I didn’t realise how little I knew about accessibility until recently.
I’ve always prided myself on understanding accessibility, but now I see how much more I have to learn. After really breaking it down I guess I’ve never really, like really really, thought about accessibility.
This thought process took over two years and all started with some Curb Cuts.
Curb Cuts might seem to be a strange thing to be passionate — no, emotional — about. Like doors, traffic lights or paved paths, we may every now and again notice them, or more particularly their absence, but it’s not common for people to consciously think about the architectural design we use everyday. It certainly doesn’t keep people up at night.
At first they didn’t keep me up at night either. As a baby, before I could move for myself, they allowed my mother to push me in a pram as she pleased. Later as a child, they allowed me to ride bikes wherever I wanted. Seven years ago I acquired a disability, a limp and cane, and then they allowed me to move through the streets without pain. But even after spending years planning my housing, transit and daily life, including the presence of curb cuts as essential, it wasn’t until 2018 when I listened to Roman Mars discussing the history of the Curb Cut I realised there was even a…
