[Visitaccess] FW: FW: Planetizen Article on Accessible Housing

Tue Jun 5 10:41:24 EDT 2007

I think you are being too narrow to restrict the analysis to wheelchair
users.  Anyone who uses a cane or walker is mobility impaired and should be
included in the analysis.

Liz Kormos
>President
>Kormos and Company LLC
>12 Overlook Drive
>Voorheesville, NY 12186

518-439-8903
518-466-8904 cell 
lkormos at KormosandCompany.com

-----Original Message-----
From: visitaccess-bounces at cnunext.org
[mailto:visitaccess-bounces at cnunext.org] On Behalf Of Bruce F. Donnelly
Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 10:21 AM
To: CNU VisitAccess
Subject: Re: [Visitaccess] FW: FW: Planetizen Article on Accessible Housing

Fine, but that's not what he asked.  What is the
percentage of people who will need wheelchairs in
their lifetime?  What is the percentage of dwellings
in which people who use wheelchairs will live?  Or,
since that is probably pretty hard to get, what is the
percentage of people who will be both able-bodied
enough to live independently _and_ who are in need of
wheelchairs in their lifetimes?  

There _is_ an old statistic (1995 or so was the last I
saw) of people who are outside institutions and use
wheelchairs, but if there's a parallel claim that
people are being forced into institutions because of
mobility, then that implies that the percentage of
people outside institutions using wheelchairs would be
higher if they could find housing that accommodates
them.  

It's not enough to say that the number or percentage
of people over 65 is going up, because at the same
time I am hearing that the number of people in each
age cohort needing mobility assistance is going down. 
That is, if we are able to offer hip and knee
replacements, better prosthetics, direct nerve
stimulation and robotic exoskeletons (which are being
rolled out in Japan), then the age at which 10% of
people need wheelchairs will likely go from 82, where
it looks like it is now, to 85 and up.

There must be stats and projections; do you know
where?

--- "Steinfeld, Edward" <arced at buffalo.edu> wrote:

