Universal Design vs The Americans with Disabilities Act

Universal Design is design for everyone. This design is meant to be able to accomadate everyone including people with disabilites. Although this is a good idea it can be hard to achieve and find in the real world. The Americans with Disabilites Act protects people with disabilites from discrimination. Many places are ADA compliant but some places are not. Universal design and ADA can be tricky together sometimes. There are so many rules, laws, and regulations that designers have to follow it can be hard to make everyone happy. Designing for tall people can be difficult while also trying to design for a person in a wheelchair. Little things like that can cause many issues when designing. Although it can be difficult to design for everyone it is possible and can change the way people live. Design should make peoples lives easier and there are many ways to implement universal design while also being ADA compliant.

photo taken by me Many things could be universal design but not ADA. For example bathrooms could have different height sinks for different heights but may not be big enough for a wheelchair. There should be both in every design. People should not feel left out. Although there are many things that are not ADA that are universal design. For example adding ramps is required by law for ADA but could also be considered universal design. They are similar in many ways.

photo drawn by me Things that are both ADA and universal design: - Accessible parking spaces - Adding ramps to entrances - Different height toilets/ sinks - Adding things for the deaf community, like lighting in alarms instead of just sounds - Adding things for the blind communuity, like braile - Elevators - Automatic doors

photo by In my opinion there is not much difference between universal design and ADA. Both groups just want everyone to be able to access a space and enjoy it, which is the main goal. The main differnce is that universal design makes it a point to say it is for everyone, any age, size, with or without disability, while ADA is just for people with disabilites. Sources: -2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. ADA.gov. (n.d.). https://www.ada.gov/law-and-regs/design-standards/2010-stds/ -Schires, M. (2017, June 6). A simple guide to using the ADA standards for accessible design guidelines. ArchDaily. https://www.archdaily.com/872710/a-simple-guide-to-using-the-ada-standards-for-accessible-design-guidelines -What is Universal Design?. The UD Project. (n.d.). https://universaldesign.org/definition