26% of people have a disability, yet it’s estimated that less than 6% of the national housing supply is designed to be accessible. As housing communities are created, they don’t often meet the diverse accessibility and inclusion needs of people with disabilities. While code sets the baseline for what’s required, no holistic guidelines define an implementable, progressive approach to creating truly accessible and inclusive housing. The Inclusive Design Standards aim to equip designers, builders, and developers with guidelines and frameworks for disability-forward housing creation.
Inclusive Design Standards
The Inclusive Design Standards define a set of multifamily housing design and operations strategies.
- The elements support cross-disability accessibility and link disability-forward design choices to intersectional benefits around affordability, sustainability, racial equity, and safety.
- Development teams can use the Inclusive Design Standards to plan and design their projects, then self-certify their communities on their level of access and inclusion.
- The link includes open-source access to the Inclusive Design Standards, a text-only version, and a self-certification tool.
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The Inclusive Design Standards consist of over 300 Elements. Elements reflect design and operations choices and include development strategies, building features, or operational policies that support accessibility and inclusion. Elements range from specific physical features to resident services, design team makeup to building amenities, leasing strategies to materials selection, and beyond. The Inclusive Design Standards organize elements by Design Categories, Impact Areas, and Additional Benefits.
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The Kelsey, Mikiten Architecture, and the ten (10) members of the Inclusive Design Council are available to provide project-specific or capacity-building technical assistance for your housing projects or community. Reach out for partnerships, support needs, or to connect with an individual member of our Inclusive Design Council.
Contact usThe Kelsey Ayer Station is a fully inclusive mixed-ability, mixed-income housing community located in a transit-oriented neighborhood blocks north of downtown San Jose. The 115 apartment homes include a mix of 2-bedrooms and studios for individuals with and without disabilities...
The Kelsey Civic Center will be a vibrant urban co-living community offering 112 homes for people with and without disabilities of all incomes and backgrounds. This project addresses the global impacts of climate change alongside one of our time’s defining...
The Kelsey is partnering with community organizations in Birmingham, Alabama to create needed disability-forward housing. In the early stages of development in the lively Avondale neighborhood, we’re bringing the first inclusive, affordable, accessible homes to the community.
Poppleton East is a mixed-use affordable housing project that, when complete, will bring quality, affordable housing to an area desperately in need of affordable housing stock. Consisting of 51 residential 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom units, 28 units will be reserved...
This project is the second phase in the Midway Village Master Plan, which replaces an outdated public housing project with a new affordable community. Phase 2 includes 113 Units of multi-generational, inclusive housing, featuring affordable homes for seniors and...
Nestled in the heart of Capitola, California, 38th Ave Apartments celebrates the culture and connections to nature that the beach town has to offer, while carefully considering the needs of families and children who will call the community home. The...
Located at 525 East Charleston Road near Mitchell Park in Palo Alto, Mitchell Park Place (MPP) is a new mixed-use development that will contribute to the vibrant neighborhood around Mitchell Park with a new office space for public social services...
Committed Firms
Committed Firms champion the Inclusive Design Standards by actively using and sharing them. They drive access and inclusion forward in their work and communities and include designers, developers, research institutions, advocates, funders, and community organizations. To become a Committed Firm, contact us.
- Architects FORA
- Assistology
- BAR Architects & Interiors
- City of San Jose Housing Department
- The CIL | The Center for Independent Living
- David Baker Architects
- EAH Housing
- Holst Architecture
- Ink: Built Design
- LBBA Architecture
- Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects
- Main Street
- Mikiten Architecture
- Oakland Housing Authority
- PYATOK
- Schemata Workshop
- Scher Spaces
- SOUR
- Steinberg Hart
- Van Meter Williams Pollack LLP
- Work Architecture
- WRNS Studio