On University at Buffalo Week: Inclusive design works to eliminate friction for everyone, but how do we achieve it?
Jordana Maisel, Director of Research for the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDEA Center) at the School of Architecture and Planning, looks into this.
Faculty Bio:
Jordana Maisel is director of the Research for the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDEA Center) at the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning.
She is an expert in universal design and issues related to the impact of the built environment on individuals’ health, particularly for older adults and people who have disabilities.
An associate professor of urban and regional planning, Maisel also has led research in areas such as public transportation, street infrastructure, building design and accessible housing policy. A frequent theme of Maisel’s work is evaluating the impact of inclusive design implementation.
Transcript:
Ever tried to read a sign you couldn’t understand?
Find a restroom that didn’t meet your needs?
Navigate a space that just wasn’t built for you?
That moment of friction — that feeling of being left out — is what inclusive design works to eliminate.
Because design is power. It determines who feels welcome, who can participate, and who gets left out. Inclusive design (also known as universal design) uses that power to create spaces that work better for more people.
Many people think inclusive design is just grab bars or ramps. Those are important, but they’re actually accessibility features. Inclusive design goes further. It’s a design process that improves human performance, health and wellness, and social participation across age, ability, language, and culture.
Take, for example, the Pittsburgh International Airport, the first transportation facility in the U.S. to earn innovative solutions for universal design, or isUD, certification. Think of isUD as the inclusive design equivalent of the LEED program for sustainable buildings. Developed by our Center, isUD helps projects go beyond minimal code requirements and toward meaningful usability for everyone.
At the Pittsburgh airport that includes adult changing tables in restrooms, intuitive digital signage, and a play area designed for children of all ages and abilities.
For more than four decades, our multidisciplinary team has advanced research and real-world projects that make environments more responsive, resilient, and inclusive. Most recently, we’re investigating ways the built environment can better respond to a changing climate and how AI advances can mitigate access challenges.
The future is more diverse, more dynamic, and more complex. As our communities evolve, our spaces must evolve with them. That’s the work of inclusive design.
