Since the 1800s, people with disabilities pushed for recognizing disability as an aspect of identity that influences experiences and is not the sole-defining feature of a person. Unfortunately, harmful biases, assumptions, stereotypes, and irrational fears created a stigma around disabilities that followed a lack of advancements in access to public transportation, telephones, bathrooms, stores, office buildings, and other work sites. This stagnation left disabled individuals unable to find employment and kept them from opportunities for meaningful work.

When going on a vacation, wheelchair users may want to consider the accessibility of the city they are planning to visit. Wheelchairs can go to more places in the United States than ever, and these are the five most accessible cities for wheelchair users to adventure:

Why do sidewalks have raised, colorful domes on sidewalk ramps? Why do airports have raised strips on walkways? Most people move throughout public spaces without understanding the purpose of these tactile surfaces underneath their feet. Yet, for specific people in our society, these tactile surfaces are the difference between independence and dependence.

While walking on the sidewalks, you may have noticed small, colorful bumps where the sidewalk meets the road. What are these bumps? Why are they placed so strategically at the edge of the sidewalk, at crosswalks, and near public transportation? What purpose do they serve? Are they there to increase the grip on the road? Or, do they serve some other purpose? Let’s find out!

Most suburban areas in the United States are created for the able-bodied individuals who own a car. Neighborhoods rarely have sidewalks, and many roads are long connecting points between neighborhoods and shopping centers. While suburbia may be a great area for a casual stroll, it’s not exactly great for those trying to get from home to work.

A wheelchair can mean the ticket to independence for some individuals, but the regular built environment is rarely arranged in a way that is easily navigable by individuals using wheelchairs. Beyond the built environment, social interactions can cause an extra strain on those who rely on wheelchairs as their primary mode of mobility. These social and infrastructural barriers impede the lives of wheelchair users every day.

Individuals with disabilities must navigate a world designed for people with vision and mobility, and one tool that helps to make the world more accessible is navigational bar tiles. These directional tile surfaces consist of raised bars that align with the direction of pedestrian travel. These navigational directional bar tiles help people to locate the entrance to light rails, trains, and bus stops.

A companion to detectable warning tiles, navigational and directional bar tiles serve an essential purpose of guiding individuals with disabilities in the flow of traffic.

While the quality and durability of the detectable warning dome tiles are absolutely vital, they are only as good as their installation process. Let’s talk about installation processes.

Installation is when two or more materials are adhered together to form a strong bond. In this case, we have the detectable warning dome tiles that will be bonded to the substrate, the underlying substance or layer, with an adhesive. All the materials might be of the highest quality, but if the installation process is poor, then the integrity of the other materials will be compromised.

The development of larger cities grew exponentially in the past fifty years, leaving us with rapidly built cities that have given too little thought to the disabled members of their population. Now is the time to reassess how to be more inclusive in the built environment so that people of all abilities and diversity experience a living environment that meets their needs.

To serve the community of individuals with disabilities, many state and local governments and some private companies have established paratransit transportation options. Paratransit transportation is meant to supplement public fixed-route bus and rail systems for individuals with severe impairments. From a taxi-like service to a semi-defined route, paratransit services often have varying levels of flexibility.