Other Resources and Guidelines

AARP Livable Communities: HomeFit Guide
A free AARP publication (available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese) featuring smart ways to make a home comfortable, safe and a great fit for older adults — and people of all ages.

NC State University College of Design: Center for Universal Design
Universal Design, is a global movement of inclusive design practice initiated at NC State University College of Design. The Center’s mission was to improve the built environment and related products for all users by impacting change in policies and procedures through research, information, training, and design assistance. Although the Center for Universal Design is currently not active due to funding challenges, its work remains here.

AARP Livable Communities: Inclusive Home Design State Advocacy Tool Kit
Less than one percent of the more than 25,000 municipalities in the U.S. have accessibility standards for new housing. This toolkit offers model legislation options that can help people of all ages.

University at Buffalo Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access: Visitability an Inclusive Design Approach to Housing
This booklet provides a summary of the goals, benefits, and features of inclusive housing design. It is a preview of the book entitled Inclusive Housing: A Pattern Book. Excerpts from the book along with an annotated version of the visitability standards will give you a better understanding of what visitability is and why it is important to housing design.

AARP Public Policy Institute: Increasing Home Access-Designing for Visitability
A publication from the AARP Public Policy Institute (PPI) who hopes that this paper will be useful to Policy Makers, the Planning Community, the Home Building Industry, Home Buyers, and Consumer Advocates as they work toward the creation of more inclusive housing and livable communities.

The Whole Building Design Guide: Visitability
Visitability, a movement started by Eleanor Smith and her Atlanta-based organization, Concrete Change, in 1987, refers to an affordable, sustainable, and inclusive design approach for integrating a few core accessibility features as a routine construction practice into all newly built homes. These features allow the home to be visited by relatives, friends, and others who may have disabilities, accommodate short term occupancy by people with disabilities, and facilitate additional adaptations that may be needed by an individual.

City of Portland Oregon: Visitability in the Zoning Code
Learn more about standards that increase the physical accessibility of dwelling units, known as visitability standards.

AARP Livable Communities: All About Accessory Dwelling Units
Four free publications (and more) from AARP about how ADUs expand housing options for people of all ages.