Is This Heaven?

 

Not only is this not Heaven, it’s not even Iowa. It’s Atlanta, Georgia.

If heaven was a backyard... it might look like the one at HGTV Smart Home 2024. Your chance to win this designer home in Atlanta, GA (a $1M grand prize!) starts 4/19. 

Both photos from HGTV Facebook page

I’m going to grit my teeth and try to get past the grammar error there. (My late mother, wherever she may be, is surely turning over in dismay.) I went to the comments section to see if anyone would mention it and found this instead.

If heaven had a backyard it would have ramps or be flat so it could be used by everyone.

I looked at the photographs again and went, “hmm.” Someone else concurred.

Too many stairs.

Now, if you want to go the afterlife angle you could say that in heaven we’ll all have heavenly bodies - - whole, complete, perfect - - but we all know that HGTV isn’t really making a religious statement here. They’re saying, “Ooh, isn’t this just perfection?” And we’re supposed to say, “Wow, that’s amazing!”

But it isn’t. Because it was designed and built without a mindset that a beautiful home should be for everyone. Or, to use their own imagery, that Heaven should be inclusive. This is a home specifically created to be won in a contest. Therefore, anyone can enter and anyone can win.

So sad, too bad if you, or someone in your family, or your circle of friends, can’t do steps. 

Anyway, this is a very long introduction in order to ask: how are we doing with this sort of thinking in Howard County?

I once had to visit an office in Ellicott City which was in an old house. There were a number of steps up to the front door. A ramp had been retrofitted on one side, thus rendering the building “wheelchair accessible/ADA compliant.” Well, perhaps on paper it was. But the front door of the building opened toward the ramp, which meant that, when the door was open, the ramp was fully blocked. 

Often we are less aware of things like this until something happens to make it personal for us. We’ve heard the words “wheelchair accessible” often enough that we may not realize that accessibility is about more than wheelchairs. An abundance of stairs is also an obstacle to the elderly, people with chronic pain and mobility issues, people with COPD or other breathing issues - - it’s not as simple as slapping a wheelchair sign on something in your brain and then forgetting about it. 

Is this something you keep an eye out for as you go around the community? I took a quick look at the Howard County Government website for any reference to Universal Design*. This was the first thing I found.

Age Restricted Adult, Guidelines

The Howard County Zoning Regulations allow for "active adult housing" as either a conditional use in residential zoning districts or as a permitted use in other zoning districts. Age-restricted developments must be appropriately designed for adults at least 55 years of age. Site improvements must ensure accessible routes between parking, dwelling units, and common areas. Individual dwellings must incorporate universal design features to be adaptable for residents with mobility and functional limitations that often result from aging. 

So what if you’re in your teens or twenties with mobility issues? Or you’re over fifty-five but you’d like to lead an active life outside your immediate residential community? 

Then what?

I would love to hear your input on this. How well are we doing in Howard County at creating and maintaining spaces with a mindset of universal accessibility rather than “normal” vs “handicapped or “disabled”? I honestly don’t know and would love to learn more.

Village Green/Town² Comments

*Universal Design is the design and composition of an environment so that it can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people regardless of their age, size, ability or disability. - - Centre for Excellence in Universal Design