University faculties of architecture, design, and urbanism play a crucial role in fostering a more inclusive and accessible future for people with disabilities, asserts Carmela Cucuzzella (Université de Montréal) in The Conversation. The author argues that universal accessibility should be considered at the outset of a project when developing or building new infrastructure. As such, future design professionals—that is, students in architecture, urbanism, and other courses—should be engaged in universal accessibility design principles throughout their academic journey. “If every graduate is sensitized to the barriers faced by people living with disabilities, we could begin to see a shift in how our built environments are imagined and constructed by those who design them,” concludes the author.
