Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Elevators and exclusions

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On May 8, 2008, at 12:00 PM, Rob Sandelin wrote:

>  And then take into account if those activities
> could be moved to the lower floor if needed to accommodate someone.   
> If
> upstairs is secondary meeting rooms, library, etc then you might not  
> want to
> host the expense of an elevator and rather, if the need arises,  
> simply move
> those activities down to the main floor.

But it must be very difficult for those who always have to have  
meetings moved. They often feel  like a burden anyway so why compound  
this by planning your community around doing it?

It must also be very strange to never know what the upstairs or  
downstairs looks like in your own community.

One option is to build a ramp to go down and a ramp to go up. Carrying  
laundry down or groceries in would be much easier than stairs anyway.

I am perfectly able bodied but have a trick knee (universal in my  
family) so depending on how  much walking and stairs I've done that  
day, it just doesn't do more. I also have mild allergies and they  
stuff up my ears making my balance undependable in the spring and  
fall. So the elevator is safer for me.

It's not a small consideration for a community to be accessible to  
everyone. It's a big exclusion, not just one of preference like not  
wanting to go to meetings or live  close to other people. And  
inaccessibility affects everyone and their guests at some time or the  
other.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing,Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org