> From: Steinfeld, Edward 
> Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 9:28 AM
> To: 'Kormos'
> Subject: RE: [Visitaccess] FW: Planetizen Article on
> Accessible Housing
> 
>  
> 
> This is a chart from a paper we commissioned:
> 
>  
> 
> Demographics of Wheeled Mobility Device Users
> 
>  
> 
> By
> 
>  
> 
> Mitchell P. LaPlante, Ph.D.
> 
> Associate Adjunct Professor
> 
> Dept. of Social and Behavioral Sciences
> 
> Disability Statistics Center
> 
> University of California 
> 
> 3333 California Street, Room 340
> 
> San Francisco, CA 94118
> 
>  
> 
> October 7, 2003
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Figure 1. Proportion of the population unable to or
> having some
> difficulty walking by themselves, and use of
> assistive devices, by age:
> United States 1995-1997
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> This paper is being updated for publication in a
> journal. From the graph
> you can find the incidence of mobility impairment at
> any age. 
> 
>  
> 
> Edward Steinfeld, Arch.D., AIA
> 
> Professor of Architecture and Director
> 
> Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access
> School of
> Architecture and Planning
> 
> University at Buffalo, State University of New York
> 
>  
> 
> Tel. 716 829 3485 (x327)
> 
> Fax. 716 829 3861
> 
> email address:arced at buffalo.edu
> 
> IDEA Center website: www.ap.buffalo.edu/idea 
> 
> ________________________________
> 
> From: Kormos [mailto:lkormos at nycap.rr.com] 
> Sent: Monday, June 04, 2007 10:23 PM
> To: Steinfeld, Edward; VisitAccess at cnunext.org
> Subject: RE: [Visitaccess] FW: Planetizen Article on
> Accessible Housing
> 
>  
> 
> Edward,
> 
>  
> 
> Isn't it be possible to calculate statistically the
> probability of being
> mobility disabled during your adult lifetime.  It
> would be interesting
> to calculate the probability of both your own
> disability and also that
> of having a close family member with a disability
> (parents, grandparent,
> child) at any given point in time.  Adding that
> factor would show how
> common this is in families.  
> 
>  
> 
> This year my 90 year old uncle visited our home in a
> wheel chair.  My 84
> year old father in law walks with a cane and can not
> do stairs. He lives
> in a retirement community nearby and visits our home
> often staying the
> weekend.  Luckily I built my two story home with 36
> inch wide doors, a
> single step into the house from the garage (the
> builder said I couldn't
> do at grade in 1994) and a first floor study/guest
> room and first floor
> full bathroom.  The added cost was minimal.
> 
>  
> 
> Just drive around a typical older neighorhood and
> see how many people
> have installed ramps.  I just don't understand the
> resistance from those
> building new single family construction.  
> 
>  
> 
> Liz Kormos
> President
> Kormos and Company LLC
> 12 Overlook Drive
> Voorheesville, NY 12186
> 
> 518-439-8903
> 518-466-8904 cell
> 
> lkormos at KormosandCompany.com
> 
>   
> 
> 	-----Original Message-----
> 	From: visitaccess-bounces at cnunext.org
> [mailto:visitaccess-bounces at cnunext.org]On Behalf Of
> Steinfeld, Edward
> 	Sent: Monday, June 04, 2007 7:01 PM
> 	To: VisitAccess at cnunext.org
> 	Subject: [Visitaccess] FW: Planetizen Article on
> Accessible
> Housing
> 
> 	 
> 
> 	The % of people who have a mobility impairment is
> cross
> sectional data - it doesn't tell us who is at risk
> or who will
> eventually have such an impairment over the course
> of their life. Since
> houses last a long time, we have to take the long
> view. The % over 65 IS
> important because older people have a much high
> probability of having a
> mobility impairment than the rest of the population.
> They are a large
> portion of the population at risk. Moreover, they
> will drive the market
> for accessibility because, due to the experience
> with their parents,
> this generation is much more aware of the importance
> of access for aging
> in place. 
> 
> 	 
> 
> 	Edward Steinfeld, Arch.D., AIA
> 
> 	Professor of Architecture and Director
> 
> 	Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental
> Access School of
> Architecture and Planning
> 
> 	University at Buffalo, State University of New York
> 
> 	 
> 
> 	Tel. 716 829 3485 (x327)
> 
> 	Fax. 716 829 3861
> 
> 	email address:arced at buffalo.edu
> 
> 	IDEA Center website: www.ap.buffalo.edu/idea 
> 
> 	
> ________________________________
> 
> 
> 	From: visitaccess-bounces at cnunext.org
> [mailto:visitaccess-bounces at cnunext.org] On Behalf
> Of Bruce F. Donnelly
> 	Sent: Monday, June 04, 2007 6:53 PM
> 	To: CNU VisitAccess
> 	Subject: Re: [Visitaccess] Planetizen Article on
> Accessible
> Housing
> 
> 	 
> 
> 	I'm immediately skeptical when someone uses
> irrelevant
> statistics.  The percentage of people over 65 isn't
> relevant; the
> percentage of people with mobility disabilities is. 
> 
> 
> 	 
> 
> 	Too static <-> "Life" <-> Too noisy
> 
> 	--Christopher Langton
> 
> 	 
> 
> 	Bruce F. Donnelly
> 
> 	 
> 
> 	216 470 9348
> 
> 	 
> 
> 	From: visitaccess-bounces at cnunext.org
> [mailto:visitaccess-bounces at cnunext.org] On Behalf
> Of Todd McLeod
> 	Sent: Monday, June 04, 2007 4:02 PM
> 	To: visitaccess at cnunext.org
> 	Subject: [Visitaccess] Planetizen Article on
> Accessible Housing
> 
> 	 
> 
> 	The linked article on accessibility for
> single-family housing
> was posted to Planetizen last Tuesday, and includes
> a reference to
> Eleanor Smith and "Concrete Change."
> 
> 	 
> 
> 	http://www.planetizen.com/node/24729
> 
> 	 
> 
> 	Todd McLeod, E.I.
> 
> 	Civil Design, Inc.
> 
> 	The Guaranty Building
> 
> 	120 S. Olive Ave., Suite 403
> 
> 	West Palm Beach, FL 33401
> 
> 	Tel:  (561) 659-5760 x102
> 
> 	Fax: (561) 659-5772
> 
> 	Cell: (561) 676-6208
> 
> 	tmcleod at civil-design.com
> 
> 	www.civil-design.com
> 
> 	 
> 
> 	 
> 
> > _______________________________________________
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> Visitaccess at cnunext.org
>
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> 

Yours truly,

Bruce F. Donnelly

(216) 470-9348