For my supplemental text, I read the article "Universal Design in the Community Planning" about the development of new, more effective and efficient city planning (https://www.ncsu.edu/ncsu/design/cud/about_ud/udincommunity.html ). In the article, the author writes about new cities that are being designed as a tight-knit community and as a work/play area. Homes are being built directly on top of restaurants and shops so residents do not have to go very far for socialization. In cities that are designed where everything is spread out, this is not good for people who are "disabled with age," or very, very old to the point where they cannot function like they use to. As cities are more spread out, older people are forced to drive places since they can't drive. This can be very dangerous. These new communities that are closer together are making it easier for the elderly to reside there since everything is closer together.

The supplemental text relates to this article because both discuss specifically designing the built environment to better fit the needs of the disabled. While this article does not mention specific examples of things a city can do to help the disabled, it promotes the involvement of disabled people in discussions of city planning. For the supplemental text, it does not discuss the disabled getting involved in city planning, but rather what cities have already done to help the disabled, or, in the supplemental text's case, the elderly. Both of these articles have a goal of making the social environment equal and available for all people to enjoy. By realizing disabled people's needs in the environment, city planners can design cities that will make them accessible and enjoyable for everyone, disabled or not.

If the politicians and city planning officials can open up a dialogue with disabled people, it will benefit both sides. The disabled will be able to share their concerns and ideas for a more equal and unified environment, and the city planners can make the ideas a reality, making everyone enjoying the environment happy.

This is why it is important for city officials to acknowledge the point of view from disabled people. If they are constantly ignored, then their influence is heavily weakened. But if they are acknowledged and given an equal say (like a democracy should work), then their influence and recognition will increase.

When thinking about it, this is true. All humans have some type of disability. However, I think this quote hurts Lid's point rather than helps. One could make the argument that since all humans have disabilities in some way or another, there should just be basic set functions to help extremely disabled people and that's it. Like only including ramps and nothing else, or something of that sort.

If Lid's argument for the disabled were to be summed up in three words, these are them. Lid is advocating for the disabled's accessibility to be eased and increased in urban life, their participation to be increased in government when it comes to design, and their inclusion in city planning discussions to be increased as well.

Just a note on how Lid formats her paragraphs, sometimes she puts her topic sentence as the last sentence instead of the first. She doesn't do it often, but does do it sometimes. I found this interesting.

Lid is just repeating her argument again. If city planning commissions included more input from disabled people, it would not only strengthen disabled people's influence but their courage in standing up and speaking out on issues they feel need to be addressed.

This is just like the Beltline. When studying the Beltline, it is not only safe, but it is also an environment where people of all ages and abilities can come to enjoy it and socialize. The Beltline is the ideal urban environment that Lid envisions.

This is exactly what Ryan Gravel promoted and advocated for with the creation of the Beltline. He wanted Atlanta to be a more walkable city. It is also not a coincidence that Ryan Gravel wanted Atlanta to become a more social city and wanted to create an environment that increased social opportunities for residents of Atlanta.

Lid, once again, keeps going back to the idea of an urban space operating as a social place. The social aspect of an environment is crucial to Lid and that is why all people should have an equal opportunity to experience it.

I did not understand what Lid meant when she discussed zebra crossings so I looked up a picture. These road markings are very effective in making it safe for pedestrians to navigate the roads if they need to do so. These markings also better the relationship between pedestrians and drivers.

This is a problem. Environments are being designed for their beauty rather than their functionality. To me, functionality is way more important than beauty. While I acknowledge that aesthetics are important, the function that the environment serves should be the focus of an urban project.

This connects to an annotation I had above. It is hard to make the environment suitable for all people with all types of disabilities. But if disabled people worked with city planners, a compromise could and would be reached that would most likely benefit both parties.

This is really unfortunate, but I know it to be true. Urban areas are often pressured politically and economically to conform to a certain type. This type of pressures leads to a lot of public dislike and distrust. I wish urban areas wouldn't be under so much economic pressure.

Lid's definition of urban is very community-oriented. She is committed to making the urban environment equal for everyone and making sure everyone feels like they belong.

Definitions for macro, meso, and micro:

Macro: Large-scale, overall Meso: Middle, intermediate Micro: Small-scale, small

Relationships in the physical environment are very important to Lid. She studies not just how the disabled interact with the environment but also how pedestrians interact with the road and drivers.

Oslo is the capital of Norway. Below is Oslo on a map and a link to the city's information page for more facts and statistics about the Norwegian city.

http://www.visitoslo.com/

What's interesting about this article is Lid never calls for disabled people to participate. Rather she calls for the government to include disabled people in their planning process. This is very interesting. Lid is blaming the government for lack of inclusion rather than putting blame on the disabled for lack of participation.

Spatial justice is so close to the phrase "social justice." They really do fall under the same category of equality. Social justice is about having equality across the law. Spatial justice is about having equality across the physical environment.

This is a bit of a stretch. If we were to redesign every environment we have now to accommodate people with impairments, this would cost billions of dollars. I think a better approach would be to build more smart from now on, and maybe make some fixes here and there to what we currently have constructed in our physical environment.

I just wrote about this in my second Built Environment Description. Krog Street Market includes a large ramp in front of the market to ensure all people (even people who are wheelchair-bound) can enjoy what it has to offer. By including ramps, various places are able to open access to their physical environment on an equal basis.

This is a real declaration written by the United Nations (UN). It was drafted in December of 2006 and signed in March of 2007 in New York City. It became effective in May of 2008. Below is the link to the actual full text of the declaration.

http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtml

This is why it's so hard to accommodate all disabled people. It's really difficult to accommodate all people in a wheelchair, all people who are blind, all people who are deaf, and so on. But if disabled people met with city officials more frequently, like Lid suggests, maybe it will become easier to plan for the disabled in the community.

When I first read this I thought it was too sad to be true. But after seeing that Lid was citing the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and the WHO with this statement, I realized it must be true. It is disappointing to imagine that disabled people are excluded from city planning because architects simply exclude them and because there are "negative attitudes" from both presumably the disabled and city officials. Politicians and disabled people need to come together to assist one another. If they don't, these problems and this separation will continue.

This is Lid's definition of "urban life." Social interaction plays a major part of her argument here. She believes that an urban environment is more of a social environment, one in which everyone should have equal say and participation.

This makes a lot of sense. If people with disabilities engaged more with politicians and city planners, then their issues could be immediately brought up and addressed. For people who are not disabled, it is hard to imagine what disabled people struggle with. But if a disabled person was actually there to bring up their daily struggles, a lot of their concerns could and would be addressed.

If politicians and spatial planners do not understand about accessibility for wheelchair use, how can disabled people expect them to design appropriate structures? This supports the author's thesis. The lack of knowledge on the disabled's lives and problems is a major problem.

This is the author's, Inger Marie Lid's, thesis for the article. Right off the bat we know that she is going to be discussing disabled people and how able-bodied people can include them in the building of environments.