Accessing Transit as Universal Design

Universal design is a design philosophy couched in a public discourse of social inclusion. Spurred by disability civil rights legislation, growth of the older population, the information revolution, and markets, universal design has become a global design paradigm. This article reviews global dimensions of the paradigm and implementation strategies related to public transportation. Given universal design's overall inclusionary values beyond American Disability Act standards, the article asks, What is universal design's potential for redressing sociospatial exclusion among mobility-disadvantaged populations? Using a multitiered social exclusion/accessibility framework, the article addresses this question and draws conclusions about universal design applied to transit in the United States.