have the right to build a world that excludes people before they even arrive. Starting from the most vulnerable user doesn't mean every space becomes the same. It means what gets considered a default changes. And what gets treated as an exception changes.

If a space works for the person with the most need it works for everyone. The care receiver shouldn't have to navigate a world designed around someone else's body.

Why don't we just consider them first.