Continued from page 1:
Secrets to the Impact of ASL Hidden in the Story of Sidewalks
A big leap forward came with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990.
Some accessibility initiatives over the years have generated pushback, but not curb cuts. Their
adoption spread rapidly across the country.
So, what’s the curb cut effect?
It turns out that this design improvement doesn’t only make life better
for those using wheelchairs. It’s better for lots of people. Navigating
sidewalks is easier for people pushing strollers, shopping carts, and
roller bags. It’s a godsend for people on bicycles.
Design improvements came about because of one group but ended
up serving all groups better. Superior designs that improve usability
for many other groups is the curb cut effect.
This has given rise to the concept of universal design, which is famously alive and well in some of the
architecture of Gallaudet University. Gallaudet has pioneered deaf spaces in architecture.
Speaking of Gallaudet, in the 99pi article they cited the story of Paul D. Hubbard as an example of
curb cut effects. Hubbard was a quarterback for the Gallaudet football team in the 1890s.
What was Hubbard’s contribution?
Well as teams of deaf players used sign language to sign plays and
instructions to each other, they were pretty easy to intercept (pun
intended). Hubbard was the first to gather his teammates into the
cluster all NFL fans know today as the huddle.
It’s a case where a convention perfectly and naturally suited to deaf
players turned out to be a great idea for pretty much everyone – a
classic curb cut effect.
After communicating with some of our team at GoReact, I was
After communicating with some _______
of our team at GoReact, I was showered with examples of curb cut
effects with deaf roots. Like Dummy Hoy’s introduction of the signed umpire calls for “safe” and “out”
when he played for the Cincinnati Reds – signs that are known by all players and fans from Little
League to the Majors. Or like closed captioning and subtitles, a convention that benefits deaf and hard
of hearing TV watchers, but also hearing patrons in noisy bars or airports among countless other
scenarios. Like the huddle, the benefits of these improvements extend far beyond their origins.
Where else might we see curb cut effects?
This made me think about possible curb cut effects in what we do here at GoReact.
(Continue on the next page)
The Power of ASL
7
Winter 2019 – Issue 16