Introduction Essay - 1,267 words

Introduction Under Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, any attempt to limit functional ability of disabled people, on the part of public or commercial institutions, constitutes the impairment of their civil rights and can result in legal consequences. This Act obligates U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board to make necessary provisions, so that Minimum Guidelines and Requirements for Accessible Design (ADAAG) could be taken into consideration at all times by Departments of Justice and Transportation, while issuing rules and regulations for building new, and maintaining the old public facilities. Section 226 of ADAs Title II states: it shall be considered discrimination for a public entity to construct a new facility to be used in the provision of designated public transportation services unless such facility is readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs(ADA, sect. 226). The Section 227 of the same Title also suggests that accessibility improvements need to be considered in existing public facilities: the entity shall also make the alterations in such a manner that, to the maximum extent feasible, the path of travel to the altered area and the bathrooms, telephones, and drinking fountains serving the altered area, are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs (ADA, sect. 227). From the mentioned sections, it appears that ADAs requirements are of general nature.


ADAAG is meant to specify them, so that building contractors and real estate agents will enjoy less liberty, interpreting them from the legal point of view. ADAAG covers the buildings and facilities, described in Titles II and III of ADA. Therefore, only the public places are supposed to comply with ADAAG requirements. Through Guidelines, ADA carries legal obligations that are applied to private entities, which own or lease public facilities. Laws Implication ADA is comparatively new legislation; therefore itll take more time before it becomes truly effective. The main problem of its practical application lies in the fact that architectural constructions vary greatly in its design. Buildings are supposed to serve different functions, therefore its ontologically wrong to imply that they all must have common features.


It is no by accident that the accessibility requirements for public facilities are referred to as guidelines. ADAAG suggests that such things as ramps, handrails and wider door openings must be considered while designing new buildings. As a matter of fact, the city majors cannot approve architectural projects, unless they fully comply with ADA. At the same time, the Guidelines leave a lot of room for their legal interpretations, when it comes to applying its principles to existing public facilities. For example, ADAAG states that it is a direct responsibility of private entities to remove architectural barriers in existing facilities only if it easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense. Failure to follow this guideline cannot really result in any legal consequences, because it is simply too vast. The removal of architectural details can also degrade buildings, from esthetical point of view. Therefore, ADAAGs practical implication can be challenged by those disabled people that consider reducing public buildings esthetical value as violation of their civil rights, even if its meant to provide easier access to such buildings.


The Market and Influence of the ADA As practice shows, it is not always easy to distinguish between public and commercial facilities. ADA provides 12 characteristics of public accommodations that meant to automatically upgrade building to public facility status, even if only one of them is being observed. Places of public accommodation are meant to provide goods and services to people, regardless of their social or professional affiliation. Public libraries, railways stations, airports and hospitals can serve as the best example of such facilities. Still, there are also a public p ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Essay Tags: public places, disabled people, buildings, accessibility, guideline

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