Fourteen states have enacted visitability legislation

Fourteen states have enacted visitability legislation, and at least 24 cities have modified their building codes to make new houses accessible to disabled visitors, the American Planning Association newsletter Zoning Practice reported in an April issue on “universal design.” The legislation requires or encourages new houses to have such features as a zero-step entrance, wide interior doors, first-floor halls wide enough for a wheelchair, and a first-floor bathroom. “Most of the ordinances are restricted to publicly funded housing projects,” the newsletter said. The SmartCode developed by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. incorporates visitability standards. One organization vigorously advocating such standards is Concrete Change (www.concretechange.org).