Visitability

No, I didn't just make up a new word. Visitability, or visit-ability is a concept that promotes access to the elderly and disabled in residential housing. They make the excellent point that new construction should bear in mind how a person with limited mobility might find it difficult or even impossible to enter a home. They stress accessible design not only for the homeowner in their present state of physical health but also for visitors who have mobility issues as well as looking to the future for the homeowner. Just because a person is fine now doesn't mean they always will be and forward-thinking home design may just be the thing that allows a person to age in place and avoid having to leave a home they love due to mobility issues. It's a lot easier to design a home to be accessible from the start than to have to try to retro-fit it as that becomes necessary.

Visitability is more than simply installing a few grab bars and no-skid flooring. Can a friend's wheelchair fit through the front door much less the bathroom door? Could your mother-in-law take a bath or shower while she visits? These are the types of issues you will find on this website. Very interesting stuff.