Strategies for Providing Accessibility and Visitability for HOPE VI and Mixed Finance Homeownership

Today, many for-sale and rental units that are fully accessible to people with mobility disabilities or sight or hearing impairments are being built by public housing authorities and their development partners. But for communities to be truly inclusive, we must also work toward a modest--but universal--standard of access. To help reach that goal, HUD encourages HOPE VI grantees to ensure that as many units as possible have doorways and bathrooms which are "visitable" for people with disabilities.

HUD has worked with architects and advocates to develop design strategies that are both attractive and functional for families at any stage or condition of life. In this publication, you will see design features that are inexpensive and unobtrusive--in fact, many exist unnoticed inside a wall or in the design of a closet until the day when the reinforcement for a grab bar or the space for an elevator is needed.

Housing that is accessible, attractive, affordable, and which welcomes disabled and aging Americans is an integral part of the healthy, sustainable communities that HUD is working to create HOPE VI and other developments throughout the country.