Dallas County Living Well Magazine Fall 2014 | Page 34

Accessibility by

design

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By Cindy Boykin, Photos by Mike Newman
Courtesy Plano Profile

ome is a common topic for writers and poets, but
Gaston Bachelard, author of The Poetics of Space,
has a unique take on the subject. “If I were asked to
name the chief benefit of the house, I should say: the
house shelters day-dreaming, the house protects the
dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace.”
No matter one’s age, abilities or life experiences, being in a place so comforting that the mind can drift
and dream at its pleasure makes home a place like no
other on earth.
But when a house becomes difficult to navigate due to
physical limitations, daydreaming turns to dreading.
Thoughts focus on mundane, worrisome concerns of living life at home.
Millions of people find themselves in that situation. Approximately 20 percent of Americans have disabilities. In addition, persons 65 years or older represent 13.3 percent of the
U.S. population; and since 2000, the number of Americans aged 45 to 64—who will reach 65
over the next two decades—has increased by 33 percent. (Department of Health and Human Services, 2011)
More and more, people are looking for ways to live in their homes as comfortably and as
long as possible by making their houses more accessible. But the roadblock for most people
is the fear of a “hospital