Accessibility (ADA / FHA)
Our consultants conduct research and accessibility evaluations for both industrial consulting and litigation support. Our expertise includes evaluations concerning both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Fair Housing Act (FHA).
Accessibility-Disability Evaluation
We have conducted extensive theoretical and applied research concerning the environmental design of multi-family housing, walkways and ramps for people who use various types of assistive devices. We have also evaluated the effects of frost heave on concrete access routes. Two of our large studies regarding environmental design for people with disabilities have been published in the Journal of Architectural and Planning Research: One study pertains to the design of kitchens, bathrooms and turning circles; the second relates to the slopes of ramps and walkways for users of wheelchairs.
Americans with Disabilities
ADA issues that we evaluate include:
Barrier removal
Management
Parking lot accessibility
Public area evaluation
Ramp design
Walkway accessibility
Wheelchair access
Workplace accessibility
Fair Housing Act (FHA)/Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
FHA issues that we evaluate include:
Environmental design for units of tenants with specific disability types
Multi-family housing accessibility in general
Para-Transportation
Entities that provide transportation to people with disabilities need to provide services consistent with the abilities and limitations of their passengers. We evaluate transportation systems for accessibility as required by 49CFR37 Transportation Services For Individuals With Disabilities (ADA).
Physical Disabilities
Our consultants can assess the capabilities and limitations of individuals with physical disabilities in order to help design environments or modify existing spaces to better accommodate people both at work and at home. We evaluate built environments to identify potential barriers to accessibility and usability for people with various physical disabilities including vision impairment, ambulation difficulties, and for those who use assistive devices. We can apply these skills to support litigation when a person with a disability has been injured or to evaluate discrimination claims that people with disabilities have been denied access to public spaces or multifamily housing.
Cognitive Disabilities
Our consultants have experience evaluating products and environments for use by with people with cognitive disabilities including autism and learning differences. When people with these types of challenges are injured, there are specific issues that must be addressed to help determine why the incident occurred. The abilities of people in this diverse group often are not taken into account when evaluating such cases. Issues like supervision, appropriate environmental design and behavioral patterns may need consideration. Our background in psychology and human factors provides us with the education and experience to assist this population for a wide variety of applications.