Iowa should strive for universal design

A man with a blue jeans and a United States Veterans hat approached the visitor center staff. Surrounded by tourists buying sweatshirts, dishes, and other tower memorabilia, he cautiously asked if he would be able to access the Forest Tower in a wheelchair.

Behind the counter, a middle-aged woman with a thick Danish accent explained that the route was all ramp and no stairs, and that the slope was gentle, even at the tower itself. She said almost everyone has no issues, but if he encountered any problems accessing the view, someone would assist him.

This experience opened my eyes to how the rest of Copenhagen, a city over 850 years old, was designed. Now I noticed the public transportation and walkways that were barrier free, plazas and parks that were designed to enhance social interaction, and doors that were widened so that everyone could enter with dignity.

Coming back to Iowa, I explained the experience to a colleague, who gently laughed and explained that what I experienced was universal design. And then pointed out that Iowa itself has one of only two U.S. buildings to be internationally recognized as having achieved advanced universal design.

“When The Harkin Institute outgrew its original space and we began thinking about creating our own building, I said we could do so under one condition: that it be one of, if not the most, accessible building in the country,” said former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin. For Harkin, gold certification received in March this year is proof of the institute’s commitment. “We are proud to be one of the first buildings in the country to reach this level of accessibility.

Daniel Van Sant, Director of Disability Policy at the Harkin Institute, explains that universal design is much more than accessible entrances for those who are differently abled. “I would emphasize is universal design is a broader framework for any human created product. From buildings to events to curriculum to programs, there's ways to design in a way that makes it accessible to the broadest variety of people possible. And that includes disability, but also includes many other characteristics that make people, people.”

Universal design is not about ensuring accessibility for specific groups of people. It is designing with everyone in mind. Having been born with a disability, Van Sant has had no choice but to take notice of design. “In a very real way, poor design decisions can prevent me or other people with disabilities from participating in an event or even just living our lives. You can design things in a way that allows people to participate or in a way that keeps people out. And like many people with various disabilities, I've had the experience where I've arrived somewhere and something has been inaccessible for me and I have to turn my car around and go home or leave a place early or not engage.”

Ashlea Lantz, cofounder of Value Inclusion, a consulting firm with strategies for disability inclusion, stresses that disability is more common than most people realize. “When you look at disability, it's one in four. Too often it's data that we're not tracking or paying attention to, or people don't feel safe disclosing. But the reality is that it's statistically possible that any given place doesn't always feel welcoming and encouraging.”

Van Sant explains that universal design really benefits everyone. “You really have to get people to understand that this helps you. That big heavy door could be really dangerous for someone in a wheelchair. But imagine your arms are full of groceries. Do you want to put them down and open this big door and then bend over, and pick them up? No, you want a sliding door that just opens up when you're pushing your grocery cart.”

People have a tendency to push back on Van Sant on accessibility requests more than they do on universal design. “I think that the universal design lens necessarily brings more people to conversation, which sometimes allows you to get further and have it be taken even more seriously. People might say, why would I need to buy that type of desk? I don't have anyone in my office who uses a wheelchair. OK, well, we can stop there and ask ourselves, is it possible, you don't have people working there in wheelchairs because the environment is not set up for them?”

Lantz points out there is a business case to universal design. “Think about the push button. It benefits anybody who is using a stroller or has their hands full. Or COVID days when we were trying to be germ free. And it's really not that much more expensive. If you think about it from the business perspective, you have more people having the ability to be at their best and work at their best. It's a pretty good return on an investment.”

Van Sant agrees. “If you're a CEO of an organization and your organization is not terribly accessible, not universally designed, your team is spending their time and energy finding workarounds to how they do their job rather than being their most productive selves.” And, like Lantz, he stresses it not necessarily more expensive. “It did not cost more than a similarly sized building on a college campus would cost without the universal design considerations. If you incorporate universal design principles from the very beginning, there is a way to do it without increasing the overall cost of a project.”

Robert Ludke is an expert in disability innovation and the co- founder of Value Inclusion. “Conveying the value proposition of disability employment accesses markets worth trillions of dollars. Persons with disabilities tend to be more innovative than employees that aren’t. They strengthen the culture, which produces more innovative, productive companies.”

Universal design is also bringing people to Iowa. Van Sant says the Harkin Institute give tours multiple times a week, to everyone from local school classes to foreign dignitaries. “We've had people come from dozens of countries to take a tour of our building, parliamentarians from Europe and city government officials from Asia and professionals from across Africa and South America. People have come from all over the world to see this building and principles in practice.”

Ludke says designing with everyone in mind is less daunting than people might think. “Too often we get caught up searching for the perfect when you want to just continually make good improvements in a journey. ‘Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good.’”

Additionally, Lantz advises to listen to the experts. “if you're designing around a group of people or if it's a new company or make sure that you have a diverse group of people providing perspective. So often we make decisions on assumptions, rather than asking people what is it that they need in creating spaces that are truly accessible and universally designed.”

Ludke says universal design is common sense “Why would you design something that automatically excludes people? It makes no sense.”

I agree, and would like to see more Iowa communities and businesses adopt universal design.

Chris Espersen is a Gazette editorial fellow. chris.espersen@thegazette.com