corollary benefits

Sustainable, Livable Communities & Aging in Place

October 18, 2012
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I presented at the American Planning Association – Delaware/Maryland Annual Conference today. I was asked onto the panel by the impressive Debra Young, an occupational therapist and owner of of Empowerability, LLC. The other esteemed panelist was Alex Chen, Ph.D., a planning professor from University of Maryland.  I learned from both of them. This was […]

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BEST Panel at Silvers Summit

January 16, 2012
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I predicted my panel would be the best at the Silvers Summit. I was right! Not that the competition wasn’t fierce. There were plenty of great folks talking about great things. I lead off with the twin themes that Aging in Place is not about isolated homes and individuals but homes that are part of […]

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Change, in Time?

October 14, 2011
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It always amazes me how important issues converge and important ideas gather attention from unexpected quarters. I have been on and to many panels, etc. where Aging in Place is rejected because we have so many suburbs and they are a poor fit. I have never disagreed with that, but also know that thinking the […]

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Universal Design in Cars

September 15, 2011
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Universal Design means products that work for as many people as possible without special adaptation. Not everyone uses things in the same way. And you may want to use the same thing a bit differently this time than you did last time.  Universal Design means changes do not require expensive and permanent change. Whether it […]

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Universal Design- Coming of Age?

June 20, 2011
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I was recently honored to be on a Universal Design panel for the Maryland National Capital Building Association (MNCBIA) 50+ housing council. My fellow panelists were Mary Jo Peterson and Alan Rector. It was a lively and interested group. Questions were held to the end but just barely. People are hot on this topic. The […]

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Universal Design for Cities

February 15, 2011
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I sent the following letter to the Washington Post last week. I was hoping to be published so I could link to it from this column. I have not been contacted so I guess it will not be in the Post. I am making it available on this blog. We have three significant transit oriented […]

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Livable Commnities Forum

September 24, 2010
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I was lucky to attend a forum on Livable Communities Wednesday, September 22 held by Partners for Livable Communities. Partners has been around for more than three decades. “In 30 years, Partners has become the national leader on issues of livability and better communities.” The Partners model, helping communities with technical assistance, workshops and training, […]

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NPR Aging in Place series

August 23, 2010
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A four part NPR series by Jennifer Ludden on Aging in Place starts today. The first segment is a very good story that refers to a few families who are planning to age in place. I found one key line to be: “They know they will need help and they have a plan for that […]

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Aging in Place, Entitlement, The Trigger

January 27, 2010
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Heading into the Post Office yesterday I saw a woman taking the time to steady herself after climbing from the car. I offered to take her letters into the box. She gathered strength and concentration for a smile and declined. “I have to check the postage at the desk.” On my way out I traded […]

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Universal Design – Do You Believe in Magic?

December 23, 2009

…from the Lovin’ Spoonful to: And you know something is happeningBut you don’t know what it is.. Bob Dylan The wonderful magic of Universal Design is unanticipated corollary benefits. Closed captioning is a really clear example. Including those with hearing difficulties to mainstream media was the intended outcome. Reading TV in bars and airport waiting […]

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